Christine Ahn
Christine Ahn is the Economic and Social Human Rights Program Coordinator at Food First/Institute for Food and Development Policy. She writes and speaks frequently on human rights, poverty, hunger, trade, globalization, North Korea, and philanthropy.

Ahn has worked with grassroots organizations in Denver, CO and Washington, DC; on the Navajo Reservation and the U.S.-Mexico border; and in Kingston, Jamaica. She is on the board of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and a member of the Korea Solidarity Committee of the San Francisco Bay Area.

Ahn received her Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from the Georgetown Public Policy Institute and has been a Ford Foundation New Voices Fellow of the Academy for Educational Development. She was recently inducted as a "Rising Star" into the OMB Watch Public Interest Hall of Fame. She is the editor of a timely new book, "Shafted: Free Trade and America's Working Poor," and co-author of a Georgetown University report, "Trustee Fees: Use and Abuse."

Marisa Arrona
Marisa Arrona is the Equal Justice Litigation Fellow at The Impact Fund in Berkeley, CA, the only non-profit foundation dedicated to providing funding and technical assistance and representation for complex public interest litigation in the areas of civil and human rights, environmental justice, and poverty law.

Arrona earned her Bachelor's in Public Administration, with Honors, from the University of San Francisco in 1999, and her J.D. from UC-Berkeley, Boalt Hall, in 2003. While in law school, Marisa served as the Editor-in-Chief of Production, and then the Executive Editor, of the Berkeley La Raza Law Journal, as well as on the Admissions Committee, the Coalition for Diversity, and the La Raza Students Association; she also clerked at Bay Area Legal Aid in Oakland and interned at U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer's office in San Francisco.

Arrona's commitment to social justice and community empowerment developed well before law school, when she spent four years working with various community groups in San Francisco - as a group leader for youth empowerment programs, a translator in support groups for women surviving domestic violence, and a mentor with the Mission Girls' Services/YWCA. In her spare time, Arrona continues to help young women and students of color achieve success in applying to college and graduate programs.

Dulcy Anderson
Dulcy Anderson has a Masters in City Planning from MIT and a BA from Harvard College in Women's Studies. Her skills and interests lie in policy-oriented research, economic development strategies, and political education and empowerment, particularly for women. Anderson has spent several years working with grassroots feminist housing and psychological treatment programs for women in Boston. She has also done research with the Radcliffe Public Policy Institute (on work/life balance interventions for financial institutions), the Center for Women & Enterprise in Boston (on policy issues impacting women's entrepreneurship), and the MK Level Playing Field Institute in San Francisco (on perceptions of fairness in the workplace).

As the Manager of Policy & Research at the Center for Women & Enterprise and Public Policy Associate for the national Association of Women's Business Centers, Anderson worked with women entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations that assist them, facilitating education of policymakers in local, state, and federal government. She is currently working for the John Kerry for President campaign in San Francisco.

Edesa Bitbadal
Edesa Bitabdal is the Intergovernmental Affair representative for the San Jose Redevelopment Agency (SJRA). In this capacity she has been working with state and local legislatures to not only prevent further reductions but also to restore funding to the SJRA. In addition, she has been a project manager for the Façade Improvement Program, managing grants for small business owners out of a total budget of $6 million. Prior to joining the SJRA, Bitbadal was a senior Aide to Councilmember Linda J. LeZotte. As an Aide, Bitbadal worked on land use issues and managed grants for several key programs, including homework centers.

As a long time Democratic activist, Bitbadal has fundraised and volunteered for campaigns that helped elect many progressive men and women in Santa Clara County. Also, she has been a Board member of the Democratic Activist for Women Now (DAWN) organization whose mission is to elect Democratic women into public office. In that capacity, she ensured that evaluations were consistent and fair, organized candidate interviews, and helped streamline the endorsement process.

Bitbadal has a B.A in Political Science from San Jose State and is pursuing a Masters Degree in Public Administration from San Jose State.

