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Dear Friend,
Greetings. I hope you are finding opportunities to celebrate both Lunar New Year and Black History Month. I’ve enjoyed a number of events and appreciate how we are building cross-racial unity and solidarity, especially during these times when vulnerable communities and DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) are threatened by the federal administration.
My team and I are honored to represent and partner with you. In case you missed it, please check out this video about our first month in office and our January newsletter.
This month of February, we have begun our committee meetings. I’m proud to chair Alameda County Together for All (ACT for All), an ad hoc committee focused on protecting our communities from the impacts of federal policy and budget actions.
In addition to chairing ACT for All, I am also a member of these Board Committees: Social Services; and Personnel, Administration & Legislation (PAL), and I serve on these boards and commissions: Association of Bay Area Governments Executive Committee, Alameda County Transportation Commission, First 5 Alameda County, Youth Ventures Joint Powers Authority, East Bay Wildfire Coalition of Governments, County of Alameda Countywide Oversight Board, Alameda County Joint Powers Authority, California County Tobacco Securitization Agency, and Ava Community Energy (alternate).
Finally, I want to invite you to join our community swearing-in celebration on Wednesday, February 26th at 5:30pm at the Ed Roberts Campus in Berkeley. We are grateful for our supporters and volunteers, and we look forward to building many lasting partnerships across the County. Please rsvp here.
Warmly,
Nikki Fortunato Bas 勵琪 (she/her)
Supervisor
Alameda County, District 5
 From left to right: Dave Brown, Nickan Fayyazi, Sup. Nikki Fortunato Bas, Cinthya Muñoz Ramos
Dave Brown, Chief of Staff
Dave has worked in county government for nearly 15 years and served as chief of staff for three county supervisors. He was the longtime aide and chief of staff to the late Supervisor Wilma Chan and served on the Board of Supervisors to complete her term after she had passed away. During that time, Dave authored successful legislation to create a guaranteed income program designed by and for former foster youth, co-created monthly LGBTQ+ Pride events at the San Lorenzo Library in response to the Proud Boys attack at Drag Queen Story Hour, helped create a Family Resource Center in Hayward Acres, and passed a ban on inhumane rodeo practices. He also served as a school board member in West Contra Costa where he led the statewide fight to ban the discriminatory high school exit exam. He has two teenage daughters, is a die-hard Warriors fan and an aspiring filmmaker.
Cinthya Muñoz Ramos, Chief of Legislative Affairs and Community Safety
Cinthya started organizing as a student in Sacramento leading efforts to fight the criminalization of young people of color and organizing for immigrant justice. From 2007 to 2015, Cinthya led the immigrant rights organizing work for Causa Justa :: Just Cause. Cinthya led CJJC’s immigrant rights coalition work at the local, state and national level and was instrumental in the founding and coordinating of ACUDIR: Alameda County United In Defense of Immigrant Rights and SFIRDC: The San Francisco Immigrant Rights Defense Committee. Cinthya was Legislative Director for Alameda County District 2 from 2013-2021 and Chief of Staff for City of Oakland District 2 from 2021-2024. Cinthya currently serves as the Chief of Legislative Affairs and Community Safety for Alameda County District 5.
Nickan Fayyazi, Office and Communications Manager
Born and raised in Los Angeles to parents from Iran, Nickan has been living and organizing in the East Bay since 2017. She began political organizing as a student at UC Berkeley and has served in leadership in organizations such as the Working Families Party, Democratic Socialists of America, and Students for Bernie. She has worked on a number of political campaigns in a number of capacities, including campaign manager, field coordinator, treasurer, data coordinator, and communications consultant, in the past several cycles, including Supervisor Fortunato Bas' campaign for County Supervisor. In her free time, Nickan enjoys exploring the outdoors, skiing, soccer, tennis, photography, and playing music.
Our office is growing our District 5 team. We are looking to hire three additional staff members who are aligned with our values of equity, inclusion, transparency and accountability to advance our platform which includes community safety, housing security, accessible healthcare & mental healthcare, and a thriving community.
Read more about the open positions and how to apply here. We will accept applications on a rolling basis, with applications submitted by February 21st receiving priority.
