Peralta Community College District is partnering with Urban Leaders Fellowship (ULF) to host five ULF fellows. The Urban Leaders Fellowship is a paid seven-week fellowship experience implemented in eight cities across the country. The fellows are leaders interested in impacting real and lasting change by working with partner organizations on policy advancement, leadership development, and community impact.

The five fellows at PCCD will look at strategies for effective board practice and engagement, understanding the long-term and short-term implications of SCFF and its impact on current labor contracts, and strategies for maximizing the SCFF.

Under the leadership of General Counsel and Chief of Staff, Delisle Warden, ULF fellows will intern June 8, 2020 – July 24, 2020. Chancellor Stanback Stroud remarked, “In our commitment to social justice and community impact, PCCD is proud to partner with ULF and host these talented fellows who want to contribute their talents to making a difference in the community.”

Please welcome the Five PCCD ULF fellows.

Jessica Bowman

A rising 3L at Lewis & Clark Law School in Portland, Oregon, Jessica Bowman is passionate about creating local and national policy changes that will secure equitable education and health care for all. Prior to entering law school, Ms. Bowman worked in pediatric asthma and neurodegenerative research at the University of California, San Francisco. Her experience in the medical field led to observations of the systemic economic and environmental disparities that exacerbate many health issues and led her to pursue a law degree with a focus on policy reform. During law school Jessica has interned with the Oregon Medical-Legal Partnership and Youth, Rights, and Justice, a non-profit juvenile public defense firm.

Bryant Duong

Bryant Duong is a graduate student at San Francisco State University, studying Public Finance. He also is a Research Assistant with United States Geological Survey’s Resilience project vulnerable communities’ earthquake-readiness. In his previous position as a community advocate at Chinatown Community Development Center, Mr. Duong was unanimously appointed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors to the Citizens Advisory Committee for the Central Market & Tenderloin Area. As the committee’s Vice Chair, he collaborated with Twitter, Microsoft, Spotify, and other community technology companies to serve the children living in the Tenderloin by partnering with neighborhood schools. 

Brieanna Martin

Brieanna Gabrielle Martin is a proud native San Franciscan from the Ingleside district and a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, with a degree in Political Science. During her undergraduate career, Ms. Martin sought opportunities to promote socioeconomic justice through media, education, and research. Ms. Martin is working to close the digital divide in Oakland. 

Megan Nemire

Megan Nemire, MA LPC (she/they) is a Disability and Neurodiversity advocate, Licensed Professional Counselor (Colorado), Art Therapist, and former Research Coordinator. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Studio Art from Michigan State University (2010), and the Master of Arts in Counseling Psychology: Art Therapy from Naropa University (2014). Megan has over 14 years of direct mental health and health care experience with youth and adults. Starting as a therapeutic intern for a group of artists with disabilities, she excelled at utilizing artists’ strengths to support them through challenges. With extensive analytical, mental health, research, and advocacy experience and skills, Megan is poised to support marginalized communities through policy change and social action.

Catherine Meyer-Meckler

Catherine Meyer-Meckler taught for four years at a Title I school in the Fruitvale neighborhood of Oakland. This experience informed her desire to pursue a career in education policy to solve the larger systemic issues that contributed to the inequities her students faced in the classroom. During her time teaching she was part of a policy fellowship for educators in Oakland, worked with Educate 78 on issues of teacher retention and helped pass a policy at her network protecting the rights of transgender students across its 7 schools. Catherine graduated from Duke University with a major in International Development and Women’s Leadership.