Rico Ocampo
Executive Director
Rico Ocampo was born in Morelos, Mexico, and immigrated to the United States in 1992. He is an undocumented/DACAmented community organizer and activist and has engaged in local, statewide, and national advocacy efforts to advance systematic change for homeless youth and immigrant communities. In 2016, he was selected to lead the 37-year old Anytown program, a dream come true after attending Camp ANYTOWN as a student delegate in 2007. Through his decade of experience in youth development, he remains passionate about anti-racism work and amplifying youth voices. In addition, Rico also serves as the Youth and Programs Organizer for Make the Road Nevada, a non-profit organization that works with Latinx and working-class communities of color through policy innovation and transformative education.
Rico spends his spare time volunteering for interfaith and peacebuilding organizations like the United Religions Initiative where he serves on the URI North America Leadership Council and helps provide strategic direction and helping to implement various programming and initiatives within the North America region. In addition, Rico is also a member of the UndocuCouncil, a subcommittee of The Nevada Immigrant Coalition whose mission is to build strategic communication and cooperation among immigrant rights organizations and activists.
SANNIYAH HAYE
Sanniyah Haye is a freshman at Virginia State University, an HBCU in Petersburg, Virginia. Her future career is to be in the field of cybersecurity and computer engineering. As a black woman, she is often silenced, overpowered, or ignored by men and other races mainly because they underestimate her skills based on a perceived look. Her goal is to change that and bring diversity and inclusion to all spaces.
Sanniyah wants to empower other young women to speak with their hearts and not be silenced or ignored by a man for their views and opinions. She wants Anytown women to stand strong in their beliefs, in themselves, and know they can do and accomplish anything. One of her goals is to ensure the AYC puts together workshops to empower women to take hold of their futures and spaces meant for them like they are destined to. Sanniyah’s grandfather, an intellectual and strong man, always quotes, “’The future is FEMALE” and from his wisdom and insight about several truths of this world, Sanniyah feels she is not to think wrong of this. She believes women have been the backbone of civilization for centuries, and it’s now time for them to take the lead in many powerful positions to create a world that is full of respect, compassion, and love that we all wish to see.
JOSE RIVERA
Jose Rivera, better known as Josie, was born in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico, and raised in Las Vegas, NV. He is a first-generation high school graduate and college student. Jose graduated from Eldorado High School in 2018 and is now attending the College of Southern Nevada majoring in Applied Psychology. Josie is one of the hundreds of thousands of students protected by Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) – he hopes to become a CPS investigator and help children who oftentimes become voiceless when abused or neglected by an adult.
As an undocumented student, he is aware that in order to have a society in which the word “different” is welcomed and accepted, children have to begin understanding that concept at an early stage – he hopes to change that through his activism and career. Josie’s commitment and dedication stem from bearing witness to the marginalization and dehumanization of the undocumented community. Through his activism, he is determined to advocate and fight for the millions of undocumented immigrants whose lives have been in peril for far too long.
SKYYLAR JORDAN
Skyylar Jordan, aka Cupcake, is a sixteen-year-old activist and high school graduate from Desert Pines High School. She is a member of the Anytown Youth Council (AYC) and serves as a Counselor for Anytown’s signature program, Camp ANYTOWN. Skyylar uses her experience as an activist to add to the curriculum of the Anytown program and strengthen the student delegate experience.
As a result of the Anytown program, she has experience in facilitation and networking through leading discussion groups. Skyylar feels it is important that student delegates feel heard and taken seriously and believes delegates need to feel validated as much as possible, but not favored over others. This is just one of the many things that Skyylar stands for, and she has chosen to use her relationships and time with the organization to raise other delegates into her position and beyond.
ABE LUGO
Abraham Lugo or aka Abe is a nineteen-year-old youth advocate and community activist. He is an undergraduate student at UNLV studying political science and minoring in public policy. Abe hopes to ingrain himself in the political climate as both a representative and ally to all races, cultures, religions, sexual orientations, gender, and immigration statuses. As a founding member of the Anytown Youth Council, he has used his position and experience in the professional world. This has included interning at the City Hall office for U.S. Congressman Steven Horsford, facilitated a workshop for At-Large members of the United Religions Initiative North America Leadership Council, spoke on 88.1 FM about leading social justice topics, and served as the creative director for his own peace-building campaign.
