Next City published an article on Alliance for Girls' collective advocacy, in partnership with the Young Women's Freedom Center and the Office of Women's Policy in Santa Clara County, among others, to ensure girls, gender-expansive youth, and menstruating individuals are able to access period products, a need heightened by COVID-19 and resulting school closures. As a result of these efforts, in December the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors earmarked $1 million to address the issue.

CalMatters featured an opinion article by Alliance for Girls' Haleema Bharoocha and the Young Women's Freedom Center's Desiree Victor that called on counties across California to divest from punitive systems that perpetuate poverty and inequity, and instead, invest in solutions that reverse generations of harm. This includes listening to girls' needs, amplifying their voices and leadership, and investing in culturally and gender-responsive services. AFG and YWFC are making progress, working with Santa Clara County to increase opportunities and stigma-free resources for young moms and make sure period products are available at school sites and community centers.

Philanthropy Women published an article on Alliance for Girls' #WhenGirlsThrive COVID-19 Response Initiative and the importance of paying more attention to the needs of girls, particularly Black girls and girls of color in the midst of the pandemic. The initiative is filling the data gap on the needs of girls and gender-expansive youth and bringing together advocates, educators, policymakers and agency leaders to ensure girls' needs are met as California navigates the COVID-19 pandemic.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported on girls' experiences riding on public transit, including BART. Girls report frequent harassment, threats, and violence as well as a lack of response from officials and the community. In December, Alliance for Girls hosted a meeting about enhancing safety on public transit for girls, with representatives from 12+ member organizations of AFG, BART officials, and girls.

The Mercury News published an opinion piece co-authored by Alliance for Girls' Emma Mayerson and the Women's Foundation of California's Surina Khan about Alliance for Girls' released report, Together, We Rise. The report elevates the stories and perspectives of more than 60 girls of color in San Francisco, Oakland, and San Jose, illustrating deep gender injustices compounded by racial inequity. Girls also shared key, insightful recommendations for advancing racial and gender justice, and creating communities where girls can feel safe and valued at home, at school, and wherever they go.

ABC7News reported on the progress of a new student-driven sexual harassment policy that is being reviewed by the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) School Board. The new policy was co-developed by Alliance for Girls, students and OUSD, and would be a groundbreaking policy that is victim-centered and aims to change the pervasiveness of sexual harassment in schools.

Founding Executive Director Emma Mayerson and student leader Gaby Battle talk to Bay Area Focus host Michelle Griego about Alliance for Girls and how they have been working to help thousands of girls in the Bay Area realize their full potential.

District Administration Magazine published an article that lifts the issue of sexual violence and #MeToo as it affects young women in schools, and spotlights Alliance for Girls' initiative in Oakland Unified School District as a model for the nation.

Education Votes spoke with Alliance for Girls Executive Director Emma Mayerson as well as members of the Girls Leadership Team to discuss sexual harassment at Oakland public schools and how it affects girls, particularly girls of color. This led to the passing of the District's new sexual harassment policy, which includes designating a point person in each school to handle sexual harassment and assault complaints (as opposed to one person for the entire district).

Telemundo 48 reported on Oakland Unified School District's new sexual harassment policy that passed unanimously in June, interviewing Andrea Zamora, student at OUSD, and Emma Mayerson, Executive Director of Alliance for Girls.

Heard on All Things Considered/NPR, produced by Youth Radio. Since 2014, sexual assault investigations conducted by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights are up nearly 500 percent in elementary, middle and high schools across the country. Youth Radio's Charlie Stuip attended Oakland Unified School District's school board vote with Andrea Zamora, 17, a rising high school senior who helped develop the new policy with local nonprofit Alliance for Girls and its member organizations.

The blog, Great School Voices, wrote about Alliance for Girls' Valuing Girls' Voices report and its community and student-led work to address the challenges young women face in Oakland schools, starting with the modification of Oakland Unified School District's sexual harassment policy. The new sexual harassment policy is responsive to victims and clarifies the role of the school in identifying the nature and harm of sexual harassment.

CBS/KPIX 5 reported on the progress of a new student-driven sexual harassment policy that was presented to the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) School Board on May 24th. The new policy proposes major changes to OUSD's existing sexual harassment policy by taking a victim-centered approach, including having the district provide support to the victim through the entire process and getting rid of language that suggests that a victim may be penalized for reporting sexual harassment.

Alliance for Girls' beginnings was featured in an article in the Nonprofit Quarterly. Writer Mark Gunther, Co-Founder and Managing Director of the Eva Gunther Foundation, discusses how their personal philanthropic approach yielded big results with a limited grants budget.

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County celebrated the launch of the Fund for Women and Girls at the Watsonville Civic Center, with more than 100 supporters in attendance. Guest speaker Emma Mayerson, a 2010 honors grad from Tufts University who founded the Alliance for Girls in 2012, talked about solving problems like high absenteeism in Oakland schools and working with school district officials to draft a new policy on sexual harassment.

The blog, Great School Voices, wrote about key findings of Alliance for Girls' report, Valuing Girls Voices: The Lived Experiences of Girls of Color in Oakland Unified School District. While some general issues emerged for all girls, the most challenging data and narratives came around the experiences of young Black women.

Seven organizations will have a chance to further their efforts to help girls in or at risk of entering the justice system thanks to more than $650,000 in funding from the National Girls Initiative. Alliance for Girls was among the nonprofit alliances from across the country to be recognized by the initiative, a branch of the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, with its first Innovation Awards.