Imagine and Act: NCG's 2024 Annual Conference

RyanNicole is affectionately known as the “4A” for her multifaceted talents as an Artist, Actress, Athlete, and Activist. Her GRAMMY®-nominated work with Alphabet Rockers and her powerful poetry have resonated with audiences worldwide. As an accomplished actress, RyanNicole has starred in numerous productions, including roles in high-profile theater companies and television specials. Her athletic achievements include record-breaking performances in high school track and field, earning scholarships and accolades in collegiate athletics.

Beyond her artistic and athletic pursuits, RyanNicole is a dedicated activist and community leader. She has served as an organizer for over two decades, holding significant roles in various non-profits and community organizations. Her commitment to social justice and empowerment is evident in her work as a business consultant, where she supports numerous initiatives focused on capacity building and community development.

Aimee Allison is a writer, democratic innovator, and visionary champion of racial and gender justice. She is the Founder and President of She the People, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to an America redefined and inspired by women of color.

Renowned for her national efforts to build inclusive, multiracial coalitions, Allison organized and moderated the nation’s first presidential forum for women of color, attended by Presidential candidates and more than 1000 women from across the country, garnering major national press.

At She the People, Allison leverages media, research and analysis to show the power of the women of color electorate, increase voter engagement, and advocate for racial, economic and gender justice. In her writings in The New York Times, Newsweek, The Washington Post, and Essence Magazine, Allison has made the definitive case that women of color are the saving graces of our American democracy.

Her early experience growing up in a multiracial family and searching for belonging in mostly white communities honed her ability to build bridges with others often marginalized and dismissed. Her work is firmly grounded in finding shared history and a common vision to create new political and cultural pathways to change.

Allison holds a B.A. in History and M.A in Education from Stanford University. In the early 1990’s, Allison earned a rare honorable discharge from the U.S. Army as a conscientious objector, launching 30 years of efforts to build communities and launch campaigns grounded in love, justice, and belonging. She is at work on several groundbreaking media projects highlighting the legacy and history-making impact of women of color as the vanguards for multiracial solidarity and democracy.

And as she told Diablo Magazine recently, her belief in multiracial democracy [is] “my whole life’s work. … I have stepped into a very powerful legacy and will do my part to prepare the next generation.”

Roberto Bedoya is the Cultural Affairs Manager for the City of Oakland where he shepherded the City's Cultural Plan. - "Belonging in Oakland: A Cultural Development Plan". Through-out his career he has consistently supported artists-centered cultural practices and advocated for expanded definitions of inclusion and belonging in cultural sector. His essays “Creative Placemaking and the Politics of Belonging and Dis-Belonging” ; “ Spatial Justice: Rasquachification, Race and the City” and “ "Poetics and Praxis of a City in Relation"  has reframed the discussion on cultural policy to shed light on exclusionary practices in cultural policy decision making. He is the recipient of the United States Artist 2021 Berresford Prize.

Fred Blackwell is CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the country. San Francisco Foundation works with donors, community leaders, and public and private partners to create thriving communities throughout the Bay Area. Since joining the foundation in 2014, Blackwell has renewed its commitment to social justice through an equity agenda focused on racial and economic inclusion.

Blackwell is a recognized community leader with a longstanding career in the Bay Area. Before joining the foundation, he served as interim city administrator for City of Oakland, where he previously served as assistant city administrator. He was executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and director of the SF Mayor’s Office of Community Development; he served as director of the Making Connections Initiative for the Annie E. Casey Foundation in the Lower San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland; he was a Multicultural Fellow in Neighborhood and Community Development at San Francisco Foundation; and he subsequently managed a multiyear comprehensive community initiative for San Francisco Foundation in West Oakland.

Blackwell serves on the board of Independent Sector, Bridgespan Group, and Dean’s advisory council for UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design. He previously served on the San Francisco Federal Reserve community advisory council, California Redevelopment Association, Urban Habitat Program, NCG, and LeaderSpring boards. He is a visiting professor in the City and Regional Planning Department at UC Berkeley. He holds a Master’s Degree in City Planning from UC Berkeley and Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from Morehouse College.