Abe’s core value is compassion, a concept he was able to realize and embrace through Anytown Las Vegas. The program has been a tool of positive change, including being a source of inspiration towards changing his career and path in law. He hopes to bring unity to our government and world and wants to be a leader who does not work to speak over those he fights for but instead, amplifies their voice so they are heard.
KAITLYN MACATO
Kaitlyn Camille Macato is a big believer in the power of a smile. Born and raised in the city of Las Vegas, Nevada, she graduated from East Career and Technical Academy and is now attending the University of Nevada, Reno as an undergraduate sophomore. She’s majoring in Human Development and Family Studies and minoring in Psychology. After graduating college, Kaitlyn hopes to travel around the world, while educating those around her about mental health and well-being. This passion of hers has led her to create Stories Untold, a platform that serves to end the stigma around mental health.
During her freshman year of college, she became a founding member of the Anytown Youth Council. Through this organization, she has served as a creative director for program launch, participated in social justice campaigns, and feels blessed to be a part of the driving force for change in the Anytown youth program. On the UNR campus, Kaitlyn is a member of Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed national community service fraternity, as the VP of leadership and a co-recruitment chair, and the secretary of the Mind Over Matter club. She also became one of the first Social Media Student Influencers where she engaged with first-year and prospective students to give them an insight into life on campus.
Kaitlyn’s empathetic nature has given her the tools to lend a helping hand to everyone she interacts with. She believes that this world is more than capable of beautiful, positive changes, and it begins with a smile.
MARVIN VALDEZ
My name is Marvin Valdez – I am an Eldorado High School alumn and a current youth leader for Make the Road Nevada. I am excited to be a part of a group that shares the same determination as I do – the determination to dismantle stereotypes that we’re confronted with on a daily basis. I am proud to know that we can all stand together and play a huge role in this change. I believe, if we all live by the golden rule, we can achieve greatness. The Anytown program has educated me on all of these topics and I feel it is my turn to inspire others.
LEYLA LOPEZ
A first-generation American, Leyla Lopez was born in Honolulu, Hawai’i, and raised in Las Vegas, Nevada where she is currently a senior at East Career and Technical Academy (ECTA), majoring in Marketing and Hospitality. Fairly new to Anytown, Leyla attended Camp Anytown as a delegate representing East Career and Technical Academy. Emboldened and invigorated by the Anytown spirit along with her own passions for social justice, she became more involved with Anytown through her active attendance to events and fierce commitment to the values and goals of Anytown. Selected to serve as a Counselor-In-Training (CIT) for Camp Anytown’s Spring 2020 cohort, Leyla is eager to learn more about how to help elevate the voices of marginalized groups and looks forward to implementing different activities at camp regarding racial and socio-economic disparities to the disturbing realities of power and authority in the US along with other parts of the world.
Alongside being an At-Large-Member of the Anytown Youth Council, Leyla also serves as the Nevada DECA Vice President of Leadership, East CTA’s Student Body Vice President of Spirit while being part of her school’s Key Club and National Honor Society. She plans to major in political science to later go on and become an attorney and politician.
BRYANNA SALAZAR
Bryanna Salazar is a first-generation American born in Salinas, California, and raised in the vibrant city of Las Vegas, NV. She is currently a senior at Liberty High School and serves as the NASC 4A1 Vice President, Senior Class President, and is part of the Nevada Association of Student Councils board as 4A1 Vice President – all while being a part of various clubs and sports at her school.
Bryanna began her Anytown journey in Spring 2019 attending as a student delegate. Since then, she launched the #NextWave campaign at her school during Week of Respect and was a focal part of Camp Anytown’s 2020 International Golden Rule video campaign which garnered over 11,000 views across several social media channels. Most recently, Bryanna was selected to serve as a Counselor-In-Training (CIT) for Camp Anytown’s spring 2020 cohort and At-Large-Member for the Anytown Youth Council.
Bryanna is passionate about social justice issues and hopes to unlock potential and move the Anytown spirit wherever she travels. She brings an array of experience by serving in Student Council for 4 years where she helped the community through acts of service and learned what it means to have privilege in everyday life. She hopes to help make people confident in their own skin and create an environment where everyone can be themselves without any fear.
