Tunisia M. Owens currently serves as the Alameda County Community Food Bank’s Director of Policy and Organizing. Prior to this role she served as the Policy and Advocacy Manager at Family Violence Law Center where she worked at the intersection of domestic violence and homelessness. Tunisia is a passionate advocate on issues like of Black economic empowerment, diversity and inclusion, criminal legal system reform, ending commercial sexual exploitation, and education equity. She grew up in Oakland with a large extended family from the south with Gullah-Geechee roots. After a career as a diplomat proudly representing the US in Sub-Saharan Africa, the Middle East, and South America, Tunisia returned to California. She has served her community by bringing her skills, gifts, and talents to non-profit organizations and government agencies in the Bay Area. When she is not raising her daughter or working to repair systems, Tunisia finds time to publish poetry, write fiction stories, and non-fiction articles. She graduated from Spelman College in Political Science and Economics, holds a joint Master’s degree from Princeton University in Public Policy and Urban/Regional Planning, and obtained her Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law.