Vanessa Camarena-Arredondo manages the Cultural Self-Determination portfolio at Tao Rising, a single-family philanthropic office based in San Francisco. Throughout her career in philanthropy, she has sought to bridge meaningful relationships between philanthropic institutions and individuals with transformative community-based work being led by people most proximate to systemic harm. She finds deep value in cultural work and has dedicated her work in philanthropy to uplifting the role cultural practice plays towards creating a more equitable society. Prior to her work with Tao Rising, Vanessa worked at Akonadi Foundation, a vanguard philanthropic institution based in Oakland, California. She was also the Arts & Culture Multicultural Fellow at the San Francisco Foundation. Outside of philanthropy, she ran a cultural institution in Oakland called Studio Grand and, many moons ago, she performed with Las Bomberas de la Bahia, an all-women Bay Area-based ensemble that performed Afro-Puerto Rican Bomba.

Using acrylic, ink, aerosol, and installations, Cece Carpio tells stories of immigration, ancestry, resistance, and resilience. She documents evolving traditions by combining folkloric forms, bold portraits, and natural elements with urban art techniques.

Living and working in the  Bay Area, she is inspired by the cultural potency of communities of color and the prominent history of social movements that have become influential expressions for the rest of the world. The unique and complex narratives in the Bay have been at the forefront of creativity invigorating popular culture and allowing communities to imagine and create another world possible. She paints everyday people who have been invincible to share their thriving presence and to show the dignity and power of their existence. As a visual storyteller, Cece paints to lift up her communities, share their stories and provoke the power of their imagination.

Cece Carpio produced and exhibited work globally. She was recently awarded the Constellation Fellowship by the The Center of Cultural Power and California Arts Council to work in partnership with Sogorea Te' Land Trust in an Indigenous Placemaking project creating visual markers on land sites that have been returned to Indigenous hands. She worked as the Galleries Manager for the San Francisco Arts Commission and served as a Public Art Advisor for the City of Oakland.

She can often be found collaborating with her collective, Trust Your Struggle, teaching, and traveling around the world in pursuit of the perfect wall.

Sylvia (she/they) is a Senior Policy Analyst focusing on federal policies and financing.  She is an attorney and climate/environmental justice policy expert based in Oakland. She previously served as Policy Director for Asian Pacific Environmental Network, and before that, was Independent Counsel with Verdant Law, advising on chemical regulatory and green marketing compliance. She has also worked with the International Refugee Assistance Project, Environmental Law Institute, U.S. EPA, and United States Senate. She currently leads on policy advocacy and implementation for the California Public Banking Alliance and was a principal co-author of AB 857 (2019), establishing a licensing framework for public banks in California. She earned her J.D. from the University of Maryland School of Law and A.B. from Dartmouth College.

Alexandra Desautels is Director of Strategy, Alignment, and Learning for The California Endowment (TCE). Over her decade at TCE, Alex led grantmaking in diverse areas such as inclusive community development, strengthening democracy, and narrative -- with the through line focusing on justice and organizing for the future we all deserve.  In her current role, she leads TCE’s largest grantmaking department’s learning and strategy setting, keeping her passion for the work lit through organizing with other funders to liberate philanthropy’s vast resources for justice. Before joining TCE, Alex led the Alameda County Public Health Department’s work, partnering with local organizers to advance policy and systems change solutions to racialized health inequities. The daughter of public servants, Alex, grew up in Maryland and currently resides, gardens, and drives her kids around in Oakland, CA.

Malkia Devich-Cyril is an activist, writer and public speaker on issues of digital rights, narrative power, Black liberation and collective grief. Devich-Cyril is also the founding and former Executive Director of MediaJustice — a national hub boldly advancing racial justice, rights and dignity in a digital age. After more than 10 years of organizational leadership, Devich-Cyril now serves as a Senior Fellow at MediaJustice and is a contributing writer to various publications including The Atlantic, Wired Magazine, TechCrunch, The Washington Post, Truthout and We Will Not Cancel Us — a book by adrienne maree brown, among others.

In 2002, Malkia Devich Cyril helped coin the term “Media Justice”, and in 2019 declared that one significant goal of the Media Justice movement was to “fight for a future where we are all connected, represented and free.”

For more than 20 years, Devich-Cyril has championed the media and technology rights of communities of color and other under-represented groups to demand and win equity in a digital age. Devich-Cyril remains a veteran leader in the movement for digital rights and freedom, and in the movement for Black lives.

