On May 30, 2024, the City of Morgan Hill and our partners convened at the Granada Theatre to explore economic mobility, with a specific emphasis on (1) tackling the barriers faced by Spanish-speaking community members in accessing housing, education, and career opportunities, and (2) nurturing a feeling of inclusion on their path towards upward mobility.
Check out the Symposium video recapping the Kick-off event:
Edith Ramirez - Assistant City Manager, City of Morgan Hill
Economic Mobility Framework
Jesus Guzman - Urban Institute Jesús Guzmán is a policy program associate in the Research to Action Lab at the Urban Institute, where he works to create an economy that is inclusive, sustainable, and just. For more than 10 years, Guzmán has designed and implemented local programs and advocated for large-scale policy solutions to improve economic outcomes for Latinos, immigrants, and communities of color. Guzmán holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
Demographics
Russ Hancock - Joint Venture Silicon Valley Russell Hancock is President & Chief Executive Officer of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. Russell is the founder of the annual State of the Valley conference, a “town hall” meeting attracting more than 1,500 leaders for a day spent in dialogue and discussion about the Valley’s challenges and opportunities. The conference features the release of the Silicon Valley Index, a document now receiving national and international attention. Hancock was previously Vice President of the Bay Area Council, where he spearheaded the campaign extending BART to the San Francisco Airport and directed a broadly-based effort which ultimately created the Bay Area Water Transit Authority, charged with delivering a high-speed ferry system to the San Francisco Bay.
John Lang - Economic Vitality Manager, City of Mountain View John Lang has been working in local government primarily in the field of economic development for the past 24 years, holding various roles as analyst, economic development officer, senior management analyst, chief economist, and economic vitality manager for the cities of San Jose, Morgan Hill, and now Mountain View. John has a bachelor's and master’s degree in economics along with a master’s degree in public administration all from San Jose State. John is a self-proclaimed data geek and a researcher at heart.
Housing Solutions
Rebecca Garcia - Housing Director, City of Morgan Hill
Julius Nyanda - CEO, Housekeys
Julius Nyanda founded the HouseKeys program in 2015. Previously, he acted as Chief Business Officer for Neighborhood Housing Services Silicon Valley (NHSSV). While there he oversaw a 22-person, multi-department team that included a U.S. Treasury-Certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), a Fannie Mae direct Seller/Servicer that originated first mortgage loans and became one of the top affordable lenders in the nation, a Real Estate Brokerage, and HUD-Approved Counseling Agency. Additionally, he created and staffed a department that focused on providing Third-Party Program Administration services to local governments and homebuilders with affordable housing commitments. Julius holds a bachelor’s degree in Managerial Economics, studied Information Systems in both undergraduate and postgraduate school, is a licensed Real Estate Agent, and has an Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP) Designation from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Wayne Chen - Director of Housing Dept., City of Mountain View Wayne Chen is the City of Mountain View’s first Housing Director. The newly formed, stand-alone Housing Department began operations in Fiscal Year 2023-24, which includes the Below Market Rate housing program, federal/State grant programs, financing fully affordable housing projects, policy/program development such the City’s tenant displacement response strategy and rent stabilization and tenant protection programs. Before joining Mountain View, Wayne was with the City of San Jose Housing Department. Wayne has a master’s in public policy from UC Berkeley and a master’s in urban planning from Harvard University.
Jobs, Careers, and Entrepreneurship
Matt Mahood - Economic Development Director, City of Morgan Hill
Nell Selander - City of South San Francisco Nell Selander serves as the Director of the Economic & Community Development with the City of South San Francisco, where she oversees the City’s Building, Planning, Housing, and Economic Development functions. In addition to entitling and permitting projects, funding and monitoring affordable housing, and supporting the business community, the Department is also charged with winding down the former South San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, administering the City’s Community Development Block Grant, and managing the North San Mateo County Economic Advancement Center. Nell previously served as Economic Development & Housing Manager with the City of San Carlos, and prior to that worked on various, large capital projects for the Columbus Ohio Downtown Development Corporation. Nell holds a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Stanford University and a Master of Urban Planning degree from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Dr. Carmen Garcia - Morgan Hill Unified School District Dr. Garcia is the Superintendent of the Morgan Hill Unified School District. A twenty-six-year career has allowed her to observe and participate in the educational sphere from the perspective of a teacher, researcher, Superintendent’s Assistant, Principal of an International Baccalaureate Middle School, Lead Principal of three high schools, and Superintendent. She remains steadfast in her belief that a quality education is the world’s greatest equalizer in opening opportunity's doors, and that school systems should provide access and equity for all students to prepare them to be successful, productive members of society. Born in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, México, Dr. García graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Spanish, University of San Diego.
Ron Gonzales - Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley Ron Gonzales is the President and CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley. He has over 40 years of technology and public policy experience serving in prior roles including as the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of marketing and sales consulting company Presencia, LLC, and as Mayor of San José from 1999-2006. His achievements include nationally recognized initiatives for strong neighborhoods, improved public education, and effective solutions to affordable housing and regional transportation projects. Ron may be best known for championing the extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to San Jose and Silicon Valley.
Belonging: Art or Science?
