Staff

María Poblet, Executive Director
415.487.9203, ext. 204, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
María Poblet is the Executive Director of Causa Justa :: Just Cause. She is Chicana and Argentine, and has more than a decade of experience in Latino community organizing. At St. Peter’s Housing Committee, María was instrumental in transforming a service provision model into a membership and organizing structure, and a grassroots leadership development and political education program. In 2009, she helped lead the merger between St. Peter’s and Just Cause Oakland that created Causa Justa :: Just Cause, bringing together the organization’s respective work in the Latino community in San Francisco and the African American community in Oakland into a single, regional organization for racial and economic justice. She has been a leader in movement building work at the grassroots, including the US Social Forum and the Grassroots Global Justice Alliance. Maria had the privilege of being mentored for many years by June Jordan, and was the Artistic Director of Poetry for the People before she fell in love with community organizing. Recently Maria was awarded a highly competitive 2-year Leader Spring Executive Fellowship for 2012.

Adam Gold, Finance & Operations Director
510.763.5877, ext. 301, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Adam has 15 years of organization-building experience in the East Bay. He brings expertise in developing infrastructure, capacity-building, financial management and building solid membership organizations. Adam was initially trained in community organizing from Oakland ACORN in 1996-97. From there, he got involved in the youth movement, co-founding C-Beyond in Concord, an organization originally dedicated to organizing white youth against racism. In 2000 Adam moved on to help found the Youth Empowerment Center, an umbrella organization for youth movement organizations. Adam was hired as Campaign Manager for the Yes on Measure EE Campaign in 2002 and began full-time with Just Cause Oakland (now CJJC) in 2003.

Alia Trindle, Grassroots Fundraiser
510.763.5877, ext. 313, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Alia first came to Causa Justa :: Just Cause as a volunteer at St. Peter’s Housing Committee through Catalyst Project’s Anne Braden Program in August 2009. Prior to that, she worked as a Spanish translator and organized with the Coalition to Save the Libraries, a multiracial community-based organization that mobilized against budget cuts in Philadelphia. Alia is particularly motivated by histories and visions of autonomy and community self-determination.

Laurene S. Francois, Grassroots Fundraiser
510.318.7383, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Laurene S. Francois came to Causa Justa :: Just Cause from New York where she organized through F.I.E.R.C.E., which is a queer youth of color membership grass roots group developing leaders and advocates within their community. Laurene’s love for grass roots fundraising is rooted in the belief that people can collectively fund their own liberation. Laurene is a proud first-generation Haitian daughter. She’s passionate about gender politics, peer learning and popular education.

Cinthya Muñoz,
Regional Lead, Immigrant Rights Organizer

415.487.9203, ext. 208, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Cinthya’s political involvement began in Sacramento, CA, where, as a high school student, she organized against the criminalization of young people of color by school officials and the police. She became involved in the immigrant rights movement and was instrumental in organizing the student walkouts, community forums and marches that were part of the massive immigrant rights strikes of May 1, 2006. Cinthya began work at St. Peter’s Housing Committee in 2007 as part of SOUL Summer School program for young organizers. In addition to her tenant and immigrant rights work at St. Peter’s, Cinthya has been involved in various grassroots campaigns in the Bay Area. She heads up the immigrant rights organizing at Causa Justa :: Just Cause and co-chairs ACUDIR: Alameda County United In Defense of Immigrant Rights, a coalition fighting to defend and advance rights for all immigrants. Cinthya is an alumni of the Women's Policy Institute, and a recipient of the Fellowship for a New California.

Dawn Phillips, Program Director
510-763.5877, ext. 403, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Dawn has almost two decades of organizing work in the Bay Area. After graduating from the Center for Third World Organizing's Minority Activist Apprenticeship Program (MAAP), Dawn spent six years as an organizer, then director of the community organizing program at Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS). Dawn then worked at People United for a Better Oakland (PUEBLO) for six years as the executive director leading a multi-racial, intergenerational organization. PUEBLO tackled issues from environmental justice, community safety and police accountability, to youth organizing and economic justice. Dawn has also served on the boards of the National Organizer's Alliance (NOA), Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice (ACRJ), and the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) and is currently a member of the Steering Committee of the Right to the City Alliance.

