Meet our organizers

Sara is a Hayward City Council Member dedicated to inclusion and fair representation and is proud to be part of this Coalition. She is also a member of League of Women Voters, American Association of University Women, among other organizations. While working to address healthcare issues, support Kinship families, and decrease homelessness, Sara has brought youth and adults to Sacramento and DC to ensure that they could be part of decisions affecting their lives. She also has a background in theater, loves to read silly stories to any audience who wishes to hear them, and periodically makes jewelry.

Helen Hutchison is a member of the League of Women Voters of Oakland, and the redistricting director for the League of Women Voters of California. Helen believes that redistricting is important to me because it’s about power — political power. Fair redistricting gives communities a better chance of being heard and having influence in the policies that affect them every day. Alameda County redistricting is of particular interest to me because of the amount of money the County has to spend on human services — things like health care, mental health care, and child and family services.

Penelope Anne Hughes is a 40 year resident of unincorporated Castro Valley. She was asked to join Alameda County Coalition for Fair Redistricting because of her commitment to furthering social justice, specifically in striving for equity for all. She believes everyone should have a chair at the table and a voice in the discussion of how to create a fair transparent redistricting process for Alameda County. She is a member of Castro Valley Community Alliance and Eden Area Interfaith Council.

Rita lives in the Fairview unincorporated community of Alameda County. She joined the Coalition because she is passionate about helping citizens understand their role and responsibility in the governance of our country. Outside of the Coalition, Rita has extensive experience in civic engagement and local government. She is the President of the Hayward/South Alameda County BWOPA Chapter, Chair of the Alameda County Council League of Women Voters, President of the Oro Loma Sanitary District Board of Directors, and Vice-Chair of the California Association of Sanitary Agencies (CASA) Federal Legislative Committee. Rita has a B.A. in Human Services and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology from Notre Dame de Namur University.

Trish Munro is the Vice-Mayor of Livermore, elected in 2018. She brings a lifetime of experience in building community and an understanding of societal dynamics rooted in sociology. While she is concerned with homeless issues, affordable housing, infrastructure, and other issues that make up the stuff of livable and welcoming cities, she is passionate about civic education, engagement, and inclusion. She joined the Alameda County Redistricting Committee to ensure that AC residents understand the importance of the county and have their voices well-represented. It is always more complicated, takes longer, and costs more than you imagine. Do it anyway. Together we can be the heroes we've been searching for.

Valerie is a recently elected Councilmember in the City of Pleasanton. Prior to her election to the Council, Valerie served for 12 years as a Board member on the Pleasanton Unified School District Board of Trustees. Valerie is a former Pleasanton Library Commissioner, Board member for the Tri-Valley YMCA, and Board Member for the Pleasanton Cultural Arts Council. She currently works at Hively, a local non-profit.

Brittni Kiick was elected to Livermore’s City Council in 2020, representing District 3. Before joining the Council, she worked as a local Tri-Valley organizer, managing collaboration between diverse groups of people. Bringing together diverse communities, finding a common goal and helping chart a path forward are skills she has practiced in all her community organizing efforts and hopes to put to good use for the Coalition.

Andrew is a Trusted Advisor-Management Consultant, Journalist, and Equine Advocate in Sunol, CA. He is excited about connecting and working with the members of the Coalition to develop relationships that partner-up on initiatives to improve life in Alameda County. Fair redistricting will enable County resources to be equitably distributed in communities. Andrew is a member of the Board of Directors for Parelli Foundation (www.parellifoundation.org), serves as secretary for the Sunol Business Guild, and is a member of the Alameda Creek Alliance. He also serves as President of Bay Area Savvy Players - A Natural Horsemanship Club.

Kelly joined the Coalition for fair redistricting to support balanced representation for communities that are now apportioned through an opaque process, with a focus on Hispanics. Kelly understands the important role of county government for residents of both the unincorporated areas and the 14 cities. A resident of Fremont, he hopes to bring together a broad range of groups and individuals that will share their expertise for better representation. As co-founder of Mission Peak Conservancy, Kelly works to protect public access to regional parks and non-motorized trails in south county.

Pat Payne is a passionate community activist fighting poverty and gender inequality. She currently serves as a RESULTS’ global poverty advocate lobbying Members of Congress to end poverty, Membership Chair for the Castro Valley Democratic Club, Board member for League of Women Voters Eden Area and Chapter Leader for Together Women Rise Castro Valley Chapter. Ms. Payne earned her MBA in Marketing from Cal State East Bay and has 15 years professional experience as a Business Development Director for environmental laboratories. Her hobbies include reading, gardening, and Jazzercise.

I learned about the Alameda County Coalition for Fair Redistricting from a member of the Hayward-Castro Valley Branch of AAUW (American Association of University Women). As president of the branch, I believed the issues of fair redistricting were in line with the AAUW principles of equality, diversity and inclusion. I presented the fair redistricting resolution to my branch and the other five branches within Alameda County to share the process with as many Alameda County citizens as possible with the hope that they will get involved with ensuring that the new lines drawn are representative of all our citizens.

Kyoko moved to Livermore in 1990, and has been a community organizer since 2010. She served as a lead organizer for numerous issue-oriented campaigns in health care, public transportation, Community Choice Energy, and Census outreach in East Bay communities. A talented event coordinator, Kyoko brought people together to organize events in Tri-Valley and throughout the Bay Area. She was recognized as an Asian and Pacific Islander of the year in 2019 by Assemblymember Bauer-Kahan. She is committed to train next generation organizers and to help every voice to be heard. She is an avid scuba diver, birder and gardener who loves good food and wine.

Susanne is a community organizer passionate about empowering people to make civic engagement a part of everyday life. On redistricting, she has been organizing for two years with former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder’s All On The Line national grassroots redistricting organization. She joined the Alameda County Coalition for Fair Redistricting to ensure our communities have an opportunity to exercise their Constitutional right to district maps that enable them to voice community priorities and to have a chance to elect people who will work for their interests. Susanne is also a part of Center for Common Ground/Reclaim Our Vote and OFA - Berkeley and Central Valley.

Jade is a junior at Dougherty Valley High School in San Ramon. She joined the Coalition due to her interest in local government and passion for supporting community causes. Jade believes that fair redistricting is needed to ensure all voices can be heard when it comes to voicing concerns; without fair redistricting, resources cannot be equitably distributed in communities. When she is not working on Coalition tasks, Jade enjoys writing opinion pieces for her school newspaper, listening to political podcasts, and going for walks with her dog.