Oakland— Mayor Libby Schaaf announced today that Jose
Corona will join her administration as the Director of Equity
and Strategic Partnerships. In this role, Mr. Corona will be
responsible for creating, coordinating and facilitating public
and private philanthropic partnerships fostering equitable
opportunities and benefits for the people of Oakland.
“Bringing Jose Corona on is a great opportunity for Oakland.
His experience will allow this administration to maximize the
benefits of our public private partnerships to help tackle the
complex issues facing our city,” said Mayor Schaaf.
Working as the Chief Executive Officer of Inner City
Advisors (ICA) since 2005, an Oakland based non-profit, Mr.
Corona established a reputation as a visionary leader who
builds mindful and creative organizational cultures that yield
high impact and results. He led ICA to becoming a nationally
recognized, award-winning organization for its work on
scaling small businesses and entrepreneurs as a way to create
Good Jobs, especially for people with highest need. In the ten
years with ICA, he oversaw a portfolio of companies that
created over 3,000 jobs, generating over $150 million in
wealth for local residents and collectively producing almost
$200 million in revenue. In that period, Mr. Corona also
increased the percentage of Oakland residents being hired by
ICA companies to 73 percent.
“I am humbled by this opportunity, and very excited about
what lies ahead for our city,” said Jose Corona. “We are at a
critical juncture as we look at building strong communities
with a diverse set of people, businesses and organizations.
Mayor Schaaf and I share a core belief that the long-term
competitiveness of Oakland is directly linked to the vitality
and the diversity in our communities.”
Upon election, Mayor Schaaf sought to increase opportunities
for public-private partnership, leading to the development of
the Mayor’s Director of Equity and Strategic Partnerships
(DESP) position.
Funding for this position comes from the Office of the
Mayor’s budget and combined contributions from the
following organizations: The East Bay Community
Foundation, San Francisco Foundation, Akonadi Foundation,
Walter and Elise Haas Fund, Kapor Center for Social Impact
and the California Endowment. An Advisory Committee will
be established to assist the Mayor and the Director in working
effectively with foundations, corporations, nonprofits, and the
community.
Prior to working at Inner City Advisors, Mr. Corona served as
the Development Director at the Mission Economic
Development Agency (MEDA) where he worked to revitalize
the Mission District in San Francisco through fundraising, job
placement and leading efforts to increase home ownership
rates among residents. His work throughout his career with
ICA and MEDA has received recognition from The
Huffington Post, Stanford Social Innovation Review, KQED
American Graduate, Forbes Magazine and the White House
Economic Council.
Mr. Corona’s hire is a key step in Mayor’s Schaaf’s goal to
assemble a team that will help achieve her goal of responsibly
growing Oakland into a vibrant, equitable city where
prosperity is shared.