Announcing Charise Fong as EBALDC Interim CEO

Dear Friends,

As we reflect on the extraordinary challenges our communities and our staff have faced this year, we are humbled by the impact that we have been able to achieve together. 

During this critical time for our organization and our communities, we have spoken at length about the strength, creativity and perseverance of EBALDC’s team at all levels. From our office staff and building maintenance teams, to the Board and the Executive Leadership Team and beyond, it is our people that make this impact possible. 

Charise Fong, COO and executive vice president of programs, has been integral to nurturing talent and developing EBALDC’s diverse leadership in service of our communities over the course of her 14 year tenure. It is with profound gratitude and great hope for the future that the Board has announced that Charise will take on the role of interim CEO of EBALDC to guide the organization during this time of transition. 

Charise has worked closely with the Board and CEO Joshua Simon for more than eight years, serving as a guiding light in developing and applying our Healthy Neighborhoods Approach to community development. She is a model collaborator who acts and speaks from a place of equity, lifting up leadership at all levels of the organization to celebrate and deepen their accomplishments. 

With Charise at the helm, EBALDC’s Board will take the time we need to conduct a thorough and thoughtful search for a permanent CEO that will lead EBALDC into the next decade, and to continue to center racial equity and resident leadership in building healthy communities. The Board’s search committee has publicly announced the CEO search. For more information, please visit here.

Thanks to Joshua’s tireless and creative leadership, the team he and Charise have helped to cultivate together, and the Board’s support of our efforts on every level of the organization, we are energized and excited to keep striving together towards our vision of a more equitable, inclusive and culturally vibrant East Bay. 

In community, 

Joshua Simon, CEO

Charise Fong, COO & EVP, Community Building

Sean Sullivan, Chair, EBALDC Board of Directors