If working for social justice locally inspires you, make sure to join us at our 2016 Voices of Conscience Celebration. The event will take place on Thursday, April 21from 5:30 to 8:30 PM at the Julia Morgan Ballroom in downtown San Francisco. Don’t wait to be part of this fun and inspirational night! Tickets and sponsorship opportunities are still available.
Every year, our celebration brings together hundreds of friends and supporters from law firms, local communities and nonprofit organizations to commemorate civil rights victories and to recognize courageous individuals who challenge the systemic causes of poverty and discrimination.
Photo Credit:
East 12th Coalition
This year, we have the honor of making two Voices of Conscience Awards to local champions. The first is to the East 12th Coalition, a powerful group of neighborhood residents who have organized to expand affordable housing opportunities and address the displacement crisis in Oakland. In partnership with Public Advocates, the Coalition took on city hall to stop the controversial development of a 26-story luxury high-rise on public land along the shores of Oakland’s beautiful Lake Merritt. It organized public meetings and demonstrations, and ultimately proposed a community-envisioned alternative for the site that provided 133 units of affordable housing. Pushing front and center the principle of public land for public good, the Coalition has grown beyond fighting for one parcel and is now bringing its power to advance affordable housing throughout Oakland’s city limits and beyond.
Photo Credit:The San Francisco Foundation
We are also proud to recognize Fred Blackwell, CEO of The San Francisco Foundation. Now in his second year at the helm of one of the largest community foundations in the country, Fred continues a family legacy of working for racial and income equality in the Bay Area. An Oakland native with a Master’s degree in City Planning from the University of California at Berkeley, Fred has a long history of work in government and with philanthropy to unify communities across our region around a vision of equity and shared prosperity. Under his leadership, the foundation will advance social equity as a central priority across all of its initiatives.
John Affeldt,Public Advocates
Finally, we invite you to join us as we pay a special tribute to our very own John Affeldt, who celebrates his 25th year of service at Public Advocates. As the leader of our education equity team, John has been a fearless advocate for the rights of low-income students and English Learners, winning legal and policy victories that have improved learning conditions for countless students and secured billions of dollars in school funding to improve their schools.
We’re eager to see you on April 21. Please join us!
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