About: Champions

Sheriff Greg Ahern is the 22nd Sheriff of Alameda County. He joined the Alameda County Sheriff's Office in 1980. He was promoted to the rank of Sergeant in 1986, Lieutenant in 2000, Captain in 2003, Commander in 2005, Assistant Sheriff in 2006 and sworn in as Sheriff in January 2007.  Sheriff Ahern continues to be involved in strategic planning and the development and implementation of a number of programs which have proven to be highly beneficial to the citizens of Alameda County. Programs include the Youth and Family Services Bureau, Drug Education and Enforcement programs, Cold Case DNA Unit, D.U.I. Enforcement Unit, and Coordinator of the Strategic Planning process for the future health of the organization.

Judge Gordon Baranco was appointed by Governor Edmund G. Brown, Jr. as a judge to the Oakland-Piedmont Emeryville Municipal Court, at the age of 32.  After serving as a presiding judge in that court, he was appointed by Governor George Deukmejian as a judge to the Alameda County Superior Court, where he now serves.  He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the California Judicial Council Access and Fairness Committee; the California Judicial Council Task Force for Collaboration on Mental Health Issues; the Judicial Council Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee; Chair of the Alameda County Superior Community Focused Court Planning Committee; Fred Finch Youth Center Board; and as the judge of the Alameda County Homeless/Caring Court.  He has previously served on the boards of the Metropolitan-Oakland YMCA, the Urban Strategies Council, the Glide Memorial Methodist Church, and the M. Robinson Baker YMCA.  Judge Baranco has received the following awards: Alameda County Bar Association Distinguished Judicial Service Award; Charles Houston Bar Association Judicial Excellence Award; The California Public Defenders Association Rose Bird Judicial Excellence Award; Alameda/Contra Costa Trial Lawyers, Judge of the Year; the Alameda County Lawyers Club, Judge of the Year.

Mayor Tom Bates was elected mayor of Berkeley in 2002 and has been re-elected in 2006 and 2008. He has had a distinguished career in public service, including four years as an Alameda County Supervisor and two decades as a California legislator representing Berkeley. Mayor Bates priorities include youth and education, environment, City/university partnership, and smart growth. He has launched several programs to make Berkeley a “kid-friendly” city, including Project BUILD, a summer reading program, and “Berkeley Champions for Kids.” Mayor Bates has focused tremendous effort and resources on building Berkeley into a national environmental powerhouse. Currently he is working with a team to develop the Mayor’s Climate Action Plan with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 80% by the year 2050. The Mayor has worked to protect existing neighborhoods, while supporting “smart growth” housing.  Mayor Bates played a central role in framing California's progressive social service policy. As a member of the State Assembly, Tom Bates focused on welfare, disabled issues, foster care senior services and other social service issues, and was a champion of accessible higher education. Mayor Bates is a native Californian.

Supervisor Keith Carson was elected to the Board of Supervisors, Fifth District, in 1992, on a platform dedicated to inclusive and accessible government. The Fifth District includes the cities of Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Piedmont, and the West Oakland, North Oakland, Rockridge, Grand Lake, Fruitvale, and Dimond District neighborhoods of Oakland. Supervisor Carson works to bring together people who have a wealth of talent and creative resources to address our shared problems within the numerous areas including access to health care, ending poverty, homelessness, crime, improving business retention, and addressing the scarcity of jobs in our communities. Supervisor Carson serves in different capacities for several organizations, including the Alameda County East Bay Economic Development Alliance, the National Association of Counties, the Alameda County Transportation Improvement Authority, the Bay Area Council Economic Institute, and many others.

Mary Jo Cook, Vice President of Innovation at the Clorox Company, has a strong track record of success in leading innovation in both the business and non-profit world.  She currently leads an innovation group at The Clorox Company charged with finding large new business opportunities.  She has played a key role in several successful innovations, including GreenWorks™ Natural Cleaners, Clorox® Bleach Pen®, Clorox® Toilet Wand™ and Clorox® Anywhere®.  She was recognized by BusinessWeek, as a "top 25 innovation champion" in June 2006.  For the past seven years, she has served on the board of LeaderSpring, an Oakland non-profit whose mission is to "create communities of leaders who transform their communities".  She also serves on the strategic planning committee at Piedmont Community Church.  Mary Jo lives in the Montclair area of Oakland with her husband Rob and two daughters.

Mayor Ronald V. Dellums was elected in 2006.  Mayor Dellums career in public service includes 14 terms as a member of Congress representing Oakland, Berkley and the surrounding areas, and three years a member of the Berkeley City Council. In Congress Mayor Dellums was the leading Congressional voice challenging the underlying assumptions of the military budget and was a leader on the environment, labor, consumer issues, and civil rights.  After leaving Congress, he was President of an international management company and a leading spokesman on the tragedy of AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa and throughout the world. He also chaired President Clinton's Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS. An Oakland native, Ron Dellums grew up on Wood St. in West Oakland.  Mayor Dellums is married to Cynthia Dellums and has 4 children.