Vanessa Moses, Program Co-Director
510.763.5877 ext. 310, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Vanessa’s East Coast roots involved several years of leadership development and anti-oppression work with youth in Philadelphia. Once in the Bay Area, she became active with several community and political organizations, including as staff for Bay Area Police Watch, a project of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, and as a collective member with the Center for Political Education. She received a bachelors degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and was later trained as an organizer at the National School for Strategic Organizing with the Labor/Community Strategy Center and Bus Riders Union in Los Angeles. In addition to her work with CJJC, Vanessa works with generationFIVE to help build and evolve transformative justice practices and collaboratives

Paige Kumm, San Francisco Housing Rights Counselor/Organizer
415.487.9203, ext. 205, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As a queer, biracial black-and-white Army brat with no hometown, Paige often found herself straddling cultural divides while growing up, becoming personally aware of widespread practices of exclusion, violence, and injustice. While studying at Stanford, she found an inspiring avenue to address those issues through the labor and immigrant rights student activist community, helping to organize a successful living wage campaign for Stanford's workers and eventually co-founding the Stanford Immigrant Rights Project.  Her passion for worker and immigrant rights led to a union organizing stint with UNITE-HERE Local 631 in Phoenix, and now, in her new role as a tenant rights counselor in San Francisco, Paige feels prepared and empowered to be a leader in the struggle for black-brown unity and economic equality.  In her free time, Paige enjoys attending concerts and professing her undying love for the Mission District.

Lucia Kimble, San Francisco Housing Rights Organizer
415.487.9203, ext. 203, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Prior to joining CJJC, Lucia had worked for five years with youth and families of color as a trainer, conference organizer, project interviewer and program coordinator in the Sacramento area. A Latina of Mexican and Guatemalan descent, she now leads the base building and service providing team in the San Francisco office. Lucia was recently selected as one of 35 women leaders awarded for 2012 a prestigious fellowship at the Women's Policy Institute.

Chantal Garcia, San Francisco Housing Rights Organizer
415.487.9203 ext., 204, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Chantal began community organizing in 2006. On May 1st, 2006 she participated in the landmark march of one of the largest immigration rights protest in the nation. After attending the march she became involved with a youth led Xicana/o indigenous-based, social justice organization in Oakland. In 2010 she became involved with Improving Dreams, Equity, Access and Success (IDEAS) a student organization which organized around the Dream Act and to promote higher education to undocumented students around the SF Bay Area. In the Summer of 2012 she participated in the School of Unity and Liberation (SOUL) where she was hired by Causa Justa::Just Cause (CJJC) after stellar work as an intern in the Immigrants Rights Committee. Chantal is a salsa queen who rivals even Maria Poblet! She’s loves being with her family when she’s not at a Raiders football game. ¡Vaya!

Chi Mei Tam, Finance and Administrations Manager
510.763.5877, ext. 304, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Chi Mei started here as a volunteer assisting our members and staff at events and at the office. Her unique contribution stems from her finance background as well as her passion for immigrant and racial justice. As an immigrant child growing up in Oakland, Chi Mei and her family struggled through many of the same challenges affecting CJJC's members. She also organized with San Francisco Pride at Work/HAVOQ and is excited to find ways to connect the intersectionality of race, economic, and queer identity in community organizing. On her free time, she strives to create a healing and transformative community through gardening, spiritual writings, cooperative living, dancing, singing, and exploring our nature surroundings.

Molly McClure, Volunteer Coordinator
510.763.5877, ext. 302, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

CJJC welcomes Molly back from maternity leave! Born and raised in the Bay Area, Molly first became politicized through queer, feminist and global justice organizing in the 1990s. While living in Philadelphia for five years, Molly supported immigrant rights and gender justice organizing, taught sex education in public high schools, and facilitated self-defense and anti-racism workshops. Since Hurricane Katrina, Molly has been doing Gulf Coast solidarity work in and out of New Orleans, and organizing around the struggle for a just reconstruction. In addition to working at CJJC, Molly works at the Catalyst Project doing anti-racism trainings.                            

Myriam Zamora, San Francisco Counselor/Organizer
415.487.9203, ext. 206, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Myriam began her community work when she was 15 years old volunteering in educational literacy campaigns in Nicaragua and has continued community work for the past 40 years. Since she immigrated to this country, Myriam has worked with many community-based organizations in San Francisco’s Mission District. For the past six years, Myriam has been a housing counselor and organizer (at St. Peter's Housing Committee). She continues to work intensively on membership and leader development with CJJC.

