Angela Glover Blackwell, Founder in Residence, PolicyLink

Angela Glover Blackwell is Founder in Residence at PolicyLink, the organization she started in 1999 to advance racial and economic equity for all. Under Angela’s leadership, PolicyLink gained national prominence in the movement to use public policy to improve access and opportunity for all low-income people and communities of color, particularly in the areas of health, housing, transportation, and infrastructure. Angela is also the host of the Radical Imagination podcast and Professor of Practice at the Goldman School of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley.

Prior to founding PolicyLink, Angela served as Senior Vice President at The Rockefeller Foundation. A lawyer by training, she gained national recognition as the founder of the Urban Strategies Council. From 1977 to 1987, Angela was a partner at Public Advocates. Angela is also the co-author of Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America’s Future, and the author of The Curb Cut Effect (2017) and How to Achieve a Multiracial Democracy (2023), published in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.

As a leading voice in the movement for equity in America, Angela serves on numerous boards. She advised the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve as one of 15 members of its inaugural Community Advisory Council, and in 2020, was appointed by California Governor Gavin Newsom to the state Task Force on Business and Jobs Recovery. She is the 2018 recipient of the John W. Gardner Leadership Award, presented by the Independent Sector, and in 2017, she received the Peter E. Haas Public Service Award from the University of California, Berkeley.

Shireen Malekafzali, Chief Equity Officer, San Mateo County

Shireen Malekafzali (she/her) is the Chief Equity Officer at San Mateo County, focused on building more equitable county government structure, policies, practices, and procedures to support more equitable outcomes in communities of color, low-income communities and other communities facing inequities. Shireen brings over 20 years of experience advancing equity through the non-profit, government, and philanthropic sectors. Most recently, she served as Health Equity Officer for San Mateo County Health and previously as Associate Director at PolicyLink, a national racial and economic equity institute. She serves as vice chair of the Office of Health Equity at the CA Department of Public Health and as board chair of Human Impact.

Dr. Analilia García, Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer, Office of Diversity, Equity, & Belonging for the County of Santa Clara

Dr. Analilia García (she/her) is the Chief Equity & Inclusion Officer leading the Office of Diversity, Equity, & Belonging for the County of Santa Clara, focused on building organizational capacity to address systemic inequities that contribute to poor outcomes for historically marginalized communities. Dr. Analilia García, trained in public health and has built a career championing social justice, supports County departments to assess programs, services, and policies for explicit racial equity considerations. These efforts will help to ensure that strategies and actions reduce rather than perpetuate inequities for all residents of Santa Clara County.

Dr. García has worked for more than two decades in academia, nonprofit organizations, and government, providing leadership and strategic direction for community-engaged research, program planning, and evaluation to address racial and health equity and social determinants of health.

Heather Cleary, CEO, Peninsula Family Service

A San Mateo resident and a Bay Area native, she joined Peninsula Family Service in 2010 as Chief Financial Officer. She received her degree in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and her Master’s in Public Administration degree at San Francisco State University. Heather joined the nonprofit world 23 years ago, working at a private foundation and public charities. Heather focuses on community partnerships to support our programs and advocacy for increased wages for early learning teachers and services for older adults. She serves as the Chair of the San Mateo Area Chamber of Commerce, the Workforce Committee Chair for the local Childcare Partnership Council, and a Thrive Action Group steering committee member.

Rafael Avendaño, Executive Director, Redwood City Together

Rafael has over 15 years of experience in nonprofit management and has served on councils and boards for the past nine years. Rafael has been the executive director of RWC Together for the past three years. Redwood City Together is a collective impact organization enhancing public policy whose mission is to advance the success of youth and families in Redwood City and North Fair Oaks through community collaboration. Rafael currently holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Public Management with a specialization in Human Resources from Colorado State University. He has earned his Master’s degree in Organization and Leadership from the University of San Francisco.

Regina Celestin Williams, Executive Director, SV@Home

Regina has spent her entire career working towards housing and economic justice through affordable housing and community development. As the Executive Director of SV@Home, she leads policy and advocacy for affordable housing in Silicon Valley. Before joining SV@Home she most recently served as Director of Housing Development at First Community Housing, a leading San José-based affordable housing developer. Previous to joining First Community Housing, Regina was a member of the National Development Council’s East Team, providing housing and economic development consulting services to several East Coast municipalities, leading NDC’s green initiatives, and teaching several courses on community and housing development finance. She has also worked at the National Housing Trust, structuring financing for and overseeing the rehabilitation of occupied affordable housing properties while employing green construction features.