Issues and Advocates Speaker Series
On select Wednesday nights the BCLI presents powerful networking and movement-building opportunities for Bay Area individuals and groups who work in the social, economic, and environmental justice arena. These events feature a dynamic group of thinkers, scholars, professionals, legislators, and community advocates who share relevant leadership lessons and insights from their work. As well, for our BCLI fellows and graduates, the series serves as a crucial educational tool.
Topics on tap include healthy transit-oriented development for low-income people and people of color, the role of schools and “good neighbor” anchor institutions in fostering equity, and new strategies for funding public transportation.
Sophia Lanza-Weil, Community Organizer, Congregations Organizing for Renewal
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.
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Jonel Seon, Student Services Manager, Laney College Green Jobs Programs
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.
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Ken Nim, Workforce Compliance Manager, San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development
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.
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Kirsten Snow Spalding, Esq., Principal, Spalding Consulting
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.
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Working Together: Collaborative Strategies Supporting Economic Prosperity for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities
BCLI Issues and Advocates Speaker Series
Working Together: Collaborative Strategies Supporting Economic Prosperity for Low- and Moderate-Income Communities in the Bay Area
October 17, 2012
In 2010, the BCLI hosted one of our most popular Wednesday panels on innovative strategies for job creation, where we heard about new and exciting models that were building wealth and supporting economic development in low-income communities. Two years later, the Bay Area continues to see a lack of job growth and economic opportunity, coupled with dwindling public funds to support workforce and economic development.
In light of the dismal economic climate and limited resources, a collaborative made up of public, private, labor, and non-profit organizations is working to draft a “Regional Prosperity Strategy” for the Bay Area to understand, strengthen, and expand economic opportunities for low- and moderate-income individuals. The goal of the collaborative is to support a sustainable regional economy with good jobs that are accessible for all people, pay a living wage with benefits, provide workers with a voice on the job, and allow workers to advance up a career ladder.
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Issues and Advocates Speaker Series
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