Michelle Bigelow - Public Information Officer, City of Morgan Hill
Jana Kiser
Priya Das - Mosaic America Priya Das is the co-founder and Chief Programming Officer of Mosaic America. She is the creator of Mosaic’s inspired framework for social cohesion using the community-led arts and drives creative vision, programming strategy, artist relations, and community outreach. Under her directorship, the award-winning Mosaic Festival annually makes and holds authentic space for over 50 locally practiced cultures and welcomes over 3000 community members annually. Priya holds degrees in Business and Computer Science and is a change-maker at heart. She is an alumna of Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute (MALI) and SVCreates’ MindShare program.
Jesús Guzmán is a policy program associate in the Research to Action Lab at the Urban Institute, where he works to create an economy that is inclusive, sustainable, and just. For more than 10 years, Guzmán has designed and implemented local programs and advocated for large-scale policy solutions to improve economic outcomes for Latinos, immigrants, and communities of color. Guzmán holds a master’s degree in public policy from the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California, Berkeley.
Russell Hancock is President & Chief Executive Officer of Joint Venture Silicon Valley. Russell is the founder of the annual State of the Valley conference, a “town hall” meeting attracting more than 1,500 leaders for a day spent in dialogue and discussion about the Valley’s challenges and opportunities. The conference features the release of the Silicon Valley Index, a document now receiving national and international attention. Hancock was previously Vice President of the Bay Area Council, where he spearheaded the campaign extending BART to the San Francisco Airport and directed a broadly-based effort which ultimately created the Bay Area Water Transit Authority, charged with delivering a high-speed ferry system to the San Francisco Bay.
John Lang has been working in local government primarily in the field of economic development for the past 24 years, holding various roles as analyst, economic development officer, senior management analyst, chief economist, and economic vitality manager for the cities of San Jose, Morgan Hill, and now Mountain View. John has a bachelor's and master’s degree in economics along with a master’s degree in public administration all from San Jose State. John is a self-proclaimed data geek and a researcher at heart.
Julius Nyanda founded the HouseKeys program in 2015. Previously, he acted as Chief Business Officer for Neighborhood Housing Services Silicon Valley (NHSSV). While there he oversaw a 22-person, multi-department team that included a U.S. Treasury-Certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), a Fannie Mae direct Seller/Servicer that originated first mortgage loans and became one of the top affordable lenders in the nation, a Real Estate Brokerage, and HUD-Approved Counseling Agency. Additionally, he created and staffed a department that focused on providing Third-Party Program Administration services to local governments and homebuilders with affordable housing commitments. Julius holds a bachelor’s degree in Managerial Economics, studied Information Systems in both undergraduate and postgraduate school, is a licensed Real Estate Agent, and has an Accredited Mortgage Professional (AMP) Designation from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Wayne Chen is the City of Mountain View’s first Housing Director. The newly formed, stand-alone Housing Department began operations in Fiscal Year 2023-24, which includes the Below Market Rate housing program, federal/State grant programs, financing fully affordable housing projects, policy/program development such the City’s tenant displacement response strategy and rent stabilization and tenant protection programs. Before joining Mountain View, Wayne was with the City of San Jose Housing Department. Wayne has a master’s in public policy from UC Berkeley and a master’s in urban planning from Harvard University.
Nell Selander serves as the Director of the Economic & Community Development with the City of South San Francisco, where she oversees the City’s Building, Planning, Housing, and Economic Development functions. In addition to entitling and permitting projects, funding and monitoring affordable housing, and supporting the business community, the Department is also charged with winding down the former South San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, administering the City’s Community Development Block Grant, and managing the North San Mateo County Economic Advancement Center. Nell previously served as Economic Development & Housing Manager with the City of San Carlos, and prior to that worked on various, large capital projects for the Columbus Ohio Downtown Development Corporation. Nell holds a Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Stanford University and a Master of Urban Planning degree from New York University’s Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service.
Dr. Garcia is the Superintendent of the Morgan Hill Unified School District. A twenty-six-year career has allowed her to observe and participate in the educational sphere from the perspective of a teacher, researcher, Superintendent’s Assistant, Principal of an International Baccalaureate Middle School, Lead Principal of three high schools, and Superintendent. She remains steadfast in her belief that a quality education is the world’s greatest equalizer in opening opportunity's doors, and that school systems should provide access and equity for all students to prepare them to be successful, productive members of society. Born in Tepatitlán, Jalisco, México, Dr. García graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and Spanish, University of San Diego.
Ron Gonzales is the President and CEO of the Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley. He has over 40 years of technology and public policy experience serving in prior roles including as the Founder, Chairman, and CEO of marketing and sales consulting company Presencia, LLC, and as Mayor of San José from 1999-2006. His achievements include nationally recognized initiatives for strong neighborhoods, improved public education, and effective solutions to affordable housing and regional transportation projects. Ron may be best known for championing the extension of the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to San Jose and Silicon Valley.
Priya Das is the co-founder and Chief Programming Officer of Mosaic America. She is the creator of Mosaic’s inspired framework for social cohesion using the community-led arts and drives creative vision, programming strategy, artist relations, and community outreach. Under her directorship, the award-winning Mosaic Festival annually makes and holds authentic space for over 50 locally practiced cultures and welcomes over 3000 community members annually. Priya holds degrees in Business and Computer Science and is a change-maker at heart. She is an alumna of Multicultural Arts Leadership Institute (MALI) and SVCreates’ MindShare program.