Sophia Lanza-Weil, Community Organizer, Congregations Organizing for Renewal. Sophia is the lead organizer with Congregations Organized for Renewal in South Alameda County, an affiliate of PICO (People Improving Communities through Organizing). Sophia has worked as an organizer for 14 years, addressing issues of social justice through leadership development and building the power of communities.  She has worked with a variety of organizations on community and labor issues across the country, including UFCW International, Unite Here!, Basic Rights Oregon, the AIDS Action Committee of MA, the Gay Lesbian Straight Education Network, and Bend the Arc.  Sophia is proud to represent the efforts of leaders in South Alameda County working for greater economic prosperity and opportunity in our region, and beyond.

Jonel Seon, Student Services Manager, Laney College Green Jobs Programs. Jonel facilitates the implementation of the solar photovoltaic and energy efficiency training programs through student recruitment, case management, administrative support for faculty, and building organizational partnerships through broadened community outreach. Over the last 5 years, Jonel has worked with distinguished businesses and non-profit organizations, including the Institute for Environmental Entrepreneurship and Alameda Unified School District, to support implementation of sustainability initiatives that address social, economic, and environmental complexities in urban communities.  A graduate from the GreenMBA program at Dominican University of California, Jonel currently serves as a Board Secretary for United Roots and is dedicated to promoting social enterprise that uplifts and empowers working-class individuals of all backgrounds.

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Working Together: Collaborative Strategies Supporting Economic Prosperity for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities in the Bay Area.

Ken Nim, Workforce Compliance Manager, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Ken has ten years of workforce development experience that includes program development, compliance monitoring, job development, and implementation of various City workforce policies such as San Francisco’s First Source and Local Hiring Programs. As part of the CityBuild team, a construction sector training and employment initiative, he has collaborated with contractors, labor representatives, community based organizations, city department heads, and community stakeholders to maximize employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged San Francisco residents. Ken is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley and is currently working towards a Masters Degree in Organizational Development at the University of San Francisco. He started his career in workforce development in the nonprofit sector providing direct services to economically disadvantaged communities of San Francisco. Ken believes in the dignity of work and that meaningful employment opportunities help sustain community vitality and connects individuals to a more purposeful life.

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Working Together: Collaborative Strategies Supporting Economic Prosperity for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities in the Bay Area.

Kirsten Snow Spalding, Esq., Principal, Spalding Consulting. Kirsten is a policy consultant working for non-profit organizations whose mission is to build sustainable communities that provide good jobs, affordable housing, public transportation, cleaner and greener public spaces. Her consulting practice focuses on building community coalitions that can imagine new opportunities for low-income people and realize those visions by strategic organizing, advocacy, and investments. Her areas of policy expertise include workforce and economic development, access to health care, sustainable investing and infrastructure finance, labor rights, and community development. Kirsten brings to her work her skills as a lawyer, pastor, government official, and educator. Her current clients include Ceres and its Investor Network on Climate Risk, the San Mateo County Union Community Alliance, the Career Ladders Project, and the San Francisco Labor Foundation. Prior to starting her consulting practice, Kirsten served as Chief Deputy Treasurer under California Treasurer Phil Angelides and Director of the Treasurer’s environmental financing authorities. Prior to her government service, Kirsten worked in the labor movement as Chief of Staff for the California Labor Federation, AFL-CIO. For six years, she chaired the Center for Labor Research and Education at University of California, Berkeley and taught at Boalt Hall School of Law. As a lawyer with the firm of Beeson, Tayer and Bodine she represented unions and their pension plans.  In her early career she worked as a community and cultural organizer in Durban, South Africa. Kirsten holds a BA from Yale College in music, a JD from Hastings College of Law and an M.Div. from Church Divinity School of the Pacific.

Please listen to her presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Working Together: Collaborative Strategies Supporting Economic Prosperity for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities in the Bay Area.

Evelyn Stivers, Field Director, Non-Profit Housing of Northern California (NPH). Evelyn has rejoined Non-Profit Housing of Northern California to coordinate regional initiatives including the Zone for Homes campaign and the Great Communities Collaborative as their new Field Director. She also works with housing and land use advocates, including NPH’s nine-county network, to advocate for affordable housing, carry out research and issue analysis, develop new advocacy tools, and provide technical assistance and organizing training. Evelyn is an experienced political organizer who has worked on campaigns at the local, state and national level. She prefers work at the local level though, where the impact is the most immediate. She spent the last six months working on political campaigns for local government offices. Prior to that she spent six months on an incredible travel adventure. She and her partner purchased a boat in Brisbane, Australia and explored the Great Barrier reef.

Please listen to her presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Protecting Communities, Securing Benefits: Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley.

