2012 Inductees
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Terry Alderete, Newark
BUSINESS AND PROFESSIONS
Video Interview.
Terry Alderete is founder of Alderete Business Visions, a full-service event and festival organizer for nonprofits and businesses. She is a driving force in Oakland's annual Dia de los Muertos festival, San Jose's Mariachi Festival, San Francisco's Carnaval and other important events. She brings a deep understanding of both the corporate and nonprofit worlds to her work. A Bay Area native born to immigrant parents, Terry worked at Pacific Bell for 30 years, starting as an Operator and eventually becoming Ethnic Marketing Director. She later became Chief Operating Officer for the Unity Council, a nonprofit community development corporation in Oakland, before launching her own business. Through her work, Terry brings joy and cultural understanding to communities across the Bay Area.
Barbara Bernstein, Berkeley
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Video Interview.
For more than 40 years, Barbara Bernstein has dedicated her life to assisting those most in need. She has managed programs providing low-income housing, employment and training, youth services and community outreach - lending energy and expertise to organizations such as the Bay Area Urban League, Alameda County Tranining & Employment Board, Oakland Housing Authority and Berkeley Unified School District. For the past 22 years, Barbara has served as Executive Director of the nonprofit Eden I&R (Information and Referral), a one-of-a-kind centralized source for health, housing and human services information that links people to vital services in the community. In this role, she developed and manages the 2-1-1 phone line that provides critical information and referrals to more than 100,000 Alameda County callers annually.
Mildred Howard, Berkeley
CULTURE AND ART
Video Interview.
Mildred Howard is a prolific mixed-media and installation artist whose work draws on a wide range of historical and contemporary experiences. Creating "an architecture for the remainder", her work questions perceptions and addresses misconceptions of how the world is viewed. Mildred uses a visual vocabulary shaped by memory, history, family, identity and place. Her work is included in the collections of major museums in the Bay Area, nationally and internationally. Her dedication to teaching is illustrated in art programs and the integration of art and science for inner city youth, the Juvenile Justice system, in universities, colleges, and art centers worldwide. Her 2004 exhibition at the Oakland Museum was the inspiration for the 100 Families Project. She is an independent artist and currently teaches at the San Francisco Art Institute.
Oral Lee Brown, Oakland
EDUCATION
Video Interview.
In 1987, touched by a chance encounter with a young girl whose home life made it difficult to attend elementary school, Oral Lee Brown "adopted" an entire first-grade class at Brookfield Elementary School in Oakland, which saw 3 out of 4 kids drop out of school before graduating 12th grade. She promised each of those "adopted" children that if they graduated from high school with at least a C average she would pay for their college tuition. By fulfilling that promise, Oral helped 18 of those 22 children graduate from college. She later established the Oral Lee Brown Foundation, which provides educational assistance and financial scholarships, and has sent almost 200 of Oakland's most at-risk youth to college.
Connie Galambos Malloy, Oakland
ENVIROMENT
Video Interview.
Connie Galambos Malloy is the Senior Director of Programs at Urban Habitat (UH), a regional environmental justice organization serving the Bay Area's low-income communities. There she manages the environmental justice planning & policy work. At UH, Connie launched the Social Equity Caucus' signature State of the Region event and supported development of the landmark Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute model which provides low income people and people of color with a place at the table where decisions are made that affect their lives. Connie represents Alameda County on the first-ever California Citizens Redistricting Commission, which certified Assembly, Senate, Congressional, & Board of Equalization Districts on August 15, 2011. She also acts as Membership Inclusion Director for the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, driven by the belief that an urban planner's work should reflect the communities they serve.
Pamela Arbuckle Alston, DDS, Oakland
HEALTH
Video Interview.
Pamela Arbuckle Alston, DDS, the Dental Director at the Eastmont Wellness Center in Oakland, has been providing dental services to the underserved and disadvantaged communities of Alameda County and beyond since 1983. Dr. Alston's experience includes more than 10 years of providing dental care at Santa Rita and North County jails and more than 20 years at the Central Health Center in Oakland. Throughout her career she has been a consistent advocate and provider of excellent care for vulnerable populations. She is also a spirited volunteer who participates in oral health education programs for high risk youth and in mentorship programs to inspire Oakland youth to pursue health careers.
Jocelyn D. Larkin, Berkeley
JUSTICE
Video Interview.
Jocelyn D. Larkin is an attorney and the Executive Director of the Berkeley-based Impact Fund. She handles complex employment discrimination and class action cases and has represented thousands of women in sexual harassment, wrongful termination and discrimination cases. Jocelyn currently represents thousands of women managers in a gender discrimination case against one of the world's largest retail chains. The case, which has gone to the US Supreme Court, has brought significant change to equity status and equal pay for women. Under her leadership, the Impact Fund has prevailed in cases brought against some of the world's largest companies, achieving victories in court that continue to protect workers' rights.
Nicole Taylor, Oakland
PHILANTHROPY
Video Interview.
Nicole Taylor is President and Chief Operating Officer of the East Bay Community Foundation, which under her leadership has made economic development and job creation a top priority for philanthropy in the East Bay. Her efforts have expanded the Foundation's ability to raise and distribute millions of dollars to efforts helping people prepare for and find productive jobs. Under Nicole's leadership, the Foundation supports the annual analysis of the East Bay's regional economic and social indicators, allowing decision makers and investors to make informed decisions that benefit the region. Raised by a mother who worked as a housekeeper and did not have a high school diploma, Nicole attended Stanford University and grew into a leader whose vision helps improve life in the East Bay.
Dawn Shaughnessy, Livermore
SCIENCE
Video Interview.
Dawn Shaughnessy is the group leader for experimental nuclear and radiochemistry and the principal investigator for the heavy element group at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Under her leadership, a team of scientists has discovered six new elements on the periodic table - the heaviest elements found to date. She recently led a group that named the newest heavy element to be accepted into the periodic table - Livermorium - in honor of the Lab and its host city of Livermore. In addition to her research, Dawn thrives on getting young people interested in science. Her team recently received a $5,000 grant and donated it to the Livermore High School chemistry department. The gift grew from Dawn's memories of working in poorly equipped chemistry classes in high school.
Debby De Angelis, Hayward
SPORTS AND ATHLETICS
Video Interview.
Debby De Angelis has been the Director of Athletics at Cal State East Bay in Hayward since 2001, the first woman to hold that position. In that time she led the University's transition from a Division III to Division II athletics program that serves hundreds of student-athletes in 15 sports. Debby started her sports career as a competitive rower and rowing coach, and was a member of the 1975 USA women's rowing team that competed at the World Championships. Her dedication to collegiate athletics and student-athletes extends beyond sports - she has been described as a role model in local, regional and national athletic administration.
Arooj Haq, San Leandro
YOUTH
Video Interview.
San Leandro High School student Arooj Haq is passionate about public health and advocating for human rights. Arooj, 17, is active in the Advocating Change Together Project through Girls Inc., which goes to elementary schools to help children make healthy lifestyle choices. She also promotes nutrition, smart choices and healthy relationships to her high school peers, and helps run her school's annual blood drive. The daughter of two Pakistani immigrants, Arooj has long aspired to be a nurse. A recent trip to the Middle East caused her to expand her aspirations, however. Her goal now is to one day open a charity helping women in her parents' native country. As a young Muslim woman, Arooj has had some negative experiences due to others' ignorance and stereotyping. The experiences only bolster her determination to be a positive role model and to redefine cultural assumptions.
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