Selected Endorsements

Elected Civic Officials & Community Leaders*

  • Rob Bonta, CA State Attorney General

  • Tom Bates, former California Assembly Member and Mayor of Berkeley

  • Loni Hancock, former California State Senator and Mayor of Berkeley

  • Ash Kalra, California State Assembly

  • Evan Low, California State Assembly

  • Betty Yee, former California State Controller

  • Patrick Ahrens, Foothill-De Anza Community College Board

  • Soli Alpert, Berkeley Rent Board Vice Chair

  • Judy Appell, Berkeley School Board Director, ret.

  • Ben Bartlett, Berkeley City Council

  • Nikki Bass-Fortunato, Oakland City Council President

  • Mike Chang, Berkeley School Board Director

  • Cindy Chavez, Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors & Past Santa Clara County Labor Council Chair

  • Vick Chung, City College of San Francisco Board of Trustees

  • H. E. Christian (Chris) Peeples, At-Large Director, Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District

  • Elihu Harris, former Mayor of Oakland and past Chancellor, Peralta Community College District

  • Kate Harrison, Berkeley City Council, ret.

  • Dan Kalb, Oakland City Council

  • Phong La, Alameda County Assessor

  • Anita Martinez, Vice President of the City College of San Francisco Bd of Trustees

  • Dee Rosario, East Bay Regional Parks District Director

  • Jean Quan, former Mayor of Oakland

Current Members of the Peralta Community College Board

  • Paulina Gonzalez-Brito, Peralta Community College Board President

  • Louis Quindlen, Peralta Community College Board Vice President

  • Cindi Napoli Abella Reiss, Peralta Community College Board Trustee

  • Natasha Masand, Peralta 2023-2024 Student Trustee

  • Naomi Vasquez, Peralta 2023-2024 Student Trustee

Labor Leaders At Peralta

  • Debby Weintraub, Peralta Federation of Teachers Past President

  • Mark Greenside, Peralta Federation of Teachers Past President

  • Bruce Jacobs, Peralta Federation of Teachers Past President

  • Michael Mills, Peralta Federation of Teachers Past President

  • Kathy Bauer, Peralta Federation of Teachers Past President

  • Helene Maxwell, Peralta Federation of Teachers PAC Past President

  • Francis Howard, Peralta Federation of Teachers Vice President

  • Tae Soon Park, Peralta Federation of Teachers past Vice President

Faculty & Staff Leadership at Peralta

  • Lowell Bennett, District Academic Senate Rep & Merritt College Business Dept

  • Joseph Bielanski, Berkeley City College Counseling Dept, Articulation Officer, Faculty Senator & former CA Statewide Community College Bd of Governors

  • Tom Branca, Merritt College Horticultural Dept Chair, retired

  • Robert Brem, College of Alameda Department Chair, Psychology and Political Science Departments

  • Sue Chin, Peralta Asian Pacific American Association Co-Founder, College of Alameda Business Dept, retired

  • Leonard Chung, Berkeley City College Accounting Dept

  • Roger Chung, Laney College Ethnic Studies Dept & Restoring Our Communities Program Director

  • Judith Cohen, Laney College and Peralta District Office Financial Aid Supervisor, retired

  • Pieter DeHaan, Berkeley City College Faculty Senate Past President & Biology Department

  • Burt Dragin, Laney College Journalism Dept Chair, retired

  • Ann Elliott, Merritt College, English Department, Department Chair, Academic Senate, and Division Dean, retired

  • Matt Freeman, Berkeley City College Faculty Senate President

  • Victor Flint, past director Berkeley City College Student Ambassadors Program, retired

  • Kimberly King, Laney College Psychology Dept & Laney College Poor People’s Campaign Co-Founder

  • Bill Lepowski, Laney College Math Dept

  • Lilly Leung, Laney College Library Technician

  • Gabriel Martinez, Berkeley City College Faculty Senate Vice President & Counseling Dept Chair

  • Rachel Mercy Simpson, Berkeley City College Multimedia Dept

  • Moria Mochi Wong, Laney College Institutional Research Office (former)

  • Vanson Nguyen, College of Alameda Math Dept Co-Chair and COA “Chair of Chairs”

  • Daniela Nikolaeva, Graphic Arts Department Chair

  • Jose Ortiz, past Chancellor, Peralta Community College District

  • Kelly Pernell, Berkeley City College Academic Senate Past President & Current Senate Secretary

  • Tom Renbarger, Merritt College Academic Senate President & Physics Dept

  • Mark Rauzon, Laney College Geography Dept

  • Susan Schacher, Laney College Basic Skills Program Co-Founder and Instructor, retired

  • Cleavon Smith, Peralta Academic Senate Past President & Berkeley City College English Dept

  • Indra Thadani, Laney College Health Instructor and Laney Student Health Center Co-Founder, retired