Richard Marcantonio, Managing Attorney, Public Advocates, Inc. Richard received his A.B. from Princeton University in 1982 and graduated cum laude and Order of the Coif from New York University School of Law in 1987. After clerking for the Hon. Robert L. Carter, U.S. District Judge for the Southern District of New York, Richard practiced civil and appellate litigation for five years at the Howard, Rice law firm in San Francisco. He then served as director of litigation at Legal Aid of the North Bay for nine years, specializing in housing issues in Marin and Napa Counties. Richard was lead counsel for intervenors in Home Builders Association of Northern California v. City of Napa, 90 Cal. App. 4th 188 (2001), cert. denied 535 U.S. 954 (2002), which established the validity of “inclusionary zoning.” He was also lead counsel in Marin Family Action v. Town of Corte Madera, a challenge to the housing element of the Town of Corte Madera, and in a suit against a Napa slumlord for equitable relief and damages on behalf of nearly 500 Napa farmworkers and families. Richard joined Public Advocates as a managing attorney in June 2003, where he works on civil rights issues, primarily in the areas of affordable housing, transportation equity and insurance redlining. He has served as lead counsel for the plaintiffs in a number of affordable housing cases, including Osorio v. City of Pittsburg, Fonseca v. City of Gilroy, 148 Cal. App. 4th 1174 (2007), and Urban Habitat Program v. City of Pleasanton, 164 Cal. App. 4th 1561 (2008). In the area of transportation justice, he is currently co-counsel in Darensburg v. Metropolitan Transportation Commission, 611 F. Supp. 2nd 994 (N.D. Cal. 2009), a pending federal civil rights class action on behalf of minority bus riders who have seen service cut as a result of inadequate funding, and represented the Los Angeles Bus Riders Union in Labor/Community Strategy Center v. Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority, 564 F.3d 1115 (9th Cir. 2009). He is also co-counsel in Willams v. City of Antioch, a challenge to discriminatory policing of African-American families who participate in the federal Section 8 housing subsidy program.

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Protecting Communities, Securing Benefits: Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley.

Annie Loya, Executive Director, Youth United for Community Action (YUCA). Annie has over 11 years of experience with YUCA. She volunteered at 13 and joined the Higher Learning Core at 14. Since then, Annie has been a key youth organizer within the Environmental Justice Accountability Campaign. Annie then transitioned into staff at 18 years old as Assistant HL Coordinator, where she then supported young people’s development into HL. She drew from her myriad of experiences as a youth to then restructure the HL program as Program Coordinator to add more components that addressed the holistic development of youth, expand the membership to offer more opportunities for young people to get involved, and expand the number of campaigns at YUCA to address both environmental and economic justice issues in the community. Annie was a crucial lead in the campaign that led to the historic shutdown of Romic, a negligent toxic waste facility in East Palo Alto. Annie has taken on a leadership role in her community and in the larger movement for environmental and social justice. At 25, Annie is an experienced organizer, trainer, and speaker. She has developed and led workshops for YUCA, spoken on panels, given keynote speeches, and led various community campaigns around issues affecting youth. She sat on the Ad Hoc Committee that led to the structure of the Funders Collaborative on Youth Organizing, was a representative to the Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition, the East Palo Alto Air Resource Team, the Community Advisory Group, Environmental Justice Group, and the Ravenswood Business District Coalition. She brings years of experience as a previous HL Staff and core member to the Director’s position. Her passion for community change is evident in her commitment to the work. Annie also sits on the board of Greenaction.

Please listen to her presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Protecting Communities, Securing Benefits: Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley.

Vu-Bang Nguyen, Land Use Program Coordinator, Urban Habitat. Vu-Bang began his journey into the world of land use planning after studying Architecture at the University of California (UC) - Berkeley with an emphasis on City and Regional Planning and Design in the Third World while also working for the City Planning Departments of San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley, CA. He continued his studies at UC - Berkeley and completed a Masters in City and Regional Planning with an emphasis on Community Development and Land Use Planning. His research included working with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency on increasing community engagement in the City’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, especially among San Jose’s Vietnamese American population. After City Planning positions for the City of Berkeley and Town of Los Gatos, Vu-Bang switched to the private development side as a Project Manager for a real estate development company in San Jose, CA. He is Urban Habitat's site coordinator for the Great Communities Collaborative, working in several planning efforts throughout the Bay Area including Sunnyvale and East Palo Alto. Vu-Bang is a member of the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Protecting Communities, Securing Benefits: Lessons Learned in Silicon Valley.

Connie Galambos Malloy, Director of Programs, Urban Habitat Low-income communities and communities of color have always been disproportionately impacted by pollution, but much of the inequities we see today have been significantly perpetuated by land-use decisions and transportation investments made over the past 50 years.  "How We Got Here: Climate Injustice in the Bay Area," an interview with Connie Galambos Malloy, aims to provide some historical context as to how such decisions have helped perpetuate the inequitable distribution of pollution in the nine-county Bay Area region, the inequitable impacts it has had on low-income communities and communities of color, and, more importantly, how despite our best intentions and efforts, the climate policies and efforts we’re pursuing today will be limited in success if we do not address the systemic racial and economic factors that drive pollution throughout the region. 