Cecily Brewster
Cecily was born in Seattle, Washington to Maryjane Brewster, a single working mother and political activist. Raised in Portland, OR, after high school Brewster embarked upon a retail career, working up to management positions at two stores. In the spring of 1991 she resumed my education at Portland Community College. That summer Cecily attended a summer session at U.C. Berkeley. Inspired, she made the Bay Area my permanent home, enrolled at the College of Alameda and transferred to U.C. Berkeley in the fall of 1992. Brewster graduated with an AB in English Literature in May 1997. Brewster was granted a scholarship to attend Loyola School of Law in Los Angeles, graduated in May 2000, and passed the California Bar in July of that year.

From September to April 2001 Brewster taught various classes and grades at St. Augustine School in Oakland after which she was hired by the District Attorney's Office of the City and County of San Francisco. After a little over a year in the Misdemeanor Trial Unit, Brewster was assigned to Domestic Violence where she currently meets the challenges of a heavy workload by compassionately representing the victims of abuse.

Brewster is the mother of Mahlik Brewster-Blake, age 10, who she has, for the most part, raised as single parent. Brewster believes much can be accomplished to solve the problems we face at the local, state, national and international levels through the executive and legislative process by the election of prepared, committed candidates, of whom she hopes to become one.

Karen Brunton
Karen Brunton is a Field Representative for Assemblymember Joe Simitian. Brunton's current work with Assemblyman Simitian includes responsibility for the six Santa Clara County cities in the District, as well as the Environment, Housing, Transportation, Labor, and Women issue areas.

Brunton recently completed a year-long community leadership development program with Leadership Midpeninsula. She currently serves on the Boards of Directors for the Peninsula Democratic Coalition and the Peninsula Young Democrats. She is a member of the Santa Clara County and San Mateo County Democratic Central Committees and was elected as a delegate to the State Democratic Party from the 21st Assembly District. Brunton's public service experience includes Internships in the Washington D.C. office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray (WA), Steve Westly for State Controller Campaign, Mountain View City Councilmember Sally Lieber's Office, City of East Palo Alto Planning Department, and Assemblymember Joe Simitian's Office.

Brunton received a BA in Urban Planning from Stanford University. At Stanford, she served as the President of the Stanford Democrats, Coordinator for the Stanford Voter Project, and member of Stanford Students for Choice. A Seattle native, she currently lives in Redwood City.

Kristen Casper
Kristin Casper is a climate campaigner for the Greenpeace Clean Energy Now! campaign. She was instrumental in the campaign's victory passing two solar propositions in the city and county of San Francisco that nearly double the number of grid connected solar systems in the US. In addition, her work with Greenpeace included transforming the Los Angeles Community College District and the University of California into the world leaders in renewable energy and climate protection. Recently, Casper served as the international youth representative on energy to the United Nation's World Summit on Sustainable Development. She received her B.A. in environmental studies from Lewis & Clark College.

Elizabeth Echols
Elizabeth Echols currently serves as CEO of OpNet Community Ventures, Inc., a nationally recognized non profit organization dedicated to promoting opportunities in the technology industry for low-income young adults, with a particular emphasis on women and people of color.

Prior to joining OpNet, Echols held several senior political appointments in the Clinton White House and Commerce Department. She served as Executive Director of the White House Electronic Commerce Working Group, where she was responsible for developing and coordinating the Clinton/Gore Administration's strategy on Internet and e-commerce issues. Prior to her work at the White House, Echols served as Senior Advisor to then Secretary of Commerce Daley and as Senior Advisor to the Head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration.

Echols also is an experienced businesswoman and attorney, having worked as an investment banker at Morgan Stanley and in private law practice before joining the Clinton Administration. She is a graduate of Stanford Law School where she served as an editor on the Stanford Law Review. Echols received her undergraduate degree from Yale University with honors in Economics and Political Science.