Devich-Cyril is regularly a featured speaker on issues of media, technology, and race, and has appeared in publications like Politico, Motherboard, Essence Magazine, and three documentary films including the Oscar nominated 13TH, directed by Ava DuVernay. Devich-Cyril is a recipient of the 2012 Donald H. McGannon Award for work to advance the roles of women and people of color in the media reform movement, a 2013 Prime Movers fellow, winner of the 2015 Hugh Hefner 1st Amendment Award for framing net neutrality as a civil rights issue, winner of the 2016 Electronic Frontier Pioneer award, a YBCA 100 honoree, a 2017 Root 100 honoree, and a 2020 Good Morning America Black Inspiration honoree.

As the newly widowed spouse of comedian and editor Alana Devich-Cyril, who died following an intense two year battle with advanced cancer, Malkia Devich-Cyril now works to transform the public narrative on grief and equity in America.

Jane Duong (she/her/hers) is the Vice President of Development and Communications, where she leads a team responsible for engaging foundations, corporations, individuals and other supporters to raise resources and amplify the organization and its mission. Jane brings 20 years of experience working with communities of color to advance economic opportunity. Previously, she worked at the National Coalition for Asian Pacific American Community Development (CAPACD), where she developed the first national network of Asian American Pacific Islander-serving housing counseling agencies in the country. She also supported the growth of asset-building and financial capability programs in the AAPI community and contributed to groundbreaking research on how AAPI communities access financial services and products.  Jane’s perspective is grounded in her experience working in grassroots , community-based organizations at the frontlines of building community. She worked as the Housing Program Manager for the Mission Economic Development Agency supporting existing and aspiring homeowners in the Latino community and the Chinatown Community Development Center in San Francisco. She graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, and received her Master of Public Administration from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service. Jane is the daughter of immigrant parents from Vietnam and enjoys spending time in the outdoors with her husband and kids.

Adriana Guzman is Faith in Action’s lead community organizer for South San Mateo County, having joined the staff in 2015. She works with clergy and lay leaders in both English-speaking and Latino congregations. In recent years, these leaders have made important strides in securing housing and immigration justice for their communities.

Adriana first became a leader with Faith in Action in 2014, when she worked as a phone banker and canvasser for Campaign for Citizenship. Later that year, she volunteered to answer an early version of the Rapid Response hotline, fielding calls from community members who had encountered ICE and connecting them to legal help.

For Adriana, faith is central to organizing. Faith shapes her values and guides her actions as an organizer; and she constantly turns to faith as a source hope, connection, and strength as she serves her community in its fight for justice.

Hanni Hanson is dedicated to making communities more resilient and equitable in the face of social and climatic disruption. She serves as Director of Programs at the Compton Foundation, where she directs a grantmaking portfolio spanning climate change, democracy, reproductive justice, and progressive foreign policy, with a focus on movement-building and culture change. In this role, she is stewarding the Foundation’s “spend-up” strategy as it redistributes its assets ahead of its sunset at the end of 2024.

After getting her start as a student climate organizer, Hanni worked in youth leadership development, providing training and support for young people to be leaders for social justice and sustainability in their communities. She holds a BA from Stanford University and an MPhil from the University of Cambridge and is currently a Visiting Scholar at UC Berkeley’s Center for Right-Wing Studies, where she conducts research on the intersection of ethnic nationalism, rising authoritarianism, and climate change.

Hanni grew up among the trees of the Pacific Northwest and now lives in Oakland, California with her partner. In her free time, you will often find her knitting, watching silly TV shows, and working on her sourdough recipe.

Rachel Hatch serves as Chief Operating Officer of Institute for the Future, a nonprofit organization based in Palo Alto, California USA (www.iftf.org). For more than 55 years, IFTF has pursued the mission of helping organizations, communities and leaders become future-ready. Their vision? A world that harnesses long-term thinking to create more equitable, sustainable societies.

She co-leads two IFTF practice areas: Community-Based Foresight, and Foresight Essentials for Philanthropy (enrollment information here: https://www.iftf.org/foresightessentials/for-individuals/foresight-essentials-for-philanthropy/) and their work was just featured in the Chronicle of Philanthropy https://www.philanthropy.com/article/futurism-is-having-a-moment-in-post-pandemic-foundation-strategy.