 

Prerana Reddy, Director of Public Events, Queens Museum of Art Prerana Reddy has been the Director of Public Events for Queens Museum of Art in New York City since 2005, where she also spearheads the Museum's community engagement initiatives combining arts and culture with social development goals in nearby neighborhoods predominately comprised of new immigrants. She was one of four inaugural Douglas Redd Fellows for emerging leaders in Arts and Community Development awarded by the Ford Foundation. Currently she is overseeing Corona Studio, a series of long-term socially-engaged artist residencies in the neighborhood where the Museum is located. She is also developing a new Critical Social Practice concentration for the MFA program at Queens College (CUNY) in Spring, 2012. She recently returned from a semester-long Asian Pacific Leadership fellowship at the East-West Center at the University of Hawaii-Manoa that links advanced and interdisciplinary analysis of emergent Asian Pacific regional issues with experiential leadership learning.

Please listen to her presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Fresh Thinking about Community and Anchor Partnerships: Creating Shared Value for More Equitable Communities

Juliet Ellis, Assistant General Manager of External Affairs, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Juliet Ellis currently serves as Assistant General Manger of External Affairs on the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. She was formerly the Executive Director of Urban Habitat. Prior to becoming Executive Director of Urban Habitat, Juliet was the Associate Program Officer for Neighborhood and Community Development at The San Francisco Foundation and was responsible for all aspects of grantmaking in the areas of workforce development, housing, homelessness, economic development, community development, and neighborhood planning. Juliet has served on numerous regional and local boards and committees, including the Oakland Homeless and Low-Income Taskforce, the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, the San Francisco School of Volunteers, and the Alameda County Public Health Disparities Taskforce. Juliet holds a Master of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in environmental and urban studies from San Francisco State University.

Please listen to her presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Fresh Thinking about Community and Anchor Partnerships: Creating Shared Value for More Equitable Communities

Sam Chapman, Manager of State and Community Relations, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Sam Chapman is the State and Community Relations Manager for Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory. Sam is responsible for developing strategic plans, building relationships and leading actions that strengthen the Lab's ties with state officials and the local and regional community. Prior to coming to the Lab, Sam was Publisher of the Pacific Sun newspaper and website in Marin County and a part of the management team for Embarcadero Media. Previously, he was Chief of Staff for U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer for many years. Prior to joining Senator Boxer he was an elected County Supervisor and practiced law in Napa County. Sam has also held various regional and state government positions, including serving as a member of the California Air Resources Board, chairing a Governor’s commission on renewable energy, chairing the Bay Area Air Quality Management District board and serving on the San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission. He’s a graduate of U.C. Berkeley’s Boalt Hall School of Law.

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Fresh Thinking about Community and Anchor Partnerships: Creating Shared Value for More Equitable Communities

Vu-Bang Nguyen, Land Use Program Coordinator, Urban Habitat Vu-Bang Nguyen is the Land Use Program Coordinator at Urban Habitat. Vu-Bang began his journey into the world of land use planning after studying Architecture at the University of California (UC) - Berkeley with an emphasis on City and Regional Planning and Design in the Third World while also working for the City Planning Departments of San Jose, Oakland and Berkeley, CA. He continued his studies at UC - Berkeley and completed a Masters in City and Regional Planning with an emphasis on Community Development and Land Use Planning. His research included working with the San Jose Redevelopment Agency on increasing community engagement in the City’s Strong Neighborhoods Initiative, especially among San Jose’s Vietnamese American population. After City Planning positions for the City of Berkeley and Town of Los Gatos, Vu-Bang switched to the private development side as a Project Manager for a real estate development company in San Jose, CA. He is Urban Habitat's site coordinator for the Great Communities Collaborative, working in several planning efforts throughout the Bay Area including Sunnyvale and East Palo Alto. Vu-Bang is a member of the American Planning Association (APA) and the American Institute of Certified Planners (AICP).

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Close the Opportunity Gap: Prioritizing Schools in Planning for Sustainable Communities.

Jeremy Liu, Executive Director, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation Jeremy Liu is Executive Director of East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC), which works on community economic development and affordable housing in Oakland and the East Bay Area. Jeremy has been involved in the planning and development of public transit and transit-oriented development projects for over a decade. EBALDC is currently completing a 500+ home, mixed-use, mixed-income community known as Lion Creek Crossings at the Coliseum Transit Village. EBALDC is also involved in the transformation of the San Pablo Avenue corridor in Oakland and Emeryville. Jeremy has previously worked as an environmental planner for Sverdrup Civil on brownfield redevelopment, commuter rail, and highway projects, and as a program associate with the Trust for Public Land.

