I am an Oakland native and graduated from the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, with a bachelor's degree in Political Science in 2003. While at Cal Poly, I was a member of Sigma Omega Nu and was the resident advisor for the multicultural tower of Yosemite Hall during the 2000-2001 school year. My passion for education and Oakland inspired me to focus my senior project on the state takeover of the Oakland Unified School District in 2003. After graduation, I returned to Oakland and was an AmeriCorps member in Oakland from 2004-2005, working on community building in Sobrante Park.
Waking up a Saturday morning in August and it’s already 70 degrees in East Oakland. It’s 9 in the morning and before it gets hotter, I grab my little Chihuahua, Night, and head east on
Open a dictionary, flip to the “R” section, and I’m certain that under “resilience” you will find a reference to my mother. You know how they say that people have a tendency to give their