Alameda County, We’ve Got Your Back!
On February 6th, at the first hearing of the Alameda County Together for All (ACT for All) ad hoc committee, we outlined plans and partnerships with community organizations, including the launch of a multilingual rapid response hotline with Alameda County Immigrant Legal Education Partnership (acilep.org).
Alameda County Sheriff Yesenia Sanchez reviewed the current “Zero Contact Policy” with Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Sheriff’s Office will not communicate with ICE except when a criminal warrant has been signed by a judge, and will not receive immigration detainees at Santa Rita Jail.
Supervisor Fortunato Bas and Supervisor Márquez moved forward a budget request to the full Board of Supervisors on February 18th to fund $3.5 million in emergency services, rapid response, and legal aid for immigrant and refugee communities, including boosting the Public Defender’s Immigration Unit.
Future meetings will continue to address the needs of the immigrant and refugee community, as well as LGBTQ rights and reproductive justice.
We want to hear from you! Stay tuned for town hall meetings in each district. For more information, go to district5.acgov.org/act-for-all and read more in this article from The Oaklandside/Berkeleyside.
Congratulations to all the elected officials who won new seats or were re-elected last November! I look forward to serving our communities with each of you.
At the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, Supervisors Nate Miley, David Haubert and Elisa Márquez were sworn in for another term. Congrats to our new officers, President David Haubert and Vice President Lena Tam.
 Across District 5, Mayors, Councilmembers, School Board members and other leaders took the oath of office in Oakland, Berkeley, Albany, Emeryville and Piedmont. I look forward to working with all of you!
 Our District welcomes our new Congresswoman Lateefah Simon and our new state Senator Jesse Arreguín. I’m honored to have already met with them to begin working together to ensure our communities are safe, housed and resourced. I especially look forward to working with Sen. Arreguín as the Committee Chair of both Public Safety and Human Services, and we are thrilled that Rep. Simon is serving on the Congressional Oversight and Small Business Committees.
Alameda County Health Photovoice Showcase
 Congratulations to everyone who participated in the Alameda County Health Photo Voice Showcase at the Cherryland Community Center. We learned so much from your Photo Voice projects and presentations about community health.
Photovoice is a grassroots tool that enables a community to identify, represent, and enhance their surroundings through images and words. Photovoice uses photography and storytelling to gather evidence about a particular issue (or set of issues) and work towards program and policy change.
Planned Parenthood Opens Barbara Lee Health Center
 We had a great evening with Planned Parenthood Mar Monte (PPMM) at its first Gala in celebration of the opening of the Barbara Lee Oakland Health Center. It is the largest Planned Parenthood health center in the nation and conveniently located in the heart of downtown Oakland (in District 5) near a BART station. For appointments visit: ppmarmonte.org/book or call 877-855-7526. Read more in The Oaklandside. Thank you PPMM for your critical work providing health care for all!
Asian Health Services 50th Anniversary
 What a pleasure to celebrate Asian Health Services’ 50th anniversary, and to recognize the leadership of Congresswoman Barbara Lee on health care issues. AHS has been providing high-quality, affordable services to low-income residents of Alameda County, with a focus on limited English-speaking recent immigrants. AHS is a federally qualified health center founded in 1974 to provide comprehensive primary care, dental, and behavioral health services, including specialty mental health services, to underserved and uninsured community members in Alameda County. AHS currently provides its services in 14 different languages to nearly 50,000 active patients. We look forward to your continued success!
AAUW Berkeley Panel on Student Immigration Rights
 I was honored to co-host and join the American Association of University Women (AAUW Berkeley) to stand with our immigrant and refugee neighbors, including students and Dreamers. We heard from leaders and experts including Asm. Liz Ortega, Professor Leti Volpp, Dr. Ingrid Lainez Roberson (Chief Deputy Superintendent, CA Dept. of Education), and East Bay Sanctuary Covenant. You can support this work by making a contribution here to the Undocumented Community Resource Center at Berkeley City College.
