Bay Area Equity Atlas: Mobilizing Data for Equity

Fred Blackwell is CEO of the San Francisco Foundation, one of the largest community foundations in the country. San Francisco Foundation works with donors, community leaders, and public and private partners to create thriving communities throughout the Bay Area. Since joining the foundation in 2014, Blackwell has renewed its commitment to social justice through an equity agenda focused on racial and economic inclusion.

Blackwell is a recognized community leader with a longstanding career in the Bay Area. Before joining the foundation, he served as interim city administrator for City of Oakland, where he previously served as assistant city administrator. He was executive director of the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency and director of the SF Mayor’s Office of Community Development; he served as director of the Making Connections Initiative for the Annie E. Casey Foundation in the Lower San Antonio neighborhood of Oakland; he was a Multicultural Fellow in Neighborhood and Community Development at San Francisco Foundation; and he subsequently managed a multiyear comprehensive community initiative for San Francisco Foundation in West Oakland.

Blackwell serves on the board of Independent Sector, Bridgespan Group, and Dean’s advisory council for UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design. He previously served on the San Francisco Federal Reserve community advisory council, California Redevelopment Association, Urban Habitat Program, NCG, and LeaderSpring boards. He is a visiting professor in the City and Regional Planning Department at UC Berkeley. He holds a Master’s Degree in City Planning from UC Berkeley and Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Studies from Morehouse College.

Ryan Fukumori, Senior Associate, manages the development and growth of the Bay Area Equity Atlas through interdisciplinary research, data storytelling, and community engagement. A fourth-generation resident of the East Bay, he draws from his background as an ethnic studies scholar and historian to illuminate the deep structural legacies behind current-day inequities, and to advance policy and grassroots approaches to building multiracial democracy. Prior to joining PolicyLink, Ryan instituted strategic planning and program evaluation systems at the San Francisco-based Mission Economic Development Agency, served as a public systems and nonprofit consultant throughout the Bay Area, and taught undergraduate courses at UCLA. He earned his PhD in American Studies and Ethnicity from the University of Southern California. In his personal time, he dabbles in graphic design, hip-hop music, hiking, and being his dog's personal chef and chauffeur.

Mariana Moore serves as Director of the Ensuring Opportunity Campaign to End Poverty in Contra Costa, a cross-sector initiative that engages local elected officials, social sector organizations, businesses, labor, local government, faith-based, academia, and the philanthropic sector in a collective effort to eliminate poverty in our community.

Before joining Ensuring Opportunity, Mariana served as director of the Human Services Alliance of Contra Costa, a coalition of community-based organizations that work in partnership with the local government to meet the needs of low-income residents.

She also served as a consultant for many years, providing strategic counsel, facilitation, organizational development, executive coaching, and capacity-building services to social sector organizations and coalitions throughout the Bay Area. Her experience includes serving as an Executive Director, Development Director and Board Member for numerous organizations in the social sector and higher education. She is Past Chair of the Diablo Valley College Foundation Board and currently serves as Board Chair for LeaderSpring, a leadership training institute for social sector changemakers.

Dr. Manuel Pastor is a Distinguished Professor of Sociology and American Studies & Ethnicity at the University of Southern California. He currently directs the Equity Research Institute at USC. Pastor holds an economics Ph.D. from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and is the inaugural holder of the Turpanjian Chair in Civil Society and Social Change at USC.

Pastor’s research has generally focused on issues of the economic, environmental and social conditions facing low-income urban communities – and the social movements seeking to change those realities.

Jennifer Tran, Director of the National Equity Atlas, oversees the day-to-day management of the National Equity Atlas and leads the development of high-impact quantitative and mixed-methods analyses and data tools. She has over 15 years of experience producing data and actionable research for those working on the front lines to advance racial and economic equity. She holds a master's degree in urban planning from UCLA and her research and policy experience has focused on economic security, regional equity, immigrant integration, health, fiscal policy, and issues related to children, youth, and families. She previously worked at PolicyLink from 2010-2015 helping to build and launch the Atlas in 2014. Jennifer was born and raised in California and currently resides in Seattle with her family.