About Us

Empower Oakland is a volunteer-led organization of 150+ Oakland residents with a wide range of political affiliations and opinions. For many of us, this is our first foray into politics — and it’s none of our full-time jobs. We’ve collectively spent hundreds of hours building Empower Oakland. Nearly everyone associated with Empower Oakland is a volunteer, and we have no full-time staff.

 

We do this because we believe Oaklanders deserve to be well-informed about local elections and because we are committed to a better future for Oakland. Learn more about our mission and values.

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A packed house at our Voter Guide kickoff event in 2024!

Our Team

We’re volunteer-led. It’s amazing what you can achieve in a short amount of time with a group of highly motivated people who know how to get sh*t done!

 

Our volunteers work in education, technology, non-profits, media, development, government, and other sectors. This diverse pool of people and skills enables Empower Oakland to achieve our mission of educating voters and supporting worthy candidates and causes almost entirely through the efforts of volunteers. We’re juggling family and work; squeezing in Empower Oakland during evenings and weekends. We are united by a love for Oakland and a desire to see Oakland thrive.

Empower Oakland Team Members

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Gagan Biyani

Executive Director

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Reze Wong

Communications Lead

Arielle Fleisher

Arielle Fleisher

Policy Lead & Endorsement Committee

Jacob Klein

Jacob Klein

Marketing Lead & Endorsement Committee

Kim Ayers

Kim Ayers

Community Lead 2024 – current

Ben Gould

Ben Gould

Campaign Lead 2025

Teresa Starkey

Teresa Starkey

Brand Lead

Chris Hadley

Chris Hadley

Marketing Lead

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Isaac Abid

Endorsement Committee

Derreck Johnson

Derreck Johnson

Endorsement Committee 2025

Raul Maldonado

Raul Maldonado

Endorsement Committee 2025

Mathew Barnes

Mathew Barnes

Visual Design and Branding 2024

Emily Wasserman

Emily Wasserman

Field Operations Lead 2024

 

Matt Cobos

Matt Cobos

Digital Campaign Lead 2024

 

Stephen Salinas

Stephen Salinas

Volunteer 2024

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Loren Taylor

Empower Oakland Founder (on leave)

Join Us!

Want to help bring competent leaders and common sense solutions to Oakland? 

 

First, we recommend you subscribe to our newsletter and follow us on social media to get our updates and learn about opportunities to get active as a voter and community member. And please tell friends and family about us!

 

Next, there are many ways to support our mission:

 

    • Amplify our efforts as a volunteer: Volunteers support in-person events and digital efforts. They run sign-in tables, take photographs and videos, create content, and represent Empower Oakland at community events. They are also vocal champions of Empower Oakland, spreading the word about our mission, newsletter and voter guide in their local networks. 
    • Become a core team or committee member: If you are able to dedicate a minimum of 5 hours a week to Empower Oakland, we would love your help! Some areas of need include policy research, news analysis, fundraising, design, content creation, community outreach, and event planning and execution.
    • Donate to help us reach further: Please consider donating to Empower Oakland Committee, the campaign arm of Empower Oakland. Since most of Empower Oakland is volunteer-led, this enables us to use your capital in the most efficient way possible – not on headcount, but on direct outreach to Oaklanders.

Want to help bring competent leaders and common sense solutions to Oakland? Join our volunteer team.

Our History

Loren Taylor founded Empower Oakland in 2023 with a mission to inform and mobilize voters around the core issues that matter most to Oaklanders: public safety, housing, thriving businesses to fuel a thriving economy, clean and well-maintained public infrastructure, and the city budget.

 

The first year of Empower Oakland included public forums, speaker events, voter mobilization, and a slate of recommended candidates for the Alameda County Democratic Central Committee ahead of the 2024 primary election. In the summer of 2024, new leadership joined Empower Oakland and a core team of volunteers was established. 

 

In September 2024, Empower Oakland 2.0 launched with a greatly expanded base of volunteer support and a wildly exciting and successful 2024 Voter Guide kickoff event.

 

Prior to launching his 2025 campaign for mayor, Loren stepped down from Empower Oakland, and our organization does not coordinate with his campaign. Our core team, endorsement committee, and programming evolves every year, but our mission remains the same – to build the future we all deserve, with safe and clean streets, thriving families and businesses, and effective local government.