Previously, she was a Senior Program Officer at The McConnell Foundation, a private philanthropic foundation where she led community vitality grantmaking, public engagement, and impact investments. This included public-private partnerships to win place-based investments from California’s Strategic Growth Council, Caltrans, CA Housing and Community Development, and the California Energy Commission; as well as Low Income Housing Tax Credits and New Markets Tax Credit funding from CDFIs and CDEs.

Now, she is bridging foresight with her passion for community vitality where she lives on unceded Wintu land (currently known as Redding, CA) as a committed volunteer for Native Roots Network (www.nativerootsnetwork.org). Together, they have secured funding from the California Strategic Growth Council for an Indigenous-led Community Resilience Center, Əl Kulus, a culturally-centered climate resilience & emergency response center.

Rachel serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for California Humanities and holds masters degrees from Trinity College Dublin and Yale Divinity School.

Demetria Huntsman is Akonadi’s Senior Program Officer, where she oversees the foundation’s youth and education justice grantmaking and engagements, including the So Love Can Win fund and All in for Oakland Initiative. Demetria has an extensive background in organizing, as well as launching and leading social justice organizations in Oakland for more than 25 years. Demetria remains inspired and centers her joy by having healthy boundaries, using her voice, seeing the best in others, and making room for belly laughs. She enjoys raising her beautiful son in Oakland, honoring all who came before, making memories with her partner and sunset walks with her dog.

As Co-Executive Director of Justice Funders, Dana Kawaoka-Chen partners and guides philanthropy in reimagining practices that advance a thriving and just world.  Dana leads with vision and is guided by relationships.  As a practitioner, Dana co-authored the “The Choir Book: A Framework for Social Justice Philanthropy,” and was a primary contributor to “Resonance: A Framework for Philanthropic Transformation.”  You can find her writing on a Just Transition for Philanthropy in Medium.

As founding Executive Director of Justice Funders, Dana grew the organization by aligning its strategy to the visions of movements working for racial, economic and social justice.  Dana’s leadership in facilitating a Just Transition for philanthropy by redistributing wealth, democratizing power and shifting economic control to communities has resulted in millions of philanthropic dollars being mobilized and aligned to build infrastructure for frontline communities to govern themselves.  For her work advocating for deeper investments in social movements and grassroots organizing, Dana was recognized by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy (AAPIP) in 2015 as one of twenty-five national “Leaders in Action.”

Dana has previously served in executive functions for two other non-profit organizations.  She has a Masters of Science degree in Organization Development from the University of San Francisco, Bachelor of Arts degrees in American Studies and Visual Art from the University of California at Santa Cruz, and Non-Profit Management Certification from San Jose State University.

Born and raised in the Bay Area, Dana currently lives in San Jose with her family.

Daniel is working towards a world where socioeconomic demographics do not determine life outcomes and where all people have their needs met. A child of Chinese immigrant food service workers, Daniel grew up working class, acutely aware of the socioeconomic inequities he saw within his community. His lived experiences stewarded the morals that he holds close – justice, empathy, and a sense of humanity for all people.

As the Initiative Officer for the Democracy Frontlines Fund (DFF), Daniel manages all aspects of the Fund including grantmaking, donor organizing, curriculum development, and communications. He approaches his work with vulnerability, deep listening, and humor, and his favorite parts of his role are amplifying DFF’s movement partners and supporting funder allies to be and do better.

Previously, Daniel worked with Northern California Grantmakers, managing programs focused on advancing racial equity and leadership in the philanthropic community. Before NCG, he focused on health equity by supporting cross-sector collaboration among community developers and health practitioners at the Public Health Institute. He worked in asset building and economic development at Mission Asset Fund and led the expansion of the Lending Circles social loan program.

Daniel is an alumnus of Justice Funders’ Harmony Initiative and the Congressional Hunger Center’s Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellowship. He is a former steering committee member of the EPIP Bay Area chapter and the API Giving Project giving circle. Daniel holds a BS in Human Biology from UC San Diego (his hometown) and an MPH from Boston University.

