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Chair, Natalia F. Lawrence
Development Project Manager II Community and Economic Development Department
City of Richmond

Natalia has over 20 years experience in Housing and Land Use Policy, Planning and Community Development. As Project Manager for the City of Richmond, Natalia oversees all stages of affordable housing project development including administering development and technical assistance contracts, provide expert professional assistance and strategy guidance to department management team and city council members related to citywide development objectives.

Secretary, Ted Dang
Real Estate Broker/Developer
Commonwealth Companies

Mr. Dang is one of the original conceptualizers of the Asian Resource Center project from which East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation was created. He is the owner-manager of the Commonwealth Companies. He is a licensed real estate broker, general contractor, and certified property manager. Mr. Dang was the past president of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce. He holds a BS degree in Business from U.C. Berkeley.

Vice Chair, Anita Rees
Program Director
LIFETIME

Anita has a BA in Sociology at the University of California Berkeley, where she served as coordinator of the student-run family resource center at the University Village family housing development. As Program Director for LIFETIME, Anita works closely with the Executive Director on program administration, and directs LIFETIME's services and organizing activities, including participation in 3 Bay Area IDA programs, outreach to and case management for CalWORKs and other low-income parents, and leadership development of parents to advocate for policies that increase their access to education. Having experienced the challenges of juggling family, school and work responsibilities while on welfare, Anita is committed to LIFETIME's goal of helping low-income parents enroll in, continue and successfully complete higher education and training programs.

Treasurer, John M. Benson
First Vice President/Area Director
Washington Mutual

John oversees the Northern California Commercial Real Estate Office in charge of generating new business opportunities and interfacing with Bay Area based commercial developers, homebuilders and investors.

Roy Ikeda
Retired Attorney

Mr Ikeda retired in 2007 after practicing law since 1974. He is currently the Chair of the Board of Directors of Kimochi, Inc., an agency in San Francisco that provides services to seniors in Japantown. I'm also on the Board of The Tule Lake Committee and chair of its Preservation Committee. The Tule Lake Committee conducts pilgrimages to the site of the Tule Lake Segregation Center, one of the 10 concentration camps into which the US government imprisoned 120,000 people of Japanese ancestry during World War 2 and which is now a part of the National Park System.

Thomas Mishima, CPA
Principal
Hirose, Oto and Bailey Accountants, Inc.

As a licensed C.P.A Tom's areas of practice include management advisory service, auditing and accounting, and tax and estate planning with a particular emphasis on small business consulting. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of California, Berkeley and has been active in youth sports programs in the Bay Area.

Felicia Scruggs-Wright
Director of Property Management
Tenderloin Neighborhood Development Corporation (TNDC)

Felicia Scruggs-Wright joined TNDC's senior management team as Director of Property Management in September of 2004. She manages the operations of TNDC's 23 residential buildings and oversees the largest department in the organization with 80% of our personnel dedicated solely to property management functions, including desk clerks, maintenance workers, property and facilities managers, and building supervisors.

Prior to TNDC, Felicia oversaw the Property Management Department at the Emergency Housing Consortium in the South Bay and helped manage 19 sites. She also worked at Vestcor Realty Management, Inc. as Regional Supervisor in Jacksonville, FL. She has an Associate Degree in Business Administration from Florida Community College. She is a Certified Apartment Manager through the National Apartment Association, a Certified Property Manager through IREM, and a Certified Housing Credit Specialist.

K.M. Tan, MD
Retired Radiologist

K.M. Tan , MD, is a retired radiologist after 34 years with The Permanente Medical Group,Inc having served on its Board of Directors and as an assistant Physician-in-Chief and Chief of Radiology. He received the 2006 Sidney Garfield ,MD Exceptional Contribution Award from TPMG for co-founding the Kaiser Permanente School of Allied Health Sciences. He has been active with several medical associations ,statewide as well as national and currently serves as a member and past chair of the Institute for Medical Quality, a subsidiary of the California Medical Association. Active in the community for over 30 years, he has served with multiple organizations, primarily in social services, education, and the arts and is a former Oakland Cultural Affairs Commissioner. In addition to EBALDC, he also currently serves on the board of the Alameda County Community Food Bank.

Debra Chester, M.P.A.
City of Oakland Department of Human Services
Violence Prevention Program Analyst

Debra has over ten years of combined experiences in direct and supportive services in affordable housing, non-profits, and public sector. As Violence Prevent Program Analyst for the City of Oakland’s Department of Human Services Public Safety Unit, Debra administers all contract management, performs program site visits and monitoring, and coordinates professional development and technical assistance for Measure Y grantees and other community base organizations. Debra possesses a Masters in Public Administration and HUD Certified Family Self Sufficiency Program Coordinator.

Hadiah McLeod
Educator/Community Worker


Hadiah is a Special Education Teacher in the Richmond Unified School District. She also organizes, markets and plans holistic health workshops and retreats geared towards African American women and families.

Yoshio Takakuwa
Retired Insurance Broker

Yoshio has over 50 years experience in the Insurance Business as an agent, sales manager and broker. Yoshio's activities include secretary and treasurer of the Center Council of the Downtown Oakland Senior Center, member of the Board of Directors for Cooperative Center Federal Credit Union, and Secretary of the Board of Directors for Twin Pines Federal Savings and Loan Association, among others.

Rosalyn Tonai
Executive Director
National Japanese American Historical Society

Rosalyn holds a Masters in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco. She is the Executive Director of the National Japanese American Historical Society. She is a graduate of the community leadership program of the Coro Foundation. Her past work includes coordinating a refugee services project for Asian Community Mental Health Services and job training programs with Asian Multi Services.

Joanne Tornatore-Pili
Educator/Consultant

Ms. Tornatore-Pili is a long time resident of East Oakland and has worked with both non-profit and for profit organizations. Most recently, she was an employee of Polaris, Inc., providing services and counseling to households and individuals with AIDS. She previously worked with Oakland Citizens Committee for Urban Renewal, providing technical assistance.

Vien Truong
Senior Policy Associate
Green For All

Vien Truong is the Senior Policy Associate at Green For All, a nonprofit that seeks to build an inclusive green economy that is strong enough to lift all people out of poverty. Vien works with state policymakers, agencies, leaders and organizations in developing and implementing green jobs legislation. To date, she has helped to introduce and shape a number of laws that have been enacted in states across the country.

Prior to joining Green For All, Vien worked with a California State Senator, researching and developing state law. She also with a U.S. Chief Magistrate, researching and analyzing issues before the federal court. Truong was the founding instructor for the Legal Assistance Program at the Clarita Career College, a legal training program for entering legal professionals. She also taught Street Law at Castlemont High School, a program that teaches law to high school students. She was the first Community Economic Justice Law Fellow at the East Bay Community Law Center. She serves on several boards. Vien was raised in Oakland and continues to live in her hometown her husband and 1.75 dogs.

Kitty Hoover
Acting Housing Services Manager
City of Berkeley, Housing Department

Karl Gusner
On Line Sales and Operations Strategist
Google, Inc.

Born and raised in Oakland, Karl has a passion for helping others and improving our communities. He currently works at Google in Mountain View as a consumer operations strategist. Karl loves traveling, learning and helping others and is constantly looking for ways to get involved in the local community.