Lead Poisoning

Chairperson, Hon. Max Anderson was elected in 2004 to the Berkeley City Council, District 3 in South Berkeley. Prior to that he was a member of the Berkeley Rent Stabilization Board from 1996 to 2004, serving as Chair for four years and on the Planning Commission for eight years. He serves on the boards of local nonprofits, is a member of the Berkeley Branch NAACP and a member of the Sierra Club. He is a founding and current Board Member of the Biotech Partners. Biotech Partners provides educational opportunities and training for at- risk youth in preparation for employment in the Bioscience fields. By profession, he is a retired Registered Nurse working in the ICU of a local Hospital and an active member of my union the California Nurses Association. He and his wife are 30-year residents of Berkeley.

Hon. Ruth Atkin was first elected to the Emeryville City Council in 1999 and has served as mayor in 2002, 2006, 2010, and 2015. She has represented Emeryville on the Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Board since 2010. Other regional appointments have been to the Alameda County Housing Authority and the ABAG executive committee, as well as serving as alternate to the Waste Management Authority. She is committed to social justice, having supported Measure C, the living wage ordinance for hospitality workers, introduced Emeryville’s first living wage ordinance, and most recently initiating an increase to the city minimum wage to meet the city’s living wage amount. Ruth loves the social justice work of the Alameda County Healthy Homes Department and is pleased to represent Emeryville.

Hon. Desley Brooks, City of Oakland. As a member of Oakland City Council since 2002, Council Member Brooks continues to be a strong advocate for Oakland. Council Member Brooks has served her community in various advisory and leadership positions including the Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program where she has served as a Board Member since 2009.

Council Member Desley Brooks is committed to improving the quality of life for the residents of Oakland. To that end, she has dedicated her energies to improving public safety, increasing economic development, improving the physical environment of District 6, and advocating on behalf of children and youth.

Hon. Wilma Chan, Alameda County Supervisor District 3, has been a strong advocate for children and families for more than 35 years. Ms. Chan was elected twice as the first Asian American to serve on the Alameda County Board of Supervisors after completing a term on the Oakland Board of Education. Ms. Chan’s work as a Supervisor has included pioneering the Human Impact Budget, which shows how budget cuts affect individuals and families. Ms. Chan also represented Oakland, Alameda, and Piedmont in the California State Assembly from 2000-2006. In addition to serving as the first woman Majority Leader of the State Assembly, Ms. Chan authored many groundbreaking bills, including one making California the first state to implement a no-lead standard in drinking water pipes and fixtures. Language similar to Ms. Chan’s bill was used in legislation in other states as well as in the federal Reduction of Lead in Drinking Water Act, signed into law by President Obama in 2011.

Gwen Hardy, Community Representative has served on the JPA Board since the Lead Program’s inception in 1992. She is one of the original members of People United for a Better Life in Oakland (PUEBLO), a group of activists who launched a community education and advocacy campaign, demanding a response to high levels of lead poisoning and lead hazards in Oakland resulting in the formation of the Alameda County Lead Poisoning Prevention Program. She has a long history of commitment to improving the lives of children through community organizing and advocacy work.

Hon. Trish Herrera Spencer was elected mayor in November, 2014. She previously served six years on the Alameda Unified School District Board. She serves on the Peralta Colleges Foundation Board, Alameda County Transportation Commission, Alameda County Waste Management Authority and Alameda Collaborative for Children, Youth and their Families. She is an attorney by profession. As a strong advocate of public education, she served as Alameda PTA Council President (2006-2008).

She is an eight year cancer survivor and enjoys running in her free time. Trish and her husband Joel have raised four girls, one attending California Maritime Academy and another Harvard.