The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) has contracted with Lydia Tan and Carol Galante as advisors to help guide BAHFA through its strategic planning process. Tan and Galante – both with deep experience in housing locally and nationally – will help guide BAHFA’s overall efforts during this critical period of the agency’s development as it regroups after the removal of Regional Measure 4 from the November 2024 ballot. They will support BAHFA’s strategic planning process, including program design and evaluation, stakeholder engagement and political strategy. They will also provide expertise to deepen current lending programs and develop new ones and leverage their housing finance and real estate development knowledge to strengthen BAHFA, ABAG and MTC’s work. Tan and Galante will work with BAHFA for approximately 18 months.
The application deadline for the new MTC-ABAG Community Advisory Council has been extended to August 3, 2025. This Council’s 4-year term begins in January 2026 and brings together diverse community voices, including representatives of organizations in the following areas: labor, business, environment, transit advocacy, youth, civic organizations and affordable housing to advise on regional planning and policy decisions around housing, transportation, and environmental sustainability. Your constituents can learn more and apply at the MTC-ABAG Community Advisory Council page — please help spread the word.
The San Francisco Estuary Partnership’s Estuary Youth Council (EYC) program, which empowers and supports youth from marginalized communities in the San Francisco Estuary to become the next generation of influential environmental leaders, recently held its kick-off event to welcome the 2025 cohort. This event, conducted in collaboration with partners Restore the Delta, Nuestra Casa de East Palo Alto, and Mycelium Youth Network, provided an opportunity for the cohort’s first in-person meet-up, a visit to India Basin, and a chance to get out on the water with Rocking the Boat SF. Highlights from the onboarding event included teambuilding activities and a listening session on the history of environmental justice in Bayview-Hunters Point and India Basin.
The Bay Area Regional Energy Network (BayREN) participated in the sold-out 16th Annual California Climate and Energy Collaborative (CCEC) Forum in San José on July 9–10. Over 550 attendees convened around the theme “Hope in Action: Local Leads the Way.” BayREN Director Jane Elias opened the forum with “Advancing Climate Solutions in the Bay Area,” and Assistant Director Karen Kristiansson spoke on using data tools to shape effective reach codes and energy policies. Other BayREN staff highlighted BayREN’s leadership in local climate and energy innovation.
Director of Financial Reporting and Operational Accounting Grace Martinez has been officially inducted as President-Elect of the Government Finance Officers Association at the 119th Annual GFOA Conference earlier this month. Congratulations, Grace.