EBALDC helped shape my professional and Asian American identity

March 2021

East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation

45 Stories for 45 Years

Contributor: Karoleen Feng, former EBALDC staff member

I’m only a couple of years younger than EBALDC is, and I first met EBALDC when we were both in our late 20s and just turning 30. I remember the metal pin that Joshua Simon (then Director of Real Estate Development and later Executive Director) gave me in my first year at EBALDC for celebrating the 30th Anniversary and here we are at the 45th. 

I think about how Lynette Jung Lee, founding Executive Director with board members at the time like Ted Dang, established this organization in their 20s. And how by the time I joined, EBALDC had matured from earlier youth and was learning to take stock more and deepen systems more. My first affordable housing apartments were Oak Park in East Oakland and others have shared the advocacy and labor of love to rebuild Oak Park. This is where I first learned about the importance of community-government partnerships, and especially about EBALDC’s willingness to transform a disaster for families into a dream despite all the complications of affordable housing regulations and financing. And how EBALDC responded to the call over and over again with buildings like Pacific Renaissance and the California Hotel. 

EBALDC helped shape my professional and Asian American identity, growing my chops in race-conscious place-building.  I have strong memories of happy hours and conferences with National CAPACD peers where I found kinship with like-minded community developers across the country from elders in the work to upstarts like myself. I remember dozens of community meetings, with activists strongly standing their ground on Chinatown as a place in the Oakland fabric and the struggles to deepen the awareness of neighbors and government of the importance of this place. From learning on the ground next to Janet Patterson and Marilyn Harrison, along with EBALDC, I continued to push the boundaries of what being an ally meant, with the best of intentions but not always with the strongest consciousness. And from building Lillie Mae Jones Housing alongside Joanna Griffith, Norma Thompson and Don Gilmore in Richmond to the massive undertaking of anchoring a once-was San Pablo Avenue corridor to a now-is with the California Hotel, we formed and forged stronger relationships. These are just the projects that I was more directly involved in. 

Today, as EBALDC stands tall in its 45th year, I think about myself in my mid-40s and the challenges of our community and how nation-making organizations like EBALDC are more critical than ever. As we all continue to remember and heal, I’m so proud to have been part of EBALDC’s past and look forward to its future.

As EBALDC marks our 45th anniversary, we will be gathering more stories like this one from our friends, family, community members, partners and more stakeholders that have made our impact possible. We would be honored for you to join us:

  • Follow us on social media: @EBALDC

 

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