Who we are.

Organizer

Youngchae Lee

Youngchae Lee is a mother of three in the San Antonio neighborhood and principal at Shah Kawasaki Architects, a small local firm based in Oakland. With experiences in national and regional landmark projects, she focuses on public projects that serve local communities, including Lincoln Square Recreation Center in Oakland, Fire Station 8 in San Jose, and various ongoing projects with Alameda County. Her advocacy of San Antonio station reflects her belief that supporting existing urban areas with low carbon footprints to become equitable, affordable, and joyful homes for all generations is our best hope in giving our future a fighting chance against climate change.

Organizer

Ben Matlaw

Ben Matlaw is an Oakland District 2 resident whose passion for transportation emerged with the purchase of his first pair of Rollerblades in the late 1980s, and he has been walking, skating, pedaling, driving, and riding public transit ever since. Ben’s day job is as a transportation planner for the City of Albany, CA where he works on a variety of projects to improve mobility for users of all modes throughout the city. Prior to his work with the San Antonio Station Alliance, he sat on the board of Transport Oakland and helped to co-found the San Francisco Transit Riders, two sustainable transportation advocacy organizations in the Bay Area. Ben holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning from UCLA and a Bachelor of Arts from Skidmore College in upstate New York. In his free time, he can be found backpacking, bike camping, gardening, or wandering around the region's myriad parks, small businesses, and eclectic neighborhoods.
 

Organizer

Sara Rowley

​Sara Rowley is a 17-year Oakland resident, parent, and a community builder. As a former special education teacher with OUSD and current digital designer, she aims to use her diverse skill set to make positive change. Her journey as an Oakland Voices fellow in community journalism ignited a decade-long passion for listening, learning, and telling people's stories. Sara's work with SASA (social media, website, and in-person engagement) underscores her dedication to communication, building connections, and revealing patterns that can point the way to making the community a better place to live. When not chatting with everyone she can, she enjoys hiking the Oakland Hills, creating digital art, and watching 80s movies with her family in the Bella Vista neighborhood of East Oakland.