Candidate for Oakland City Council District 4 Nayeli Maxson, is a long time proponent for small businesses and for the past four years has actively worked to help them thrive in Oakland. As CEO of Alliance for Community Development, she has launched the Bay Area Entrepreneurship Alliance, an Oakland-based membership organization dedicated to increasing equity, access, and local leadership in the Bay Area entrepreneurship ecosystem. Together, members economically empower underrepresented local entrepreneurs, helping them to stay in their communities and create local jobs in the process.
Calanit Kamala, District 4 business owner of Hive, the Place to Bee, is a supporter because “Nayeli is the only candidate with the proven record of supporting small businesses and district 4 constituents. Nayeli is not interested in making headlines, she is interested in making headway to the benefit of our district.” Barbie Penn, entrepreneur and a lifelong Oakland resident, describes that “Nayeli believes in empowering others and goes the extra mile to connect them with resources to ensure that they are successful.”
As the District 4 City Councilmember, Nayeli would promote new community-rooted business structures like cooperatives, collectives and social benefit corporations with city ordinances, giving them navigational support and legal certainty. As a District 4 Policy Analyst, Nayeli helped to draft legislation to support worker cooperatives, a policy she is determined to pass as a Councilmember, if elected. Through her work in Oakland both as a District 4 Council Policy Analyst/Community Liaison and as a CEO of Alliance for Community Development, she knows where city resources and assistance can be freed up and streamlined to help businesses start and grow. Nayeli knows supporting local small businesses helps to mitigate displacement by creating economic opportunities that keep longtime Oaklanders in the communities. In addition, Nayeli works with social entrepreneurs in Oakland who are doing important, innovative work to house and provide credit building opportunities for the unhoused. Supporting local small businesses and social enterprises grows knowledge, wealth and capability close to home, making Oakland more resilient and ensuring a healthy tax base for public services.
Nayeli has the support of numerous local entrepreneurs, businesses and business development leaders including:
Daniel Swafford, Executive Director of Montclair Village Association and Laurel District Association
Fatenah Tabar, owner of Le Rouge in Montclair
Shawn Choy, founder of The Food Foundry
Desire Johnson-Forte, founder and owner of Damn Good Teas
Jackie Hunter, business owner, Kelly’s Corner
Kathleen Caldwell, owner of A Great Good Place for Books in Montclair
Nina Johnson, longtime District 4 community member and business owner
Destiny Iwuoma, Oakland entrepreneur
Barbie Penn, entrepreneur, lifelong Oakland resident
Christopher “Zeke” Swepson, entrepreneur, CEO of CodeWalker Institute
Jim Silva, entrepreneur; Principal, Unlock Your Potential!
Frank Mak, entrepreneur; community member
Chinmay Singh, CEO of SimplifiMed, Inc.
Laurie Silverman, founder of Culture Lab
Saphonia Foster, founder of La Fostera Co.
Bree Dezort and Calanit Kamala, owners of Hive, the Place to Bee