  • Andree Thompson, Laney College Art Dept, retired

  • Karolyn Van Putton, Peralta Academic Senate Past President, & Laney College Psychology Dept, retired

  • Chris Weidenbach, District Academic Senate Secretary, Laney College English Dept Chair & Laney College Academic Senate

  • Calvin Williams, College of Alameda (and De Anza College) Political Science Dept & Senior Advisor for Social Impact & Advocacy for Think Common Entertainment

Student Leadership at Peralta

  • Natasha Masand, Peralta 2023-2024 Student Trustee

  • Naomi Vasquez, Peralta 2023-2024 Student Trustee

  • Kristiyan Klichev, 2023-2024 Berkeley City College Associated Students President

  • Camila Yurivilca, 2023-2024 Laney College Associated Students President

  • Derek Carver, Berkeley City College Student Government Senator

  • Esteem Brumfield, Past Peralta Student Trustee

  • Brian Cervantes, Past Peralta Student Trustee

  • Rich Copenhagen, Past Peralta Student Trustee

  • Corey Hollis, Past Peralta Student Trustee

  • Marlene Hurd, Past Peralta Student Trustee

  • Michelle Dione, Past Editor, The Peralta Citizen Newspaper

Other Educational Leaders in Our Community

  • Roxanne Captor, Faculty Association of the CA Community Colleges (FACCC) Policy Committee & Santa Monica College Film Dept

  • Laura Chin, De Anza College Political Science Dept

  • Karen Chow, De Anza College past Academic Senate President & English Department

  • Wyman Fong, Vice Chancellor of Human Resources Chabot Las Positas Community College District & President for the Association of California Community College Administrators

  • Lailan Huen, Oakland Unified School District Anti-Racist Learning Coordinator

  • Debbie Klein, Faculty Association of the CA Community Colleges (FACCC) immediate past president & Gavilan College Anthropology Dept

  • Oranit Limmaneeprasert, American River College Federation of Teachers, past president.

  • Jason Mayfield, United Faculty of Contra Costa Community College District Union President, Treasurer of the Faculty Association of the California Community Colleges (FACCC), & Diablo Valley College Geology Dept

  • Aminta Mickles, Contra Costa College Health and Human Services Department Chair and Instructor

  • Natalina Monteiro, Faculty Association of the CA Community Colleges (FACCC) Political Action Committee Chair, East Los Angeles College Political Science Department

  • Jim Nguyen, De Anza College Political Science Dept Chair & Vice President of the Foothill-De Anza Faculty Association

  • Al Schendan, De Anza College Political Science Dept

  • Bill Shields, CCSF Labor Studies Dept past chair, retired

  • Leslie Simon, City College of San Francisco English Dept, retired

  • Bob Stockwell, De Anza College Political Science Dept & Secretary of the Foothill-De Anza Faculty Association

Leaders and neighbors in our Community

  • Aimee Allison, Founder and President, She the People; President, Democracy in Color

  • Wendy Bloom, Alameda County Dem Central Committee, CA Nurses Association

  • Nancy Friedman, Environmental Sustainability and Health Care for All activist

  • Matthew Hallinan, Wellstone Democratic Club Founder

  • Floyd Huen, Block by Block Organizing Network

  • Jack Kurzweil, Wellstone Democratic Club Founder

  • Kristin Luker, UC Berkeley reproductive rights scholar, retired

  • Wakean Maclean, Inkworks Print Shop

  • Steve Phillips, Civil Rights Activist & Author, Brown Is the New White & How to Win the Civil War

  • Judy Pope, Health Care for All activist

  • Margot Smith, 14th AD Assembly Candidate

  • John O’Toole, National Center for Youth Law Executive Director, retired

  • Roger Mendelson, MD & Monique Mendelson, Rockridge neighborhood leaders

  • Alvina Wong, Asian Pacific Environmental Network, Campaign and & Organizing Director

    *Organizational Affiliations for Identification only- no organizational endorsement implied unless explicitly stated.

Organizational Endorsements

The Building and Construction Trades Council of Alameda County is a coalition of 28 affiliated unions representing workers in various construction trades.

“The Board is proud to endorse Nicky, who has worked with and for retirees for many years. In the last two years while the district transitioned from having self-funded health care to joining SISC, Nicky has always been one of the most vocal Trustees on our behalf. He listened, he responded to us, and he advocated for us. His efforts helped us keep our traditional medicare- a crucial victory for many of us. He has spoken up at Board of Trustee meetings and has always been very clear and firm about the district's absolute responsibility to honor contractual obligations it has with its employees- thus ensuring that our lifetime health benefits are kept in place.”

PRO represents over 350 former Peralta employees from every level of the District’s workforce.

Named after the late United States Senator and progressive community organizer Paul Wellstone, the Wellstone Democratic Club is one the largest in the East Bay. Nicky was a founding member of the club and served on it’s coordinating committee for many years. Nicky served as a Senate Fellow with Senator Wellstone in Washington, DC.