Greenlining Staff

Orson Aguilar is part of the new wave of civil rights and community leaders focused on ensuring that the American Dream remains accessible to all Americans. Born and raised in East Los Angeles, Aguilar has advocated tirelessly on behalf of communities of color and youth for nearly 20 years.

After receiving his undergraduate degree in psychology from UC Santa Cruz, Aguilar obtained his Master of Public Affairs at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. He continued his education at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI) and the Greenlining Institute Leadership Academy

Impressed by Greenlining’s holistic approach to advocacy, Aguilar joined the organization full-time as Program Manager at age 25. His skills and vision led to a series of promotions over the next 10 years, and in 2009, at age 35, Aguilar was unanimously selected by the Institute’s board to succeed retiring founder John Gamboa as the organization’s second executive director ever.

During Aguilar’s 11 years, the Greenlining Institute has grown into an organization with a $3.5 million budget, expanding under his leadership to have a presence in Washington D.C. and Los Angeles – leading the San Francisco and Washington, D.C Examiner newspapers to comment, “Aguilar has taken the tactics that work so well in California on the road.” He has played key organizing and advocacy roles to ensure that the interests of communities of color and low-income Americans were considered during corporate mergers and acquisitions, resulting in billions of dollars in investments for non-profits, families and small businesses.

Aguilar has become a nationally recognized advocate for communities of color on issues such as the environment, community reinvestment, philanthropy, and leadership development. He has presented in front of Congress and at countless trainings and conferences around the country. He has authored numerous reports and editorials on key issues facing the nation, including columns published in the San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee and American Banker. Aguilar regularly meets with Fortune 100 CEOs and with leading financial regulators, including Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Chair Sheila Bair, and and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank.

Aguilar was recently honored by the New Leaders Council with its 40 Under 40 Leadership Award for exemplifying the spirit of progressive political entrepreneurship, and was named an upcoming Latino leader by the nation’s largest Hispanic newspaper, La Opinion. He chairs the Board of Directors of the Mission Economic Development Agency (MEDA), and is a member of the University of California Santa Cruz’s Alumni Association Board.

Preeti Vissa is the Director of Greenlining’s Community Reinvestment Program that focuses on building wealth and economic sustainability in communities of color.

Preeti works on a holistic set of wealth building issues including homeownership, small business development, supplier diversity, financial services, and job creation. She also leads Greenlining’s efforts to ensure that the country’s largest financial institutions serve the needs of diverse communities.

In this capacity, she meets regularly with CEOs from major Fortune 100 companies. In addition, she works closely with over 40 grassroots leaders to ensure that economic needs and solutions for communities of color are amplified to powerful stakeholders. In this capacity she regularly leads delegations of community leaders in meetings with the nation’s leading financial regulators including Federal Reserve Chairman Bernanke, FDIC Chair Bair, and Financial Services Chairman Frank.

Preeti has published reports on issues of home-ownership, small business entrepreneurship, supplier diversity and regulatory reform. She has presented and testified in numerous panels and hearings. She is a graduate of Greenlining’s Leadership Academy.

Vien Truong  leads our work on environmental issues.  Under her direction, the Green Assets Program develops environmental policies and regulations to increase funding and resources to communities most vulnerable to climate change impacts.  This includes ensuring low-income communities and communities of color benefit from philanthropy, jobs, business contracts, and other green opportunities that are created in our efforts to fight global warming. 

She has collaborated with legislators, governors, community-based organizations, and other stakeholders throughout the U.S. in passing innovative state policies - including Texas, Washington, Philadelphia and New Mexico.  Her policies have helped create jobs in the environmental sectors, job training programs to connect people with barriers to employment to family-wage jobs, and drive hundreds of millions of investments to low-income communities.  

Prior to joining Greenlining, Vien led Green For All's state policy and workforce development efforts.  She was an Associate Attorney for the New Business Practicum at UC Berkeley's Boalt School of Law.  She has worked with California State Senator J. Simitian in researching and developing state law and U.S. Chief Magistrate James Larson in researching and analyzing issues before the federal court. She was the Community Economic Justice Law Fellow at UC Berkeley's East Bay Community Law Center, helping to develop innovative, long-term economic development solutions to address the systemic problems confronting low-income communities.  

When she's not at work, Vien is a staunch advocate serving her community.  She is the Chair of the City of Oakland's Planning Commission, guiding the growth and development of her hometown through decisions on development proposals and policy recommendations to the City.  In this capacity, she has helped the City of Oakland become a greener, more sustainable city.  She serves on the American Planning Association's national Planning Officials Committee.

She is a Full Circle Fund Community Fellow for the Environment Circle.  She served as a Commissioner on the City of Oakland's Fund for Children and Youth Planning and Oversight Committee.   Vien has received national, state, and local awards and recognitions for her work on behalf of low-income communities and communities of color.  

