JLDA Board
The Jack London District
Association Board of Directors has 11 seats of which 7 are currently filled. Our
treasurer recently moved to San Francisco, and several other board members have
recently moved away. In accordance with the bylaws, new board members are
elected on an annual basis by the current board. The four officers of the board
(President, Vice-President, Treasurer and Secretary) are then elected by the
new board and also serve a one year term. Vacant positions can be filled at any
time by resolution of the board.
JLDA currently has three advisory committees that carry out much of the work of the organization. Each advises the board about policy and budget matters. Everyone is invited to serve on a committee and volunteers are always needed.
--Land Use and Transportation Committee (LUTC)
--Communications Committee (JLDA CALL, jlda.org, etc.)
--Social and Community Committee (chair and volunteers needed)
If you'd like to join a committee or create a new committee, please send an email to info@jlda.org or attend the next board meeting.
Serving on the Board
Board members are
expected to attend the monthly board meetings which are usually held at 229
Harrison Street on the 3rd Monday of the month. Attendance of these meetings is
very important so those who are not able to attend meetings on a regular basis
should instead volunteer for an advisory committee role. We also request that
board members be available for contact via email in between board meetings.
Board members may also be members of or lead our advisory committees. Board
membership and board meeting attendance is not a requirement to be a member of
any of our advisory committees.
Our community is still a
relatively small one and has yet to establish a large body of regular
volunteers. Therefore a great deal of the JLDA work in the community is done through
the volunteer efforts of its current board of directors and advisory committee
members. This includes: attending and speaking at City meetings on our behalf,
writing and circulating letters, researching issues, posting notices in the
neighborhood, community outreach activities, and organizing and helping out at
social events. Though in no way a requirement, Directors also typically make a financial contribution above and
beyond our standard community supporters.
Candidates wishing to
serve on our Board of Directors are invited to submit a statement of their
interest in serving on the board outlining any relevant experience you have, in
particular with non-profits, and their current participation in the Jack London
District community. Please indicate if you would be willing to serve as an
officer of the board either now or at a future date, and which, if any, of the
advisory committees you have an interest in. Statements should be submitted to info@jlda.org or in writing to our mailing
address (see contact information to the left).
For reference the
statements submitted by the current board members are provided in the Board
member list below.
The Current Board of Directors
The current Board of
Directors was elected at the March 2011 JLDA board meeting and will serve until
the March 2012 board meeting when all positions will be up for election. There
are currently four vacant positions on the board, also anyone can make a
contribution by joining or leading one of our advisory committees that report
to to the board.
President - Ben Delaney
Ben Delaney has lived in
the Bay Area for over 35 years and in the JLD since 2003. Since 2008, he has
served as CEO of ReliaTech, the San Pablo-based nonprofit computer repair and
service company. Prior to that, Ben was Director of Marketing and Communications
at Springboard Schools. A resident and business owner, he has operated his own
marketing and market research business from his home on Martin Luther King Jr.
Way. He believes strongly in the attractiveness, vitality, and under-realized
value of our neighborhood, and is eager to help JLDA continue its work as a
representative organization for the residents and businesses of the Jack London
district. He has been a vocal booster and strong representative for the
district at city and other meetings. Ben believes that our neighborhood is a
great place to live and work and is excited about helping to make it even
better.
Ben is a founder of
JLDA, has been a board member since March 2005 and previously served as
President from 2006 to 2009.
Vice President - Steve
Lowe
Steve Lowe came to
Oakland in 1973 as part of the Old Oakland development team, eventually
settling here in 1990 after purchasing a building in Oakland's historic (c.
1916) Produce Market. With partner Alexandra Smith, he formed Urbanspace Development
with the intent of preserving the Market by converting it to retail, just as
had happened in Seattle with Pike Place Market. In the process, he's become
deeply involved with West Oakland / Jack London matters, with particular
attention to the pollution generated at the Port of Oakland.
Steve has been a board
member since March 2007.
Treasurer – Vacant
position
Secretary - Dan Dunkle
Dan has been a resident
and business owner in Oakland since 2009. He works as a Technical Instructor at
Guidewire Sofware in San Mateo, and as a courseware developer and training
program designer. Guidewire sells core enterprise products to Property and
Casualty insurance carriers; Dan trains the people that implement products for
customers. Dan has been been involved in IT and Project Management in various
forms for most of his career, and tries to bring a high level of technical
expertise and competence to all his endeavors. He’s been involved with the
Burning Man art festivals for 15 years, and has led and supported numerous
theme camps and art projects there. Dan came to the District in 2009 in order
to found a live/work community called Radiance Oak, and to provide service to
his immediate communities and the local neighborhood. Radiance Oak is an
intentional and spiritually-oriented community of men and women living in
service, and collaborating with a common purpose to foster our own well being
and that of those around us. Radiance Oak has restored a historical warehouse
in the Waterfront Warehouse District as a spiritual home, community center, and
resource for service. It includes an Art Gallery and Clothing store (for more
information visit www.radianceoak.org). The JLDA Board provides Dan with a
welcome opportunity to learn more about this area and its issues, and to make
connections with others interested in helping to make it better.
Dan joined the board in
2011.