Camille Llanes-Fontanilla is the Vice President of Silicon Valley Programs, responsible for the overarching vision and strategy for local giving across the Silicon Valley region. By developing trusted relationships with local nonprofits and uniting key stakeholders toward collective, community-centered action, the team will expand economic mobility for low-income individuals in the region.

Camille has worked in the nonprofit sector for nearly 20 years, working in the issue areas of community development, education, and economic mobility. Prior to joining The Sobrato Organization, she served as the Executive Director of SOMOS Mayfair, working alongside community members to spur resident-led solutions in education, economic justice, and community development. During her tenure, Camille led sizable organizational growth; built deep community partnerships; and brought over $30M of investments into east San Jose. Camille serves on the Board of Trustees for The Health Trust; is an Advisory SPUR San Jose member; and is a founding member of the Si Se Puede Collective.

Camille was born and raised in east San Jose and continues to raise two young children there with her husband, Ryan. She has a bachelor’s degree in Mass Communications and a minor in Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Berkeley and a master’s degree in Public Administration from San Jose State University.

Lorena Melgarejo has served as the the Executive Director of Faith in Action since 2017. With over 25 years in community organizing experience, Lorena started her career as a union organizer for Justice for Janitors and later worked as a faith-based organizer for Faith In Action Bay Area. In 2005, she became Lead Organizer for San Francisco Organizing Project (the organization that became Faith In Action Bay Area). Before she stepped into her Executive Director position with Faith in Action Bay Area, Lorena worked for years to build leadership within the Latinx immigrant communities in San Francisco and San Mateo County, as well as supporting efforts across California.

Maurice Mitchell is a nationally recognized social movement strategist, a visionary leader in the Movement for Black Lives, and National Director of the Working Families Party.

Born and raised in New York to Caribbean working-class parents, Maurice began organizing as a teenager—and never stopped. As a high school student, he served as a leader for the Long Island Student Coalition for Peace and Justice. At Howard University, after a classmate was killed by police officers, Maurice led organizing efforts against police brutality and for divestment from private prisons. He went on to work as an organizer for the Long Island Progressive Coalition, downstate organizing director for Citizen Action of NY, and Director of the NY State Civic Engagement Table.

Two tragedies changed the course of Maurice’s life. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy destroyed his home in Long Beach, NY, and left him living in hotels for months. Eighteen months later, after Mike Brown was killed by police in Missouri, Maurice relocated to Ferguson to support organizers on the ground. Seeing the need for an anchor organization to provide strategic support and guidance to Movement for Black Lives activists across the country, he co-founded and managed Blackbird. Maurice was a key organizer of the Movement for Black Lives convention in Cleveland in 2015.

In 2018, Maurice took the helm of the Working Families Party as National Director where he is applying his passion and experience to make WFP the political home for a multi-racial working-class movement.

As the Senior Initiative Officer, Ricardo leads the GCC in strategy development and partnership to move the region toward a more equitable and sustainable Bay Area where low-income and communities of color can stay in place and thrive. He works together with funders, non-profits, and public sector partners to identify, implement, and leverage policy and financing strategies in the region. In addition, Ricardo leads GCC’s fundraising and development strategy, manages convenings and funder network meetings, and works to build greater alignment across partners. Before coming to GCC, Ricardo was working as a consultant to nonprofits, local governments, regional agencies, and philanthropic foundations. His most recent work was as a consultant for city planning and community engagement focused on racial equity, housing, transportation, workforce development, and pandemic response efforts. Ricardo served as Policy Director for Collective Impact in the Mayor’s Office in Oakland, leading multi-sector collaborative projects focused on education and youth development. His earlier experience includes working in philanthropy as a program officer and consultant focused on a range of issues including immigrant and refugee rights, environmental justice, leadership development, and criminal justice reform.

Mateo is one of the co-founders of the Movement Generation Justice & Ecology Project. He was born and grew up in La Paz, Bolivia. Since moving to the San Francisco Bay Area, he has worked in the labor, environmental justice and international solidarity movements.

Mateo is the son of Barbara, fortunate father of Hayden and Nilo, and blessed to be partnered with Effie.

He is a member of the Latin rock band Los Nadies. Mateo is also national co-chair of the Climate Justice Alliance, co-chair of the Justice Funders’ Board of Directors, and a board member of Grassroots International.