Echols is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences, and has been profiled in Business Week, The New York Times, Wired Magazine, Business 2.0, CIO Magazine, The National Journal, Working Women Magazine, The Oakland Tribune and Stanford Lawyer. She is an Executive Board Member of the National Women's Political Caucus (Alameda North), and has been active on political campaigns for over 15 years.

Kelly Fergusson
Kelly Fergusson serves on Menlo Park's planning commission, owns a small successful consulting business, serves on the board of a local water company, and is a happily married mother of two young children. She holds three degrees from Stanford University, a PhD and MS in civil engineering, and a BS in land use planning.

Fergusson served as a fellow under U.S. congressman Norm Mineta when he chaired the House Public Works and Transportation Committee, developing recommendations for the 1994 Clean Water Act amendments. As a planning commissioner, she is a group leader in the Menlo Park Business Roundtable, developing a vision for Menlo Park's Business environment. As a neighborhood activist, she has brought about substantial improvements to a previously blighted business district, and fought for fairness in proposed local flood control measures in an environmentally-sensitive watershed.

Fergusson keeps her 1500-home neighborhood informed by publishing the Willows Voice newsletter, and has produced a series of televised reports on hot local issues for the local cable channel. She managed Toni Stein's 11/02 election campaign for Menlo Park city council. Fergusson is a respected technical expert in the growing field of geographic information systems, having chaired the 1999 California-wide professional conference and having authored an extensive list of publications and presentations.

Kate Gordon
Kate Gordon graduated from UC Berkeley in 2002 with a joint degree in Law and City and Regional Planning. Currently she is working as a Fellow in the Oakland office of Trial Lawyers for Public Justice, a public interest law firm that brings precedent-setting cases in the areas of consumer, civil, and environmental rights.

Before graduate school, Gordon was the Program Director at the Housing Rights Committee of San Francisco, where she helped spearhead a program to get the Department of Building Inspection to be more responsive to low-income tenants living in uninhabitable buildings. This work, in combination with her political work around rent control issues, led the San Francisco Bay Guardian to name Gordon as one of its "Local Heroes" in 1998.

Besides working as a lawyer, Gordon is active as a tenant counselor for Just Cause Oakland and as a volunteer on the Dean for America campaign. Gordon is a lifelong Democrat from a family deeply committed to workers' rights, equality, and full access to information.

Whitney Hoyt
As a public school educator for almost 15 years, Whitney Hoyt has reveled in the challenge of making schools safe, exciting and relevant. As an educational leader, Hoyt has worked closely with teachers, and students and their families, in making schools welcoming and safe.

Born into a political family in Buffalo, NY, she aspired to change the world from early on. Hoyt is a dyed in the wool democrat and sees politics as the next step in her career of public service. Hoyt is passionate about protecting and valuing kids, equal access to civil rights and the idea that laughter is a solution. In addition to her work in the schools as a teacher, Counselor and now principal, Hoyt is involved GLSEN (Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network). Hoyt and her partner live in Sausalito.

Kirsten Keith
Kirsten Keith is a Commissioner on the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) for San Mateo County and was the President of CSW from 2000-2002. She is also a Commissioner on the Menlo Park Housing Commission. Keith is also the acting President of the National Women's Political Caucus for San Mateo and Santa Clara County.

Keith is the representative to the San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee for Congresswoman Anna Eshoo. As a member of the League of Women Voter's South (San Mateo) County, she has moderated forums for candidates seeking political office.

Keith has practiced law in San Mateo County for over ten years and is a member of the Private Defender Program (PDP). The PDP contracts with the Board of Supervisors to represent the indigent accused of crimes in San Mateo County. Keith's office is in Redwood City. She is a member of the San Mateo County Bar Association (SMCBA). She represents the SMCBA as a Sergeant at Arms and Delegate at the Annual State Bar Convention and is a member of the Bench and Bar Committee.

Born in San Jose, California, Keith holds a B.A. from the University of California at Santa Barbara and a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of the Law.