Gary Knecht
Gary Knecht has worked
and lived in the Jack London District since 1982. From 1982 until his
retirement in 1999, he worked in the City of Oakland's historic preservation
program. For 15 of those years he coordinated the Oakland Cultural Heritage
Survey, an ongoing survey of architecturally and historically important
buildings and districts. From 1981 until 2005 Gary owned his own historic
preservation consulting firm, Knecht & Knecht, with offices in the
Egghouse, his work/live building located at 3rd & Harrison in the National
Register-listed Oakland Waterfront Warehouse District. Gary received both a
Bachelor of Arts and a Master of Architecture from the University of
California, Berkeley. In addition to serving as a founding member of JLDA's
Board of Directors, Gary has served as a director of the Artists' Legacy
Foundation, Oakland Fund for the Arts, South of the Nimitz Improvement Council,
and Oakland Heritage Alliance. His public service includes terms on the Oakland
Cultural Affairs Commission and the Alameda Historical Advisory Commission. Since
1987 he has served as a volunteer guide for the Oakland Tours Program, leading
walking tours of the Jack London District and Jack London Square. He has a
strong belief in giving back to the community in which he lives and works.
Gary is a founder of
JLDA and has been a board member since March 2005.
Brendon Levitt
Brendon Levitt is an
architect, planner, and educator living in the JLD. His expertise in the field
of sustainable development has led him to work with the award-winning
Alameda-based practice of Loisos + Ubbelohde, Architecture & Energy in
addition to adjunct teaching positions at California College of the Arts and UC
Berkeley. Since moving to the Bay Area a decade ago Brendon has been interested
in the peculiarities of the JLD and the district’s barely-realized potential.
Brendon is a pragmatic optimist, insistent on smart change that conserves
important resources, both natural and manmade. He is excited for the
opportunity of using his expertise to help nurture the neighborhood.
Brendon joined the board
in May 2010.
Barry Pilger
Barry Pilger is
principal and broker of Stafford Real Estate, whose office has been located in
the heart of the Jack London District for over seven years. In past years
he has served as board member and vice president of JLDA. He was a
founding editor and publisher of the JLDA Call newsletter. In the
past he has served on a variety of non profit boards and recently stepped down
after a two year presidency of the Claremont Canyon Conservancy.
He has been politically active in the city of Oakland for years and
co-chaired the campaign to create the Oakland Wildfire Prevention District and
is a frequent speaker on that topic and assisted with JLDA's efforts to create
a mixed use district permit parking program for the Jack London neighborhood.
He is a long time member of and teaches classes for the Oakland
Association of Realtors. Barry and his wife Catherine Moss (a partner in
Stafford Real Estate) have lived in Oakland since 1976.
Barry rejoined the board
in 2011.
Ruth Strauss, Esq.
Ruth Strauss has lived
in the East Bay for 21 years, and, together with her husband, acquired a second
home in the JLD in 2010. A transactional lawyer for more than 23 years, Ms.
Strauss served as a partner in the former Thelen LLP’s nationally recognized
real estate finance group, a partner in a major Chicago-based law firm, and
senior counsel in Brown and Wood LLP (now part of Sidley Austin). She has
represented banks, companies, and a rating agency, as applicable, in residential
and commercial mortgage transactions, public securitizations, general corporate
work, securities offerings, audit committee and corporate governance work, and
construction financing (including CMBS, Mello-Roos, assessment, toll road, and
501(c)(3) revenue bonds and the largest public finance transaction of 1995). Ms.
Strauss has served as a moderator and speaker and published well-regarded
articles. Following Thelen’s dissolution, Ms. Strauss formed her own law firm,
where she continues to advise business clients and also represents herself as a
landlord in the JLD. Ms. Strauss is active in The Ellington Community
Association (HOA), and is committed to assisting the JLDA with its community
marketing and improvement efforts, including financing mechanisms that may
include formation of a community benefits district. Ms. Strauss is a graduate
of Rice University and Duke University School of Law.
Ruth joined the board in
October 2011
Previous Board members
JLDA would like to thank
the following people who have served the Jack London District community by
volunteering as a member of the JLDA Board of Directors in previous years:
- Diahann Parker – resident and board member 2007-2012
- John Gannon – resident and board member 2011-2012
- June Grant, AIA, LEED, AP – resident and board member 2011
- Helen Wu - resident and board member 2010
- Bernice Straub - resident and board member 2008-2010
- Alex Eagle - resident and board member 2009-2010
- Norm Bahr - resident and board member 2009-2010
- Michael Goldberg - local employee and board member 2009-2010
- Joshua Gangshorn - resident and board member 2009
- Robert Wells - business owner, board member 2009
- Simon Waddington - resident, founder and board member 2005-2009
- Barry Pilger - business owner, board member 2006-2009
- Winnie Anderson - resident, board member 2006-2008
- Jim Louie - resident, board member 2006-2008
- Andrej Oslica - resident, local employee, board member 2008
- Steve Jimenez - resident, board member 2006-2007
- Karl Augenstein - resident, board member 2005-2007
- Joanna Adler - business owner, resident, founder and board member 2005-2007
- Steve Sacks - business owner, founder and board member 2005-2006
- Bach Nguyen - business owner, founder and board member 2005-2006
- Wendy Tinsley - resident, founder and board member 2005-2006
- Adeeba Detervile - resident, board member 2006
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