Vien holds a B.A from the University of California at Berkeley. She also holds a J.D. from the University of California at Hastings College of the Law.

Sasha Werblin is the Program Manager of Community Reinvestment at Greenlining. Ms. Werblin was the Sustainable Development Fellow in 2007-2008, where she successfully lobbied A.B. 624 (Coto): Foundation Diversity and Transparency Act through the State Assembly and organized communities of color to ensure that large foundations in California equitably give to minority-led organizations. In between her fellowship and returning as Program Manager, Sasha ran the successful 2008 reelection campaign for Congresswoman Barbara Lee. She has also worked in Mombasa, Kenya for a Nongovernmental Organization (NGO) empowering underserved communities to be at the vanguard of local development initiatives and built the capacity of local community based organizations (cbos). Recently, she was a director at a progressive campaign consulting firm mobilizing activists, building membership and fundraising for humanitarian organizations like Amnesty International, Equality California and Save the Children. Ms. Werblin is a native of Oakland and graduated from Smith College in 2007 with a bachelor in Sociology and Psychology.

As Community Reinvestment Program Manager, Sasha will work to enhance Greenlining's community reinvestment initiatives aimed at building wealth, assets, and financial sustainability in communities of color.

Daniel Byrd is originally from Milwaukee, WI. Daniel completed his BA in psychology at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 2005. During his senior year in college, Daniel interned for US Congresswoman Gwen Moore. In 2006 Daniel moved to Seattle to pursue his PhD in Social Psychology at the University of Washington. At the University of Washington Daniel’s research interest focused on racism in politics, and life cycles of political attitudes. Daniel completed his PhD in 2010. Daniel enjoys reading and traveling.

Danielle is the Academy Director and manages Greenlining’s multi-ethnic public policy and leadership training program for high school, college and graduate students. Her responsibilities include developing and implementing programs/curricula to train multi-ethnic leaders in low-income and minority advocacy, public policy research and analysis, coalition building and community economic development. Danielle is passionate about empowering young people to realize their full potential and has eight years of experience in the fields of education and leadership development as a teacher, program architect and manager.

Danielle has also worked as a policy analyst and researcher for the Center for the Strategic and International Studies, the Corporate Council on Africa, the Carnegie Corporation of New York and EnterpriseWorks Worldwide. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science cum laude from Spelman College and a Master of International Affairs degree from Columbia University in New York. Danielle is married and lives in San Francisco with her husband, Jason.

Claudia is the Program Manager for the Academy at Greenlining. She is a native Peruvian who has called the Bay Area home since she arrived in the United States with her family in 1986. Prior to joining the Greenlining Institute, Claudia worked as a Research Associate with UCSF's Center for Reproductive Health Research and Policy. She holds a BA degree in sociology from the University of California, Berkeley and a Masters of Public Policy degree from Pepperdine University where she specialized in social policy and economics. Claudia is dedicated to contributing to the empowerment and advancement of disadvantaged communities across social, academic, economic and political lines.

Rosa María Martinez is from Zacatecas, México. She is a Program Manager with the Bridges to Health Team managing the Diversity in the Health Workforce initiative looking at current representation of people of color at all levels within the health field. Through this project she coordinates the Bay Area Coalition to Increase Diversity in the Heath Workforce in which she has been able to bring people together to discuss and address issues of education, research and policy that affect low income and communities of color in the health sector. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Spanish Language and Literature with a minor in Business Administration from The University of California, Berkeley.

Carla Saporta is the health policy director for the Bridges to Health team at Greenlining, focusing on developing a racially equitable framework for increased health care access and the implementation of the Patient Protection and the Affordable Care Act. Carla also leads efforts to develop public/private partnerships in the health care sector as a means to mitigate health disparities. Carla graduated from Occidental College with a Bachelor of Arts in Urban and Environmental Policy. She completed her Master’s in Public Health, with an emphasis in Health Policy and Management, through the Oregon Masters in Public Health Program at Portland State University. Prior to Greenlining, Carla worked as a legislative analyst for Oregon State Senator Laurie Monnes-Anderson, Chair of the Senate Health Committee and was an organizer for the California Nurses Association. Her work at Greenlining is informed by the understanding that every policy is health policy.

Janine Macbeth comes to Greenlining with a background promoting racial justice through print media.  She has worked for the Applied Research Center / ColorLines Magazine, and Children’s Book Press, a first voice multicultural and bilingual children’s publisher in San Francisco.  Janine received Bachelors of Arts degrees from UC Santa Cruz (UCSC) in Ethnic Studies (via American Studies) and Cultural Anthropology, where she graduated with honors.  At UCSC, Janine’s extra curricular work centered around promoting the recruitment and retention of students of color on college campuses.  Born and raised in Oakland, California, Janine is also a working artist.

