I am Brooklyn Belk, 2025 CCAHT board chairwoman, and an attorney and adjunct law professor. I became involved with anti-human trafficking efforts more than a decade ago as a federal prosecutor and a grassroots advocate for CCAHT in its earliest days. I am passionate about fighting human trafficking because of my disdain for slavery and mistreating people, and human trafficking is that, modern day slavery. It disproportionally impacts females and people with limited financial resources and those from insular communities, which I know a lot about as a native Appalachian woman.

In my personal life, I enjoy encouraging others, running road races, lifting weights, reading, writing, church, and family. You may accurately describe me as a go, go, go personality, who thrives off adrenaline.

I am appearing at this year’s Unmasked Costume Contest as the notorious, strong, overcomer Tina Turner. I chose Ms. Turner because of her fierce focus on overcoming the seemingly impossible: an insular community and upbringing, poverty, abuse, underexposure, fear, and doubt to become one of the greatest heroines of faith in the world-giving new meaning to words such as resilience, perseverance, courage, faith, and ultimately fearlessness and success.

Like Tina Turner, I am, and you are, destined to overcome every destiny-hindering-obstacle. Figuratively, Tina is every person, as is her demonstrated constitution of character deep within all, and every person has a Tina within them.

May we all answer the call of service to help others on their journey to wholeness, to have a hope and a bright future, to find their inner-Tina.