Darlene Flynn was appointed to be the first Director of the Department of Race and Equity for the City of Oakland in October of 2016. She came to this position with over a decade of experience as one of the original architects of the nationally recognized City of Seattle Race and Social Justice Initiative model.
Here, she is leading a small department that supports staff across City departments to implement the equity mission of the City; To intentionally integrate, on a citywide basis the principle of fair and just in all the City does to advance equitable outcomes for all residents of the City of Oakland. The program’s theory of change is to promote reduction of racial disparities by mobilizing staff and leadership to take an intentional, data driven, outcome focused and community centered approach to changing the way the City does business.