Dhaya Lakshminaryanan
Dhaya Lakshminarayanan is a management consultant with Booz Allen Hamilton in San Francisco, advising private and public sector clients. Her expertise includes finance, market penetration, competitive analysis, wireless commerce, and power and energy strategy. Lakshminarayanan studied urban planning as an undergraduate and a graduate student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Her graduate thesis on energy economics and infrastructure finance was commissioned and funded by the former Governor of Puerto Rico. At MIT, she also developed her expertise in negotiation. As a result, the Sloan School of Management recruited her to help teach an oversubscribed MBA course on negotiation theory and practice.

Lakshminarayanan is active in her community and politics. She was elected as Fundraising Chair for the Board of Directors of the Berkeley Dispute Resolution Services, a non-profit that uses and teaches the skills of community mediation and conflict resolution. She holds elected office in the MIT Alumni Association. Recently, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors appointed her to a two-year term as a commissioner on the Urban Forestry Council. As a member of the Bay Area Democrats, she is active in Democratic campaigns, causes, and fundraising.

Lakshminarayanan has been featured on NPR, CNN, Fox Files and the Associated Press for her Charm School classes: "How to Tell a Joke", "Body Language", and "Small Talk".

Teresa Olle
Teresa "Teri" Olle works at a nonprofit statewide environmental organization. She has directed campaigns for public policy reform in the area of toxics and environmental health. Recent efforts include the historic campaign to ban PDBE's, toxic flame retardants widely used in furniture and computer equipment, which resulted in the first successful chemical ban in the United States in 30 years. She has also worked to secure parents' right to know about pesticide use in their children's schools, to protect California's coast from offshore drilling, and to improve California's water quality.

Olle is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she studied Political Science and Russian. She studied at Moscow State University during the tumultuous fall of 1991. Olle graduated from the University of Chicago Law School in 1997, after which she worked as a litigation associate at McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen in San Francisco, and clerked for the Honorable Alicemarie H. Stotler of the U.S. District Court in the Central District of California.

Jessica Pitt
Jessica Pitt is the Senior Policy Advisor for United States Congresswoman Barbara Lee, representing the 9th Congressional District of California. She has a Ph.D. in City and Regional Planning from Cornell University and has been working in the fields of community development, social welfare, and social justice for over 15 years.

Pitt has worked with a number of Bay Area nonprofit organizations including the Urban Strategies Council, The Institute for Food and Development Policy, Neighbor to Neighbor, and International Development Exchange. She was a founder and first Executive Director of the Westcott Community Development Organization in Syracuse, New York. In March 2004, Pitt was appointed to the City of Oakland's Budget Advisory Commission. She is the Vice-Chair of the Rockridge Community Planning Council, a neighborhood association serving the Rockridge neighborhood of Oakland. She has also served on the District One Community Development Board in Oakland, which recommends Community Development Block Grant allocations. In addition, Pitt has worked as a pro-bono organizational consultant with a number of arts organizations in Oakland.

Carrie Portis
Carrie Portis works as Knowledge and Evaluation Manager with the Stupski Foundation. The Stupski Foundation invests in and partners with school districts across the country on systemic improvement with a focus on improving the education that children of color and poor children receive. Portis is an accomplished leader in developing and implementing social innovation. Her projects address complex issues, use a business framework and create collaborations between the private, public and non-profit sectors. Portis has over 10 years experience working with Bay Area communities.

Portis is the former Managing Director of LEAP, a Bay Area social venture group, where she focused on eldercare. Previously, Carrie was Director of Enterprise Development at Rubicon Programs, a large community-based social service agency in Richmond, CA. At Rubicon, she developed and oversaw several businesses and employment programs that received national recognition, including Rubicon Bakery, a premium wholesale dessert company

Portis serves as an advisor to several community groups, and is on the board of the West Contra Costa Business Development Center. Carrie is a veteran of many political campaigns and most recently served as Treasurer for Van for Trustee (San Mateo County Community College Board).

Portis holds an M.B.A. from Stanford University and is an honors graduate of Wellesley College. Born in Canada, she has lived in the Bay Area since 1989.