Supervisor Scott Haggerty was first elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in November of 1996. He is currently serving a fourth four-year term on the Board. Supervisor Haggerty's district includes the cities of Livermore, Pleasanton, most of the city of Fremont, a portion of Dublin, and unincorporated areas of East Alameda County. Supervisor Haggerty has extensive experience with regional transportation and infrastructure policy of the Bay Area, and has taken a leading role in improving transportation throughout the region. He is a founding member of the Inter-Regional Partnership (IRP) comprised of 15 elected officials representing counties and cities from two regions. He also serves on numerous regional transportation boards. In addition to his leadership in the transportation arena, Supervisor Haggerty places strong priorities in the field of public safety.  Supervisor Haggerty is active in community activities and served as a board member of the Joseph Matteucci Foundation and Goodwill Industries of the East Bay. Supervisor Haggerty has also served on the board of Alameda County Meals on Wheels and as chair of the Twin Valley District of the Boys Scouts of America.   Supervisor Haggerty was raised in Fremont and now resides in Dublin with his family.

Supervisor Alice Lai-Bitker is the current President of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors. She represents District 3 of Alameda County which includes, the cities of San Leandro and Alameda, the unincorporated areas of San Lorenzo, Ashland, and Hillcrest Knolls, and the Fruitvale, San Antonio, and Chinatown portions of Oakland.  During her tenure as Supervisor, Alice has been a strong advocate for increasing health care for children, spearheading the No Wrong Door policy in Social Services that allows services to be given quickly and efficiently. Her work on domestic violence includes A Day of Remembrance, honoring victims of domestic violence, and assisting in getting federal funds for a Family Justice Center to streamline services to families suffering with domestic violence. Supervisor Lai-Bitker was unanimously appointed to the Board in 2000 and elected in 2002. Prior to serving on the Board, she served as a staff assistant to Alameda County Supervisor Wilma Chan from 1995 to 2000. Prior to that time, she worked as a social worker at Asian Community Mental Health Services where she provided direct services and therapeutic intervention and treatment. She is a co-founder of the Association of Chinese Families of the Disabled and the East Bay Chinese Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Supervisor Lai-Bitker came to the United States in 1983 and has lived in Alameda with her family since 1988.

Susan Muranishi, Alameda County Administrator, was appointed to her position by the Alameda County Board of Supervisors in December 1994. She provides professional, innovative and proactive leadership to the Board of Supervisors, Agency/Department Heads and the public through responsible fiscal and administrative policy development and program oversight. She works closely with other public officials, jurisdictions, community-based organizations and special interest groups in order to give clear direction and the strategic management necessary to accomplish Board policies and deliver services efficiently and effectively. Among her many accomplishments, Ms. Muranishi was recently named one of the Most Influential Women in Bay Area Public Service from the San Francisco Business Times.

Councilmember Nancy Nadel is in her third term as an Oakland City Councilmember. She has been a West Oakland resident for 28 years. Councilmember Nadel chairs the Public Works Committee on the City Council. She is a member of the Association of Bay Area Governments Executive Committee, Regional Planning Committee, and chairs the Earthquake Hazards Outreach Review Committee. She chairs the Re-entry Steering Committee, a project funded to help re-integrate previously incarcerated people after release from prison. She is an Executive Board member of the Oakland Community Action Agency whose charge is to help lift Oaklanders out of poverty. Nancy serves on the advisory committee for Dreamcatcher, a program to house and counsel homeless youth under 18 years of age, and is a founding member of the ABAG regional committee on homelessness. She is a strong advocate for integrating incomes in all neighborhoods. Nancy works extensively on violence prevention and obstacles to employment. She spearheaded the effort to get a measure on the ballot to fund violence prevention and enforcement programs. Currently she is also working on several initiatives to address violence and public safety: Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth, expanding Adult Literacy services and opening a new teen center in West Oakland.

Bob Uyeki is the Executive Director of the Y & H Soda Foundation, a private foundation whose mission is to “enhance the health, education, and well-being of the underserved in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.”  The Y & H Soda Foundation has a strong commitment to strengthening the social safety net in the East Bay, both through its grant making and its collaborative partnerships with other foundations, public agencies, and community based organizations.  With more than 20 years experience working in the nonprofit and philanthropic sectors in the Bay Area, Bob has served as a member of the Bay Area Foundation Advisory Group to End Homelessness and as a member of the Structure Committee for EveryOne Home.  He has also served on the boards of the East Bay Community Foundation, the Foundation Consortium for California’s Children and Youth, the Family Independence Initiative, and the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation.  He currently serves on the boards of Northern California Grantmakers and Mu Films, a nonprofit documentary film production company.