Sam’s primary responsibility is to craft strategies that maximize the organization’s cooperative opportunities, or in the alternative, compel adversarial compliance. He has led several successful campaigns impacting state and national policy. Sam engages directly with the heads of federal and state regulatory agencies, corporate executives, and community leaders. He also provides strategic guidance to members of the California legislature and US Congress. Sam has been interviewed and quoted in dozens of media outlets across the country including the Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Sacramento Bee, Philadelphia Inquirer, and CBS. Prior to Greenlining, Sam worked at several NGOs on issues ranging from Iraqi sanctions enforcement to economic development in New York’s West Harlem neighborhood. He was previously a Coro Fellow and recognized as one of the top young Korean American leaders in the United States.

Stephanie directs Greenlining’s advocacy in energy and telecommunications policy. She serves as Greenlining’s lead counsel at the California Public Utilities Commission and the Federal Communications Commission, advocating on a wide range of issues impacting underserved consumers and small businesses. Stephanie has litigated several high profile cases impacting billions of dollars in utility rates. She has also won broad statewide protections for low income ratepayers facing shutoffs and small business owners who have been wrongly billed by utility companies. She is regularly quoted on these issues in major media outlets such as ABC 7, San Jose Mercury News, Contra Costa Times, and the San Francisco Chronicle.

Outside of Greenlining, Stephanie serves as Vice President of the Board of Directors of the Rising Sun Energy Center, which trains young people from underserved communities to perform energy-efficiency retrofits. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the Conference of California Public Utility Counsel, the specialty bar association of attorneys and regulatory personnel who practice before the California Public Utilities Commission. Additionally, Stephanie serves on the Advisory Board for the California Consumer Protection Foundation. Stephanie received a Bachelor of Arts in Government from Dartmouth College, where her studies focused on Political Theory and American Government. She received a juris doctor from the University of San Francisco School of Law, where her focus was on civil rights and constitutional law. She was highly active in the law school's student-run Moot Court Program, serving as a Case Counsel and later as Advocacy Director. Stephanie is also an alumna of the Greenlining Leadership Academy’s Summer Associate and Fellowship programs.

Enrique Gallardo works on consumer protection, energy, telecommunications and advanced technology issues. He advocates for the interests of underserved communities and promotes community investment. Most of his work consists of regulatory advocacy before agencies such as the California Public Utilities Commission, the Federal Communications Commission and others. Enrique received his Juris Doctor degree from UC Berkeley School of Law. Enrique’s previous experience includes work on environmental justice issues as Staff Attorney for the Center on Race, Poverty and the Environment and employment litigation as Staff Attorney for the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund.

Braelan Murray is from San Francisco, CA. He is a graduate of The University of California at Santa Cruz where he received his BFA in Film and Video Production. Braelan is committed to finding ways to advocate for social justice by means of new forms of technology and communication.  With nearly a decade of experience using media as a tool for creating social change, his portfolio includes work for local unions, progressive non-profits and cutting-edge design firms. In addition, he has extensive experience producing independent documentaries.

Bruce Mirken brings two decades of journalism and communications experience as well as a long history of activism to his position as Media Relations Coordinator. An award-winning writer, Bruce's work has appeared in wide range of publications, including the San Francisco Chronicle, Men's Health, and The Advocate. From 2001 through 2009, he served as Director of Communications for the Marijuana Policy Project. In that capacity, he appeared frequently on radio and television, including ABC World News, Anderson Cooper 360, and The Rachel Maddow Show, and was quoted in newspapers and magazines worldwide. His activist career began in the LGBT community (starting just out of college with the campaign against Proposition 6, which would have fired gay or lesbian schoolteachers in California) and quickly branched out to a wide array of social justice issues.

Arcelia Gallardo is Program Director for Casa, a student residential leadership program located blocks from the UC Berkeley campus. Her aim is to help Casa evolve into an academic-residential, collaborative center that promotes social justice, leadership development in a very respectful, hands-on and engaging environment.  Her goals are to recruit, matriculate and retain first generation, low income and under-represented students at the University of California, Berkeley.  Arcelia is originally from Los Angeles and holds a BA in communications and spanish literature from UC Berkeley.

Avis is from Long Beach, California and is a graduate of California State University (CSU), Long Beach where she received a BA in Human Development, Psychology, and Sociology. While at CSU Long Beach, Avis served as a student representative on various university committees and a member of the Board of Directors for the Associated Students. A committed campus leader, Avis was awarded the Excellence in Service Award, Rotary Millennium Scholarship and the Excellence in Leadership Award. She was also an Academic Advisor at the Bickerstaff Center for Student Athletes, Young Black Scholars, Inc. and the SOAR Program. After graduating from CSU Long Beach, Avis joined Greenlining as part of the 2011 Summer Associate cohort and researched affordable mortgage products for low to moderate income homebuyers.