Patricia Zamora, Oakland Lead Organizer
510.763.5877, ext. 308, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Patricia Zamora is the Oakland Lead Organizer at Causa Justa :: Just Cause. She is a first generation immigrant and a proud Nicoya with roots in San Francisco where she was raised. She first began doing community work in the Mission District by providing direct services, performing outreach and facilitating summer and after school programs for Latin@ immigrant youth. She co-founded a queer Latina youth support group, Aquellas L.O.C.A.S. and facilitated a Latina girls group at Everett Middle School and International Studies Academy. Patricia started and coordinated a teen health program while at Good Samaritan Family Resource Center. While doing this work she saw many youth and their families experience major housing problems that affected the youth tremendously in school and in their health. Armed with a spirit to fight for better housing rights Patricia joined Causa Justa :: Just Cause in 2009 to become a housing rights counselor/organizer and develop the organization’s first Tenant Rights Clinic in Oakland. She is an Oakland resident and works to defend low-income Oakland tenants against displacement. In 2012, Patricia was promoted to Lead Organizer and was appointed to the City of Oakland’s Building Services Advisory Task Force. She is currently a 2012 Fellow in Urban Habitat’s Boards and Commissions Leadership Institute.

Princess Beverly Williams, Oakland Counselor/Organizer
510.763.5877, ext. 312, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Princess Beverly Williams joined Causa Justa :: Just Cause as a member in 2009 and joined the staff as a Housing Rights Counselor in 2010. Princess Beverly comes to Causa Justa with more than 25 years of case management experience, beginning in 1985. In 1993, as a Leadership Development Intern for the Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) organizing team, Princess Beverly worked on campaigns to win progressive taxation and to preserve the federal safety net. She subsequently worked at BOSS Oakland Homeless Project as counselor/community builder and then advocate before taking a position as an Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Specialist. Princess Beverly holds a Human Development Certificate from the College of Alameda.

Robbie Clark, Oakland Housing Rights Campaign Organizer
510.763.5877 ext. 404, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Robbie was born and raised in Oakland and brings a wealth of knowledge about the city’s residents and neighborhoods. Robbie became active in students’ rights organizing at UCLA and the affirmative action struggle that was being waged at the time. Robbie has been active in local political campaigns in Oakland such as the district campaign of Amie Allison and Ron Dellums’ mayoral campaign.  

Pati Sanchez, Oakland Counselor/Organizer, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Pati comes to us with a strong commitment to fighting for immigrant rights through campaign and coalition work. She has worked with Deporten a la Migra Coalition providing information to the community through Know-Your-Rights presentations and through theatre. She has worked with incarcerated youth as a para-educator and mentor, as well as provided services to homeless/low-no-income youth. She's dedicated to community organizing among communities of color and brings to Causa Justa ::Just Cause her passion for housing, racial and economic justice to help us battle slumlords and take on the banks.

Nell Myhand, Oakland Homeowner Clinic Coordinator
510.763.5877 ext. 401, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sanyika Bryant, Civic Engagement Organizer
510.763.5877 ext. 307, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Sanyika Bryant is the oldest of his parents’ six children and was raised in the city of Los Angeles. Sanyika was trained by the Labor/Community Strategy Center where he worked on the Bus Riders Union and Frontlines Press projects. He is also a graduate of the Strategy Center's National School for Strategic Organizing, class of 2003. Sanyika's ideology is rooted in Pan-Africanism, anti-imperialism and internationalism. He is also an artist and an author, and currently spends any free time he has away from his organizing duties working on his novel.

Jamis Minnis, Operations Manager
510.763.5877 ext. 319, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Jamis is currently reading all of her co-workers profiles and is so impressed by them and their many achievements. Jamis spent most of the last ten years traveling via AmeriCorps NCCC and Disaster Relief efforts worldwide. With the combination of the Occupy Movement and meeting political activists around the Bay Area, she realized how inspired she was to be amongst — and supporting — visionary allies who believe in creating positive social change. In her spare time you can find Jamis reading, highlighting, looking up words in the dictionary, and humbly soaking up the all knowledge that she can around the office.

Maria Zamudio, San Francisco Housing Rights Campaign Lead Organizer
415.487.9203 ext. 207, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Maria comes to the Bay Area from Santa Barbara, CA, where she was raised and where she participated in organizing efforts for the rights of immigrants, women, working-class and queer communities. Maria takes on the landlords and supports our members as they fight for their rights.

Araceli Catalán, San Francisco Housing Clinic Receptionist
415.487.9203 ext. 201, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

As a Causa Justa member and a long-time St. Peter’s Housing Committee member before our merger, Araceli has showed up everywhere from our local city hall to the U.S. Social Forums do the work of the movement. Now as a staff at CJJC, she's advising fellow tenants and supporting the tenant clinic’s work.

Rose Arrieta, Communications Coordinator
415.487.9203, ext. 202, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
With over 20 years of journalism experience from mainstream to community media. Rose has come on board to lead our organization’s communications work. She’s originally from Los Angeles and her work has been inspired by Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, the Chicano Movement, American Indian Movement, and lots of conversations around the kitchen table with her pro-union family.