Urban Habitat celebrated its first class of graduates from the Boards & Commissions Leadership Institute last week, holding an event at The David Brower Center in Berkeley. Family, friends and UH staffers listened to speeches by program organizer Laurie Jones Neighbors and Keynoter Bevan Duffy, a San Francisco Supervisor and attorney.

The stated goals of the program are to make sure that:

• People historically marginalized from decision-making processes because of their race and class will hold priority seats on local and regional boards and commissions in the San Francisco Bay Area.
• This new network of progressive leaders will be technically and politically prepared and supported to make decisions reflecting the needs of low-income communities and communities of color.

The 10 program graduates all received certificates and made brief speeches before munching on goodies and posing for photos. Participants included (sponsors are in parantheses):  

1. Joshua Arce (Sierra Club, SF chapter) is the Executive Director of Brightline Defense Project .
2. Lisa Johnson (CCISCO) is a program assistant at PolicyLink and serves in the NAACP seat for the Richmond Community Development Commission.
3. Sam Kang (The Greenlining Institute) is the Managing Attorney at the Greenlining Institute and serves on the Alameda County Parks, Recreation, and Historical Landmark Commission.
4. Sheryl Lane (Contra Costa Faithworks!) is the REDI Coordinator at Urban Habitat and serves on the Richmond Planning Commission.
5. Jay Lee (SF Mayor’s Office of Housing) is an intern at the SF Mayor’s Office of Housing.
6. Guillermo Mayer (Public Advocates) is an attorney at Public Advocates.
7. Jennifer Ong (Filipina Women’s Network) is an Alameda optometrist.
8. Tanya Pitts (International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local #595)is a leader in her union and serves on the Oakland Housing Authority.
9. Carmen Rojas (Oakland Rising) is a program officer for the Mitchell Kapor Foundation.
10. Vien Truong (Oakland Network for Responsible Development) is a senior policy analyst at Green for All and serves on the Oakland Planning Commission.