Rosa is a bilingual (Spanish) and bicultural organizer, educator, and development professional working at the intersections of race, gender, and sexuality. She is guided by her belief in "love for our people and rigor for our work." She is committed to building authentic relationships and leading with corazon (heart). Rosa is the Development Director at Forward Together where she is responsible for developing and implementing fundraising strategies grounded in LGBT and racial justice.

Rosa is the Co-Chair of the Board at the National Network of Abortion Funds and is committed to funding abortions and building power. She is an immigrant, queer cis-femme who loves naps and weightlifting as a somatic practice. Rosa is a twin Mami and finds parenting her greatest challenge, adventure and, most of all, blessing.

Regan is a donor-organizer, and the co-founder of the Kataly Foundation where she is currently serving as a board member.

Regan has a background in education and began working in philanthropy when she took a larger role at her family’s foundation, The Libra Foundation, in 2015, and where she is now board co-president and chair of the investment committee. She is inspired by the Just Transition movement, and by the principles of solidarity, taking leadership in organizing progressive wealth holders and philanthropists to be bolder and more transformative in pursuit of our collective liberation.

Regan works with her family and advisors to align the Libra Foundation’s and her personal assets with progressive and radical values through investment, philanthropy, and political giving. She is energized by the momentum that is building to shift private investment and philanthropy towards a frame of racial equity and economic justice, using an intentional reparations lens. The founding of the Kataly Foundation in 2018 was a manifestation of her effort to move along that continuum of alignment.

Regan also serves on the boards of Global Greengrants Fund and Way To Win.

Regan lives in San Francisco where her greatest joys are spending time with her family, cooking for friends, and hiking and swimming around the Bay.

From a young age, maisha (she/her) has been hungry for total transformation. As a Black woman, she has experienced and witnessed how insidious systems of oppression are a part of all our daily lives, and this fact has guided her commitment to building power and self-determination in marginalized communities. maisha’s political journey began around her family’s kitchen table, where she was encouraged to question the world and what could be done to change it.

Ending the criminalization of Black and Brown communities, terminating police brutality, and moving society from punishment to healing, are the core tenets of the portfolio maisha oversees as a senior program officer. In partnership with grassroots organizations led by communities of color and aligned funders, she is working to collaboratively reshape criminal justice funding. 

maisha has a BA in African American Studies from Barnard College, Columbia University and an MFA in Poetry from Mills College. Most recently, she was a multicultural fellow at the San Francisco Foundation. maisha’s previous roles have included programs director at EastSide Arts Alliance, advancing intersectional approaches to cultural strategy and place-based equity, and communications director and family advocacy coordinator for Prisoners with Children, helping families advocate for policies on behalf of their incarcerated loved ones. maisha is on the steering committee for Funders for Justice, the core team of Freedom Funders, an advisor to the Center for Political Education, a board member for Causa Justa: Just Cause and an alumna of Justice Funders’ Harmony Initiative.

Leila guides her community foundation’s mission investing and helps leverage public and private capital for community projects that advance a just economy. Humboldt Area Foundation + Wild Rivers Community Foundation (HAF+WRCF) serves Humboldt, Del Norte, and Trinity Counties in California, Curry County in Oregon. Within that region, HAF+WRCF honors 18 Indigenous peoples and the federally and non-federally recognized nations that represent them. Leila arrived in sacred, unceded Wiyot lands a decade ago, after a 25 year career with transnational, national, and local institutions, including Planned Parenthood in the Philadelphia area, United Way Worldwide in D.C., BRAC in Bangladesh, the Climate Justice Alliance nationwide, the North Coast Small Business Development Center in Humboldt, and more. In her HAF+WRCF role, she asks: how can we leverage public and private capital to grow well-being and heal harm? Who has access and opportunity? Who benefits? Who controls and governs? She has a Master's degree in International Sustainable Development, and currently serves on the board of Cooperation Humboldt. Leila is an Arab-American child and grandchild of immigrants from North Africa (al Maghreb) and Great Britain.

