Local Women in Leadership Tables: It Starts with Believing in ME!
FIERCE Advocates’ Policy and Advocacy Organizing (PAO) team celebrated another outstanding year in 2024! With a focus on empowering local women in leadership roles, the PAO team continued to expand its impact through the Bay Area Coalition for Education Justice (BASEJ) and the Community Education Leadership Institute (CELI) programs.
Empowering Community Advocates Through Workshops
In October 2024, the PAO team hosted a transformative ‘Community Engagement’ workshop series for the latest cohort. These workshops equipped participants with the tools to craft effective and actionable educational policy resolutions. Topics ranged from recognizing opportunities to advance advocacy efforts to understanding the Brown Act as a framework for meaningful community engagement.
As a result, seven inspiring CELI community leaders graduated from the program. These leaders are now serving as representatives on West Contra Costa County school boards and steering committees, bringing their lived experiences and knowledge to the forefront of educational decision-making.
Driving Local Change Through Collective Empowerment
Rooted in collective empowerment, the BASEJ program underscored how community advocates can drive change by mastering the essentials of public school budgets and building relationships with decision-makers. This work is essential for improving outcomes for BIPOC families in West Contra Costa County.
As one passionate advocate from the program shared: "My kids attend Central College Prep, part of the West Contra Costa Unified School District. I’ve completed fellowships in both Fall 2022 and Spring 2023, but the budget workshops were eye-opening. The acronyms and financial processes were new to me, and they helped me get more involved in my daughter’s education. I’ve since expressed interest in becoming a school board member and even running for vice chair president."
“I never knew that each SFUSD middle school student receives $10,000 in support services per academic year. These programs helped me see the connection between budget allocation and student outcomes in our community.”
A Participant’s Reflection on Impactful Learning
Pamela Travis, a student-parent at Martin Luther King Jr. Middle School in San Francisco’s Unified School District, reflected on how the budgeting workshops deepened her understanding of educational funding:
Looking Ahead to 2025
As FIERCE Advocates steps into 2025, we remain committed to amplifying the voices of local women leaders and strengthening pathways to advocacy.
Through BASEJ and CELI, we aim to continue transforming community engagement into meaningful action that benefits families across the Bay Area.
Together, we’re building a future where every family’s voice matters.
