Oakland Thrive Logo

Bring us your best, Oakland.

Insight. Energy. Passion. Leadership.

Oakland Thrives is where shared challenges meet collective wisdom. We cultivate and amplify cross-sector Oakland-based initiatives working to change the odds for our children and families—fostering equity that will last generations.
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Our mission is to make Oakland’s children, families, and communities the healthiest in the nation. We’re bringing together visionary leaders—like you—to shape the systems we need for everyone in our city to thrive. The breakthroughs we need are within our reach when we work together.

If you want to go far, go together.
Oakland Thrives is all of us—government leaders, nonprofits, businesses, and community residents—finding a path forward together.
Data is policy GPS.
We leverage data to transform policy, keeping an eye on what’s working best for Oakland families.
Less talking, more doing.
Oakland Thrives steers conversations toward productive and tangible collective action, focusing the valuable energy and time contributed by all partners.

Come to the Table.

Join us as we build strategies to promote equity in health, wealth, education, safety, and housing at our Impact Tables.

We want to hear from you

Gathering the best minds.

We’re focusing on Oakland’s future with heads and heart.

Oakland's future infographic
“In this exquisitely connected world, it’s never a question of ‘critical mass.’
It’s always about critical connections.” —GRACE LEE BOGGS

Meet the Leadership Council

Executive Team

Yvette Radford (co-chair)
Regional VP for External & Community Affairs
Kaiser Permanente Northern California
Libby Schaaf (co-chair)
Mayor
City of Oakland
Kyla Johnson-Trammell (co-chair)
Superintendent
OUSD
Susan Muranishi
County Administrator
Alameda County
Jane Garcia
CEO
La Clinica de la Raza
Betsy Merzenich
Senior Director
Hellman Foundation and Hirsch Philanthropy Partners
Sheng Thao
Councilmember, District 4
City of Oakland
Kristin Spanos
CEO
First 5 Alameda County
Anthony B. Iton
Senior VP, Healthy Communities
The California Endowment
Dave Brown
Supervisor, District 3
Alameda County
Curtiss Sarikey
Chief of Staff
Oakland Unified School District
Aimee Eng
District 2 Director Board of Education
Oakland Unified School District

Leadership Council

Kristin Spanos
CEO
First 5 Alameda County
Ron Smith
VP, Education Initiatives
Salesforce
Edward Reiskin
City Administrator
City of Oakland
Betsy Merzenich
Senior Director
Hellman Foundation
Alexandra McBride
Chief Resilience Officer
City of Oakland
Barbara Leslie
President & CEO
Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce
David Kakishiba
Executive Director
East Bay Asian Youth Center
Anthony B. Iton
Senior VP, Healthy Communities
The California Endowment
Chris Iglesias
CEO
The Unity Council
David A. Harris
President & CEO
Urban Strategies Council
Sara Bedford
Director, Human Services
City of Oakland
Charise Fong
CEO
East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation
Darlene Flynn
Director, Department of Race and Equity
City of Oakland
Sara Bedford
Director, Human Services
City of Oakland
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