Appreciations & Farewell to Colleen Chawla
 We bid a fond farewell to Colleen Chawla, who served as Director of Alameda County Health for the past seven years. We greatly appreciate your strong leadership, particularly during the COVID pandemic, and the excellent team and many partnerships you have built. We wish you the very best.
Lunar New Year Events
It’s always wonderful to celebrate Lunar New Year with our Chinese American, AAPI and East Bay communities. We welcomed the year of the Wood Snake which symbolizes renewal, strategy and transformation. May we collectively stay focused, practice resilience and continue our work to transform our communities for positive change.
 We joined the Oakland Asian Cultural Center’s third annual Lunar New Year x Black History Month Community Celebration, which had performances from Black and Asian martial artists, musicians, and dance groups; a local vendors’ marketplace; a Children’s Zone with Eastwind Books of Berkeley and Marcus Books; and an exhibition on Black and Asian solidarity. Photo Credit: OACC Performance Photos by Peter Jew.
 We participated in the 24th annual Lunar New Year Celebration with the County of Alameda, the Asian Pacific Islander Community Collaborative, and Supervisor Lena Tam. Elementary school students from Oakland and San Leandro enjoyed a program reflective of the different Asian and Pacific Islander cultures that coexist in the Bay Area and entertainment including lion dancing, cultural performances and more.
 We enjoyed the Toishan Benevolent Association’s 2025 Year of the Snake Spring Banquet, which brought together the Toisan community from across the region with dignitaries and local community advocates for an evening of entertainment and delicious food at Peony Restaurant in Oakland Chinatown.
Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame Nominations, Deadline Extended to Feb. 17
 The Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame is now accepting nominations for 2025 inductees! Now in its 30th year, the Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame recognizes outstanding women for their achievements and contributions to Alameda County and its residents. This award is in recognition of a legacy of work - both in professional careers and/or volunteer service - that has made a positive impact in the lives of residents in Alameda County. Up to twelve inductees will be selected by a panel of judges and recognized at a special luncheon and awards ceremony on Saturday, April 26, 2025 at The Club at Castlewood in Pleasanton. Through this event and other community activities, the Alameda County Women's Hall of Fame generates funds to support organizations that help and support women and families in Alameda County.
The inductee nomination deadline has been extended from February 7 to February 17, 2025. For more information or to submit a nomination, visit acgov.org/whof.
Port of Oakland Summer College Internship Program, Applications Due Feb. 24
The Port of Oakland will be hosting their 2025 Summer Internship Program from June 9 to August 15, 2025. They are accepting applications now through 5pm on Monday, February 24, 2025. The application link can be found here: 2025 Summer College Internship Program Application Survey. The internship is paid; interns will receive an hourly wage of $25.
Annual Oakland Lunar New Year Parade
Saturday, Feb. 22, 10 a.m.-4 p.m.
Wilma Chan Park (Oakland). FREE
Celebrate the Year of the Snake at the Oakland Chinatown Improvement Council’s third annual Lunar New Year Parade. After the parade, stick around to enjoy live performances, music, and a variety of vendors offering traditional and modern food.
Black History Month Events
 8th Annual Black Joy Parade
Sunday, Feb. 23, 12:30-7 p.m.
Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland
Join thousands of people coming to The Black Joy Parade next Sunday to support Black business, artists, performers, activists, and more! This year’s Black Joy Parade will be a testament to communal joy, celebrating the small moments that make life worth living. The parade will feature 200+ Black owned vendors including food, drinks, clothing, and handmade items; two stages of performances; family activities; and more. Admission is free.
Chief is My Belief with Alameda County Fire
Friday, Feb. 28, 9 a.m.
Emeryville Center of Community Life, 4727 San Pablo Ave, Emeryville
Oakland Unified Martin Luther King, Jr. Oratorical Fest
Sunday, Mar. 2, 1-5 p.m.
Skyline High School Theatre, 12250 Skyline Blvd, Oakland
Berkeley Unified Black History Oratorical Fest
Wednesday, Mar. 26, 5:30 p.m.
Oxford Auditorium, 2020 Bonar St, Berkeley
Find Alameda County resources here: ACGOV - Services | Alameda County.
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