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Curbing Sprawl, Protecting Health: Building Housing for the Bay Area's Most Vulnerable Residents

Dave Vintze, Air Quality Planning Manager, Bay Area Air Quality Management District Dave Vintze is currently the Air Quality Planning Manager at the Bay Area Air Quality Management District (BAAQMD). The air quality planning section is responsible for developing plans for attainment of State and federal ambient air quality standards; preparing, reviewing and commenting on California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) documents; developing CEQA guidelines; participating in regional smart growth and transportation planning activities; and developing and implementing the Air District’s climate protection program. Previously Dave was the Planning Manager at the Placer County Air Pollution Control District and prior to that Dave worked for a consulting firm specializing in land use planning and environmental review.

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Curbing Sprawl, Protecting Health: Building Housing for the Bay Area's Most Vulnerable Residents

Eli Moore, Program Co-Director, Community Strategies for Sustainability and Justice Eli Moore is Program Co-Director for the Community Strategies for Sustainability and Justice program. Eli brings to the Institute expertise in participatory research strategies and spatial analysis and a depth of experience with community health, environmental justice, community safety, and sustainable economic development issues. Eli currently directs projects on nitrate contamination of drinking water, community reintegration after incarceration, and community resilience to climate change. He holds an M.A. in Geography and an M.A. in International Relations from the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Curbing Sprawl, Protecting Health: Building Housing for the Bay Area's Most Vulnerable Residents

Lindsay Imai, Transportation Justice Program Coordinator, Urban Habitat Lindsay Imai is Transportation Justice Program Coordinator at Urban Habitat, where she works to increase funding for bus and other public transit systems serving low-income neighborhoods through research, policy analysis, advocacy, coalition building, community organizing support and media activism. Lindsay is also playing a key role at Urban Habitat advocating for an equitable implementation plan of the Bay Area’s sustainable communities strategy as required by SB 375. Lindsay holds a Masters degree in Public Administration from Syracuse University and a BA in Ethnic Studies from Stanford.

Please listen to her presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Curbing Sprawl, Protecting Health: Building Housing for the Bay Area's Most Vulnerable Residents

Marisa Raya, Regional Planner, Association of Bay Area Governments Marisa Raya is a Regional Planner for the Association of Bay Area Governments, where she works on creating regional equity policies and implementing California's sustainability and climate change legislation. She has also worked as regional planner with Metro, the regional government based in Portland, Oregon. Prior to public service, she helped develop the Program on Human Rights and Justice at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, promoting social, cultural, and economic rights through planning and development. She has a degree in Anthropology from Columbia University and a Masters in Spatial Planning from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm, Sweden.

Please listen to her presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Close the Opportunity Gap: Prioritizing Schools in Planning for Sustainable Communities.

Jeffrey Vincent, Deputy Director, Center for Cities & Schools Jeffrey M. Vincent, PhD is Deputy Director and cofounder of the Center for Cities & Schools (CC&S) at the University of California, Berkeley. CC&S is an action-oriented think tank, whose mission is to promote high quality education as an essential component of urban and metropolitan vitality to create equitable, healthy, and sustainable cities and schools for all. Jeff has a PhD in city and regional planning from Berkeley and a master’s degree in community and regional planning from the University of Nebraska. Prior to joining CC&S, he worked in city planning and community development related positions for more than ten years in addition to working for five years as an instructor at a Montessori farm school. Jeff’s research interests lie at the intersection of land use planning, community development, and educational improvement, with a particular focus on how school facilities serve as educational and neighborhood assets. Jeff’s work has been published in peer-reviewed journals, practitioner-oriented journals, books, and other outlets on a variety of issues, including school siting and design, housing redevelopment, state school construction policies, joint use of schools, youth engagement in redevelopment, refugee resettlement, and transit-oriented development aimed at families. He is also a researcher with Building Educational Success Together (BEST), a national collaborative providing research and resources to improve public school facilities.

Please listen to his presentation at the BCLI Issues and Advocates Speakers Series, Close the Opportunity Gap: Prioritizing Schools in Planning for Sustainable Communities.

A third generation Mexican-American, John Avalos, was born in Wilmington, California, a predominantly Latino industrial town in the City of Los Angeles. John graduated with honors from UC Santa Barbara where he studied English Literature. Upon arriving in San Francisco in January 1989, he worked as an English teacher and cafe worker before finding his calling in the human services and community organizing fields. John followed the path of a worker and a leader to become a candidate for Supervisor. He has been a strong community member, spending the past 15 years fighting for social justice and equity at the grassroots level. He has worked as an educator and counselor with the San Francisco Conservation Corps and the Columbia Park Boys and Girls Club, where he taught high school equivalency and college prep classes. He also connected hundreds of San Francisco youth with employment, health care, and housing.