Lending my passion, knowledge, ideas, and skills towards a fruitful future for all children and youth in Oakland.

Exceptional Community Connections, LLC provides an array of Technical and Facilitative services including, Program Design, Strategic Planning, Meeting and Group Facilitation, Strategic Advising (Fundraising/Grant Management), Stakeholder Engagement, Executive Coaching, and Initiative Management.Client List Includes: Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Informing Change, The Hidden Genius Project; Lincoln Families; ESO Ventures; Sow A Seed Foundation

Designed and implemented a partnerships framework for community and school-based mental heath agency serving Alameda and Contra Costa County. Created neighborhood and multisector formal alliances (including Bridge Housing, Mandela Grocery Cooperative, Holy Names University, and the West Oakland Community Collaborative), and the design plans for the the West Oakland Zone of Excellence and Mandela Family Resource Center in support of Families ages birth to 5. Managed a cross-functional team… Show more Designed and implemented a partnerships framework for community and school-based mental heath agency serving Alameda and Contra Costa County. Created neighborhood and multisector formal alliances (including Bridge Housing, Mandela Grocery Cooperative, Holy Names University, and the West Oakland Community Collaborative), and the design plans for the the West Oakland Zone of Excellence and Mandela Family Resource Center in support of Families ages birth to 5. Managed a cross-functional team including staff representatives from data & evaluation, finance, and direct service programs with the Neighborhoods Ready for School Initiative in partnership with First 5 Alameda County. Provided oversight and leadership of Covid-19 response resources to West Oakland families and staff - including the distribution of more than 5,000 diapers, PPP supplies, and food bags. Served on the Senior Management Team and championed the agency's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives. Show less

I had never worked in the Juvenile Justice System, but the Alameda County Probation Department hired me for my background as a Social Worker, Project Manager and Facilitator. At this time, the ACPD, Courts, and Child Family Services were focused on youth they served in common - “Cross Over Youth ” - and identifying innovative approaches to improve their outcomes. I managed one of the four (4) counties selected to participate in the Sierra Health Foundation/ The Center’s Positive Youth Justice… Show more I had never worked in the Juvenile Justice System, but the Alameda County Probation Department hired me for my background as a Social Worker, Project Manager and Facilitator. At this time, the ACPD, Courts, and Child Family Services were focused on youth they served in common - “Cross Over Youth ” - and identifying innovative approaches to improve their outcomes. I managed one of the four (4) counties selected to participate in the Sierra Health Foundation/ The Center’s Positive Youth Justice Initiative (PYJI). PYJI aims to increase positive outcomes for system involved and families by promoting systems change. As a Champion of this work in Alameda County, I was also charged with imbedding key PYJI design elements (i.e. Positive Youth Development, Trauma Informed Care, Data & Systems Capacity, and Wrap-Around) into the culture of our intra-agency county team- more than 40 members including Executive Leaders, Program Staff, Community Based Leaders. In addition to managing our leadership structure (modeled after the Collective Impact Framework)- I was also charged with ensuring key deliverables for each PYJI design element. For example, under the Positive Youth Development, our county team created “Life Books” for youth leaving Probation. It contains key documents and information such as birth certificates, medical records, medication information, and academic transcripts in one place, so that youth have what they need to successfully navigate society. Probation Officers were trained how to have the key transitional conversations with youth, with training including a script and role play. A form of The Positive Youth Justice Initiative is still happening today, and ACPD has a variety of institutional practices that reflect PYJI concepts in their current programs and services. Show less

When I was hired as the Management Analyst of the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA), I was tasked with executing a Data Sharing Agreement between OHA and the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and was provided with a set of confidential data to review and analyze, and design a strategy to increase school attendance for OUSD students, grades K-2nd. The result, the OHA Parent Ambassador Program, the program I designed, created and administered, is still running today. I started with the premise… Show more When I was hired as the Management Analyst of the Oakland Housing Authority (OHA), I was tasked with executing a Data Sharing Agreement between OHA and the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) and was provided with a set of confidential data to review and analyze, and design a strategy to increase school attendance for OUSD students, grades K-2nd. The result, the OHA Parent Ambassador Program, the program I designed, created and administered, is still running today. I started with the premise of dignity and community empowerment, realizing that treating the parents as trusted partners and working alongside them was the best way to gain their buy-in to establish a culture of school attendance for traditionally under-resourced families. The Program paid low-income parents to train as Ambassadors, work in the schools, and be the ones to reach their neighbors about school attendance. In the 1st year, 9 parent ambassadors were trained, with 2 working at every partner school site; and led to a ripple effect of other parents' increased interest in the program and along with getting them to attend school. Show less