Jessamyn Sabbag is the Senior Director of the Power Pathway at the San Francisco Foundation, where she resources, amplifies and partners with community organizations that build political and governing power to win racial and economic justice. Prior to entering philanthropy in 2023, Jessamyn consulted with organizations to develop their political strategy using the tools of c3, c4s and PACs, following 12 years in leadership at Oakland Rising where she helped grow a base of 25% of the city’s electorate and win a progressive majority on City Council. Jessamyn is a co-founder of Bay Rising, a former Oakland Budget Commissioner, and serves on the board of directors at East Bay Action, Bay Rising Action, and Restore Oakland Inc.

Jessamyn is a lifelong resident of the San Francisco Bay Area. Of Arab and European ancestry, Jessamyn came into organizing through connecting the dots about the trauma inflicted by the U.S. military on her family here in the states and on her people in the Arab region. After graduating from Brown University, Jessamyn participated in countless anti-war, police accountability, and budget justice efforts, which led her to integrated civic engagement and political power-building work as key strategies to advance social justice.

Jessamyn is passionate about redistributing wealth, ending the military/police/prison industrial complex, and building beloved community that centers care and belonging, love and liberation. Jessamyn is mama, partner, daughter, sister, friend, neighbor and community member. She loves being in and connecting with nature and is an avid swimmer, cook and gardener.

Jazmin joined Common Counsel Foundation in 2017 and is the Director of Strategic Initiatives focused on Housing Justice. In her role, Jazmin oversees the Fund for an Inclusive California and the Community Ownership for Community Power Fund.  She is responsible for developing, implementing, and managing the initiatives, fundraising, and program development. With over 15 years of experience in housing justice, immigrant rights, and social justice movements, Jazmin has successfully organized funders and raised over $25M to support base-building and community-ownership organizations across California.

Before joining CCF, Jazmin spearheaded the development and launch of the San Francisco Foundation’s inaugural Rapid Response Fund for Movement Building, bolstering grassroots organizations at the forefront of racial and economic justice in the Bay Area. Additionally, Jazmin worked across the Foundation’s departments to increase resources for immigrant and youth-led grassroots organizations. Other previous roles include Policy Manager at Immigrants Rising, formerly known as Educators for Fair Consideration, and Policy Advocate at Services, Immigrant Rights, and Education Network. Under her direction, E4FC developed its first policy platform and created a leadership team of undocumented youth who successfully led a statewide policy campaign to make career licenses accessible to all Californians regardless of immigration status.

Her dedication to social justice is deeply rooted in her family’s immigration journey to the United States. Jazmin grew up in Boyle Heights and graduated from the University of California Berkeley with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Economy.

Currently, she is the co-chair of the San Joaquin Valley Funders Collaborative.

Naindeep Singh is Executive Director and one of the founders of the Jakara Movement. The Jakara Movement is a grassroots community-building organization working to empower, educate, and organize Punjabi Sikhs, and other marginalized communities; to advance their health, education, and economic, social, and political power. Formed and raised in the Central Valley, Naindeep's commitment and passion to social, racial, and class justice has helped shape his view of the world.  Educated at UCLA and Johns Hopkins University, he has received numerous awards for his community, academic, scholarly, and research interests.

Pastor Curtis Smith is the Executive Director of Faith in the Valley, a multi-racial grassroots organization of congregations, community members, students, and allies in five counties across California’s Central Valley.  Pastor Curtis supports the organizing team in the organization’s core program of leadership formation around community organizing and civic engagement, amplifying the voices of historically excluded Central Valley residents, equipping them to tell their stories, build power, and act together for systems and policy change, rooted in advancing racial equity. He ensures that the experiences of those most impacted are driving change across a vast region that faces some of the greatest social, economic and environmental challenges in the nation.

Pastor Curtis has dedicated his entire career to building power and giving voice to young people, their families and overlooked, low-income communities vulnerable to crime and mass incarceration, and homelessness and poverty. He has led clergy and community teams in two cities to launch evidence-based models for violence reduction and has partnered with internationally recognized civic leaders to advance economic justice models in Central Valley towns including Stockton. He also supported his team in studying international models through the Global Policy Leadership Academy to learn about the most livable city in the world to create a roadmap for towns and cities in the Central Valley.  As a Central Valley native, he brings deep knowledge and lived experience of the struggles local communities face and a statewide perspective as an anchor federation of the PICO California network.

