Meet Sean
Sean has been a lifelong advocate for youth and those who have faced discrimination, and has worked to bridge divides to create tangible solutions that build strong, vibrant communities.
For over ten years, Sean worked at Covenant House, the nation's leading agency serving homeless youth. He led the campaign that brought a permanent community service center for homeless youth to Jack London Square, overcoming initial opposition through consensus building and collaboration. The center provides 30 beds of emergency shelter and transitional housing, job-training, and diversion programs for homeless youth in Oakland.
Sean has been active in fighting discrimination and challenging prejudice, serving as a former board member of the Oakland Rainbow Chamber of Commerce and leading the fundraising efforts for No on 8-Equality California raising $14 million to fight this discriminatory amendment.
Living in West Oakland, Sean is a strong advocate for the neighborhood and is the founder and Co-Chair of the Dogtown Neighborhood Association. He has worked to make the community safer by founding the Neighborhood Watch and is past Co-Chair of Beat 7 Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council and a member of the San Pablo Corridor Coalition. Sean serves as Board Chair of the Khadafy Washington Foundation for Non-Violence. Sean also coordinates beautification events throughout District 3 under the “Get Diggy With It” banner.
Sean’s belief in the power of people to make their communities better led him to serve on the District 3 Community Development Block Grant Committee and on Oakland’s Community Action Partnership where he helped to direct hundreds of thousands of dollars to community serving non-profits such as the West Oakland Teen Center, Attitudinal Healing Center, SPAAT, Healthy Oakland, St. Vincent de Paul, St. Mary’s Center and Housing and Economic Rights Advocates.
Sean’s commitment to his community came from being raised with the values of faith, justice, equality and diversity. Sean’s mom runs an events-support company that was founded with a vision to employ students, single working moms and victims of domestic violence as they re-enter the workforce. Sean’s father is a retired journeyman, union shop steward and vice president of his Carpenter’s Local 1536. Like many working class families, Sean is grateful to father’s union for ensuring he had access to healthcare, regular doctor’s visits, and glasses when he needed them.
Sean put himself through college and holds a Bachelor of Arts from St. Bonaventure University, is certified in Non-Profit Management through AFP International at Stanford University, and studied environmental science at Oxford University.