We are thrilled to announce that Jessamyn Sabbag will become the Deputy Director of Oakland Rising beginning January 15th, 2012. “Over the last three years as Field Director, Jessamyn has been a cornerstone of Oakland Rising’s success. I am confident that Jessamyn will continue to take Oakland Rising’s work to new heights as our first Deputy Director,” said Esperanza Tervalon-Daumont, Executive Director of Oakland Rising.
Under Jessamyn’s leadership, Oakland Rising has waged 11 civic engagement campaigns, developed a cadre of skilled paid phone bankers and canvassers, and built a strong reputation for excellence in educating and mobilizing occasional and unlikely voters in Oakland. Thanks to her tireless dedication and talent, Oakland Rising’s civic engagement work has successfully increased voter turnout by 5% amongst low income, immigrant and voters of color living in the flatlands of East and West Oakland.
Nikki Fortunado Bas, Executive Director of East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy and Oakland Rising’s Advisory Board member says, “As Field Director, Jessamyn did an amazing job building Oakland Rising’s capacity to run multiple civic engagement programs a year. Today, Oakland Rising has built a base of over 28,000 voters, many of whom recognize and support Oakland Rising because we’ve knocked and called during elections and in between. I am excited to work with Jessamyn in her new role as Deputy Director to advance our shared vision for Oakland where all residents have access to a good job that will sustain their family. Congratulations!”
Given the extensive track record Jessamyn has built in Oakland over the last 3 years she is well positioned to take on the duties of Deputy Director, where she will lead our local budget, policy advocacy, and alliance expansion. As Oakland Rising has grown in scale, we can leverage our electoral might to help our collaborative partners advance strong progressive policies that will create real change for our city’s low-income, immigrant, communities of color. As the Deputy Director of Oakland Rising, Jessamyn will now bring leadership and capacity to strengthen this work in service of Oakland’s low income, immigrant and communities of color.