Michael D. Tubbs was making history. In 2016, he was elected Mayor of Stockton at 26- years-old. He was the city’s first African-American Mayor and the youngest Mayor of any major city in American history. As Mayor, Tubbs was lauded for his leadership and innovation. He raised over 20 million dollars to create the Stockton Scholars, a universal scholarship and mentorship program for Stockton students. Additionally, he piloted the first mayor- led guaranteed income pilot in the country. Currently, he is the Special Advisor to California Governor Gavin Newsom for Economic Mobility and Opportunity; the Founder of Mayors for a Guaranteed Income (MGI); and the Founder of End Poverty in California (EPIC).

Under his leadership, Stockton was named an “All-America City” in 2017 and 2018 by the National Civic League. The city saw a 40% drop in homicides in 2018 and 2019, led the state of California in the decline of officer-involved shootings in 2019, and was named the second most fiscally healthy city in California. Additionally, it was recognized as one of the most fiscally healthy cities in the nation and was featured in an HBO documentary film, “Stockton on My Mind.” Tubbs has been named a fellow at the Harvard Institute of Politics and The MIT Media Lab, a member of Fortune’s Top 40 under 40, a Forbes 30 under 30 All-Star Alumni, the “Most Valuable Mayor” by The Nation, the 2019 New Frontier Award Winner from the JFK Library, and the 2021 Civic Leadership Award winner from The King Center. Prior to his tenure as Mayor, Tubbs served as a Councilmember for the City of Stockton District 6, a high school educator, and a fellow for the Stanford Design School and the Emerson Collective. On November 16, 2021, Tubbs released “The Deeper The Roots: A Memoir of Hope and Home,” published by the Flatiron Books imprint, An Oprah Book. The book — which the LA Times describes as “intimate and insightful”—not only relates Tubbs’ story of growing up in poverty but lays his vision for leadership and policy that is more empathetic and responsive to people who are struggling.

James Woodson is the Executive Director and co-founder of the California Black Power Network where he leads strategy, fundraising, and organizational culture development for a growing team and ecosystem of over 40 Black-led organizations. James is a licensed attorney with over 10 years of experience in entrepreneurship and nearly 15 years of leadership experience in the nonprofit sector.

Previously, James served as the Redistricting Lead and Policy Director of the California Black Census and Redistricting Hub, a project of California Calls. James began at California Calls as an Organizing Coordinator, where he worked on the African American Civic Engagement Project, coordinating civic engagement programs and providing support to the founding cohort. He also served as Policy and Strategic Projects Manager where he managed work around the 2020 census, redistricting, and the Voters Choice Act (VCA). He is a former member of the California Secretary of State’s VCA Task Force and the Voters Choice Los Angeles Steering Committee.

Before moving to California, James served as the Director of Programs for the Boys & Girls Club of Newark, NJ and a Regional Field Organizer at Organizing For America and the NJ Health Care for America Now campaign. He served as co-Counsel for the New Jersey Congressional Redistricting Commission in 2011 and 2012. In addition, James was the Founding Director of the Friendship Development Corporation, where he led the effort to create an outreach center that provides food, clothing, and other services to thousands of low-income families in the Baltimore metropolitan area.

Miya currently serves as Co-Executive Director to the Movement Strategy Collaborative, MIC, a new organizer-led effort to amplify and accelerate California’s power building movements. MIC is catalyzing a unified, multi-racial, and intergenerational movement to scale up organizing power for racial, economic, and environmental justice. This unique effort, aims to dramatically increase the number of skilled organizers and community leaders, build the resilience and durability of power building organizations, and grow the movement wide capacity for alignment, innovation, experimentation, and strategy.

Formally the executive director of the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, APEN, Miya has an extensive background in community organizing, and a long history of working in the environmental justice movement. In her early twenties Miya worked as an organizer in youth and international networks for environmental and economic justice. Miya was a participant in the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991 and was on the drafting committee of the original Principles of Environmental Justice, a defining document for the environmental justice movement that continues to be used today by grassroots movements and communities of color to illustrate the heart of environmental justice.

Through many years of leadership, Miya has supported the growth and expansion of several local, state, and national organizations to have impact through community organizing and base-building, integrated voter engagement, alliance building, and winning transformational policy for equitable climate solutions and transitioning to a clean and renewable energy economy for all.