sheila joined Alameda County Community Food Bank in 2010 after a professional career that included almost 20 years’ work in financial services and affordable housing at Citibank and Fannie Mae, respectively. In her current role as Director of Equity, Access, and Belonging, sheila collaborates with staff and community partners to develop and advocate for policies and practices that address the root causes of hunger, including racism.

She works to align strategy and objectives essential for the success of equity and inclusion initiatives across the Food Bank and with community partners, with special emphasis on cultivating community, building trust, and improving working relationships. Convening conversations where participants develop a shared vision for change, including a common language, vocabulary, definitions, and understanding of issues and a collaborative approach to solving them.

sheila is a passionate advocate for racial and economic justice and expanding access to ladders of success.

sheila’s community service currently includes the following:

• Eden Housing, Inc. board of directors;
• Transformative Leadership in Disruptive Times Certificate Program at Cal State East Bay Continuing Education Advisory Council
• Food Subcommittee for CSUEB’s Pioneers for H.O.P.E. program;
• Advisory council for CSUEB’s Center for Community Engagement;
• My Eden Voice (Ashland-Cherryland) community mobilization effort;
• Bay Area Systems Impacted Consortium (BASIC); formerly incarcerated persons pursuing higher education opportunities;
• Operation My Home Town, Alameda County Sheriff’s Office and Youth and Family Services Bureau (wrap-around services for formerly incarcerated persons leaving Glenn Dyer and Santa Rita detention facilities;
• Community Advisor, City of Hayward.

sheila has participated in several workshops/trainings, including:

• StirFry Seminars & Consulting
  — Cross-Cultural Facilitation Skills for Diversity Trainers, Educators & Therapists: Five-Day Intensive
  — Two-year Mindful Facilitation Certification Program
• African-American Multigenerational Trauma & Implementing Models of Change course with Dr. Joy DeGruy
• How to Have Difficult Conversations About Racial Justice in Workplace
• Race Forward
  — Building Racial Equity Training
  — Organizing Racial Equity Training
• The People’s Institute for Survival and Beyond
  — Three-day Undoing Racism Workshop
• Dr. Robin DiAngelo
  — Deconstructing White Privilege
• Educational Equity Institute
  — Six-week Racial Equity Cohort
• Anti-Racism as a Process and Practice
  — Eight-part workshop series for practitioners
• Racial Equity Institute
  — Groundwater Training
  — Phase I (2-day)
• Groundwater Program Leader Fellowship