Alexis is from Marietta, Georgia and received her BA in Communication Studies with a minor in African American Studies from the University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill. While at UNC, Alexis received numerous honors and awards including the Public Service Scholarship, the LeaderShape Palmer Award, and the Robertson Scholarship. As chair of the Black Student Movement, she created and organized an annual service learning trip in which UNC students taught sex education to 7th-12th grade youth in Sunflower, Mississippi. Alexis is passionate about alleviating disparities in lowincome and minority communities and understands the relationship between health and community economic sustainability. She was exposed to public policy while working as an intern at Planned Parenthood Federation of America and hopes to gain a broader perspective on health policy through her fellowship.

JC is from San Jose California and holds a BA in Sociology and Asian American Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). A longtime advocate for LGBT and Pilipino communities, JC was external vice president of Samahang Pilipino at UCLA. He was also a student lobbyist and conference delegate for the UCLA Undergraduate Students Associate Council External Vice President's Office and a student-elected Facilities Commissioner representing 26,000 undergraduates on issues of affordability, holistic education, and diversity. JC demonstrated his academic achievement as a recipient of the UCLA Pilipino Alumni Association Distinguished Student two years in a row as well as the Edward Scott Morrison LGBT Scholarship Honor. He recently completed an internship with the Asian American A-Z Agency where he conducted market research for their media and public relations team.

Chanelle is from Brooklyn, New York and received her BA in Women’s Studies and Spanish from DePauw University. While at DePauw University, Chanelle was a Posse Foundation Full-Tuition Leadership scholar and mentor. She is also a graduate of New York University (NYU) Wagner School of Public Service where she received a Master’s in Public Administration with a focus on public policy analysis. Chanelle demonstrated her interest and passion for research as an Adjunct Professor of applied statistics at NYU and as an intern for the Women of Color Policy Network where she drafted reports on child care affordability and subsidy policies. Chanelle was also an intern at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research where she collected data on the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s sex and race discrimination cases.

Divya is from San Jose, California and received a BA in History from the University of Chicago with a focus on protest and resistance movements. Divya has worked extensively on social justice issues both in the U.S. and internationally. While at the University of Chicago, she served as a coordinator and community liaison for the University Community Service Center and Southside Solidarity Network raising awareness and building a bridge between the campus community and the surrounding neighborhood. Divya also worked as an intern for the Human Rights Law Network and Citizens for Peace and Justice, both in Mumbai, India, and studied African Civilizations in Cape Town, South Africa under the guidance of her professors. Divya’s senior thesis explored caste, class, religious and geographic fissures in the postcolonial Indian Women’s Movement.

Michelle Romero is an alumna of the Greenlining Leadership Academy’s Fellowship programs, where she served as Redistricting Fellow from 2010-11. Today, as the Claiming Our Democracy Program Manager, Michelle directs Greenlining Institute’s voting rights & registration advocacy, redistricting, and ballot reform efforts. Michelle believes that an empowered, engaged citizenry is the key to effective government. She received a Bachelor of Arts in World Literature & Cultural Studies from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 2010, where she worked to focus university attention on immigrant student issues and access to higher education. She served as the Legislative Liaison for her campus, was a member of the UC Student Association’s board of directors, and was undergraduate representative to the UC-wide faculty Board on Admissions & Relations with Schools. With experience in both state-wide and national policy organizing, Michelle has expertise in grassroots and direct action organizing.

Ryan Young is from Truckee, California and graduated from the University of California, Santa Barbara with a B.A. in Law and Society. In May 2010, Ryan received his Juris Doctor from the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. He has served as the Treasurer of the Black Law Students Association and as the Development Editor of the Hastings Race and Poverty Law Journal. Additionally, Ryan has proudly served on the planning committees of multi-organizational programs such as the Day at Law School and Diversity Outreach Day. He also served a summer as a legal clerk in the Environmental Enforcement Section of the United States Department of Justice. Recently, Ryan worked as an intern for the California Public Utilities Commission, where he researched and provided analysis on energy issues, green collar job development, and electric distribution line safety.  Outside of Greenlining, Ryan sits on the Board of Directors for the Ecology Center.  Ryan is passionate about improving access to renewable energy and green jobs in communities of color.

Mark Garcia is from Pasadena, CA. He grew up in the Los Angeles are and has worked with technology companies from San Diego to Las Vegas.  After receiving his undergraduate degree in economics from Occidental College, Mark obtained his Master of Business Administration at the Graziadio School of Bussiness at the Pepperdine University.

Mark is focused on leveraging social media to allow Greenlining and their coalition of organizations to promote the well being of all people.  His goal is to educate people in the uses of technology so that they can reach around their community and the world to unite people in the battle for equal representation and oppurtunities in society.