SHAUN MABANTA
Shaun is passionate about spreading kindness and letting others know that they matter. He is an alumnus of Liberty High School and a current sophomore in the Honors Program at the University of Nevada pursuing a degree in Biochemistry and Molecular Biology with a minor in Psychology. After graduating in 2023, he plans to take on medical school. This past year, Shaun was actively involved in the University of Nevada’s student government, ASUN, by interning for the department of clubs and organizations and receiving intern of the year.
Outside of his role in ASUN, Shaun also works part-time at Crisis Support Services of Nevada as a Social Media and Communications Specialist. Through this experience, he has learned of the great number of crises people go through – becoming more cognizant of the importance of kindness and compassion. He has also attended ASIST, a suicide-intervention training, where he learned how to interact with someone with suicidal thoughts or plans. On-campus, Shaun has been involved with several clubs and organizations including volunteering at the Student Outreach Clinic and being part of the Phi Delta Epsilon Pre-Medical Fraternity, MedLife, HDFS Club, and Mind Over Matter. Through his extensive involvement, Shaun has learned about the various walks of student life at the University of Nevada. This perspective will enable him to best serve student leaders and their clubs to the best of his capability.
Shaun believes that everyone deserves a fighting chance and everyone deserves to be listened to. He is willing to listen to anyone no matter their circumstance or situation and will provide caring support and a calming voice to ease them through their struggles.
ERIN ADARVE
Erin Adarve was born in a densely populated city in the Philippines, but hopped on a plane at only six months old and moved 7,258 miles away to where she currently resides, Las Vegas, NV. She attended Southeast Career Technical Academy for high school, at which she decided to involve herself in Student Council and various club leadership positions. After graduating at the top of her class amidst a pandemic, she enrolled as a Biology major at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas in the class of 2024. Her plans of becoming a doctor are underway as she pursues opportunities within the medical field.
She is a consistent blood donor for the Red Cross, as well as an avid supporter/ volunteer for all of Anytown’s campaigns. She strives to better herself everyday by staying up to date on important political and human rights issues. In the future, she plans on traveling the world and exploring different cultures.
MARCOS MEDEROS
Marcos Mederos, is an eighteen-year-old student, leader, and social justice activist. He is a senior at Bonanza high school where he is involved in student government. Marcos is fairly new to activism but has learned a lot since he attended Camp Anytown’s 2019 fall session as a student delegate. Going to Camp ANYTOWN impacted his view on the surrounding world as he had felt like an outsider his whole life and found a community that educated him on social justice, gender identity, the LGBTQ community and started to fuel his fire to fight against racial injustice and inequalities in his community.
Since attending Camp ANYTOWN, Marcos has marched for equal housing with Senator Bernie Sanders, designed graphics for the AYC, attends Youth Power Project meetings with Make the Road Nevada, was selected by his peers to serve as a Counselor-in-Training (CIT) for Camp ANYTOWN’S spring 2020 session, attended a press conference organized by Make the Road Nevada focused on the School-to-Prison Pipeline, and continues to educate himself on how to be an antiracist. The Anytown program helped ignite a passion for his future career choice as he hopes to go to a 4-year university and attend law school to fight for equitable justice for black and brown communities. Marcos is passionate about LGBTQ rights and has always given his effort to make sure you are seen. He hopes that people never forget to stand up for what they believe regardless of how young they are.
KOLBY LAWSON
Kolby is originally from Oahu, Hawai’i but has lived in Las Vegas, Nevada for the past 10 years. He is currently an undergraduate student at the University of Las Vegas Nevada as an Exploring Major with plans to declare a major in Communications. Kolby is multiracial with various racial identities; Asian, White/Caucasian, and Polynesian and is also part of the LGBTQ+ community, Kolby’s many identities ignited his passion for social justice. In the fall of 2018, Kolby attended Camp Anytown Las Vegas as a student delegate and in the fall of 2019, he returned to the Anytown program in a volunteer capacity as a Counselor. In early 2020, he was selected by his peers to join the Anytown Youth Council and has since been a major influence in the program planning for Anytown.
Kolby is motivated by fellow youth. Witnessing the audaciousness of young people within Las Vegas has pushed Kolby to help carry out the Anytown legacy – he hopes to be as audacious as those who inspire him, in order to provide a brighter future for upcoming generations.