Laju Shah
Laju Shah is local to California, born and raised in the East Bay. Shah holds a BA degree from San Jose State University in Social Science with a minor in Environmental Studies. Currently she a graduate student at UC Davis in an Elementary School teaching credential/Masters in Education program. Shah plans on eventually going into a field within this framework as she is passionate about issues around education. Over the past few years Shah worked as a development officer in rural India, substitute taught in the bay area, and volunteered with several different organizations. Being South Asian American, Shah is active in advocating and participating in political issues geared towards the South Asian community in America..

Shah's future goals are to continue working towards making society one where all children receive a fair and quality education despite their socio-economic background. She also plans to teach, and eventually would like to move into an arena where she can help create policies to better the education system. Representing populations where their voice is not readily heard is important to her. As Shah gains leadership skills, she hopes to be able to do her part in making society more just for all groups of people.

Jordanna Thigpen
Jordanna Thigpen was born in Berkeley, California. She has lived in many communities, including Lahaina, Maui; St. Louis, Missouri; Tucson, Arizona; and now in San Francisco. Thigpen obtained a bachelor's degree in 20th century U.S. and European History from U.C. Davis in 1999. She will graduate from the University of San Francisco School of Law in May 2004. Thigpen owns a retail and wholesale business specializing in Italian imports and jewelry with an outlet on San Francisco's Chestnut Street, which she manages while attending law school full-time. She is starting a clothing business next year.

Thigpen became interested in politics after taking a seminar class at UC Davis on California history and learning about the influence of corporations in government. She would like to receive an MBA after finishing her law degree, believing that government leaders of the future must apply business principles in order to serve the people most efficiently.

Thigpen serves on the board of the Marina Merchants Association and she is the Vice President of the Student Bar Association at the University of San Francisco School of Law.

Kim Vu
A resident of San Jose, Kim Vu currently works as a Premier Services Manager for Tech CU, managing an $80 million portfolio. When she is not working, she is in the community actively participating in the Junior League of San Jose as member of the State Public Affairs Task Force and the Fund Development Committee. As a member of the State Public Affairs Task Force, Vu had the opportunity to work on the 2nd Annual Women's Health Summit Planning Committee with Assemblyman Manny Diaz's team, bringing awareness of the health issues that affect women in the large Hispanic and Vietnamese communities in the South Bay.

Vu is also involved in Girls For A Change as a team coach, as well as a member of the Corporate Leadership Team and Summit Planning Committee. Between GFC and JLSJ, Vu also serves as a founding member of the Young Executives Board for the Silicon Valley Capital Club.

Vu is a fellow of the Asian American Women's Leadership Institute. Along with nine other dynamic women, they created a film capturing the lives of Asian American seniors living in the Bay Area. Vu is a graduate of San Jose State University, where she majored in Business Management.

Stefanie Yow
Stefanie Yow currently serves as a staff assistant and community liaison to the Asian American and Pacific Islander as well as Bayview Hunters Point communities for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). As a caseworker, Yow addresses constituent concerns regarding federal agencies such as the Department of Defense, the Internal Revenue Service, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. She is a member of the National Women's Political Caucus, the San Francisco Young Democrats, and the Rincon Point-South Beach Citizen’s Advisory Committee. Since joining Emerge, Yow has volunteered for John Kerry’s presidential race and has volunteered for Kamala Harris' campaign for District Attorney in 2003..

Prior to joining Congresswoman Pelosi's district staff, Yow was completing her undergraduate studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she participated in UCLA's Center for American Politics and Public Policy program in Washington, D.C. While in the Capitol, she interned for the Congress Project at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and wrote a formal research paper on the role of interest groups from the campaign trail to public office. At UCLA, Yow served as a news contributor and copy editor for the campus newspaper, the "Daily Bruin," as well as the finance director for UCLA Internship and Study Abroad Services programs to Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

Graduating with academic honors, Yow attained her bachelor's degree in political science from UCLA.