Letter of Appointment
February6,2024
DearPresidentBasandmembersoftheCityCouncil:
PursuanttoCityCharterSection601,theMayorhasappointedthefollowingpersonasamemberofthefollowingboardorcommission,subjecttoCityCouncilconfirmation:
BudgetAdvisoryCommission
JaneYang,toserveathree-yeartermastheDistrict1representativeontheBudgetAdvisoryCommissionbeginningOctober1,2023andendingSeptember30,2026,fillingtheseatpreviouslyfilledbyBrendaRoberts.
Thankyouforyourassistanceinthismatter.
Sincerely,
MayorShengThao
Submit Date: Sep 10, 2023
First Name Middle Initial Last Name
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City of Oakland Boards & Commissions
Profile
What City Council district do you live in?
District 1
Which Boards would you like to apply for?
Budget Advisory Commission: Submitted
Interests & Experiences
Jane Yang
Administration for Children and
Families via Federation of
American Scientists
Senior Advisor for Data Analytics
(Impact Fellow)
Jane Yang
Upload a Resume
Please tell us how your qualifications and participation will relate to the requested board and/or commission's mission.
Please tell us how your qualifications and participation will relate to the requested board and/or commission's mission.
BUDGET ADVISORY COMMISSION (BAC) A budget is a reflection of values.
Where a city invests its money tells a story of how the city approaches foundational infrastructure, quality of life, sustainability, and community building. As a resident of Oakland, I would be honored to serve on the Budget Advisory Commission. I am concerned that over half of the seats on the BAC are currently vacant. I believe my skill sets in data analysis (including financial planning and analysis), community organizing, policy development, and plain English writing will be valuable to the Commission.
Were I to
serve on the BAC, I would be an active contributor. As my history of community service indicates, I am dedicated to civic engagement and using my skills to improve my community. In addition to the BAC’s core functions and asks from City Council, I would be interested in exploring the following initiatives:
Commission membership recruitment: 8 out of 15 seats are currently vacant on the BAC. I would like to engage in proactive recruitment campaigns to ensure there is a diverse set of resident perspectives on the BAC, thereby strengthening the recommendations provided to the City Council on budgetary matters.
Improved city budget transparency: Oakland’s open budget book is a great start but currently is not designed for the layperson. Most of the resources are dense narratives and the interactive dashboard is dependent on understanding which programs and services are housed under which departments. I would like to improve how Oakland city budget information is communicated to the public. As resident representatives tasked with advising City Council on expenditures, revenues, financial policies, and Budget proposals, the BAC has a role in educating Oakland residents on their city’s budget and the impact of budgetary decisions in order to best amplify the voice of the resident on budgetary matters with City Council. I am experienced in survey methods, data visualization, and plain English writing – skills that would be helpful in this endeavor.
Improved BAC transparency: the current link to the board activities, http://www2.oaklandnet.com/Government/o/CityAdministration/d/BudgetOffice/o/BudgetAdvisoryCommittee/index.htm, does not work and there is no background information on the current commission members. The information on https://www.oaklandca.gov/boards-commissions/budget-advisory-commission#documents is out-of-date, linking only to the 2019-2021 budget. While there is information on the BAC’s advisory work for the 2021-2023 budget, it takes digging around to find it. The meeting minutes pages are out-of- date, only listing minutes through 2021; for more recent meetings, one must dig into individual event postings to find agendas and minutes. I would like to increase resident awareness of the BAC’s role in advising City Council and add more visuals such as a tracker demonstrating how City Council responded to the recommendations from the BAC.
Strategic planning with stakeholder input: I am not sure when the next BAC strategic planning cycle, as required by Section 2(b) of Ordinance No. 13337 C.M.S., is scheduled to take place. When due, I am interested in driving a collaborative planning process that involves Oakland residents, City Council Finance and Management Committee members, and the Budget Bureau.
LIBRARY ADVISORY COMMISSION (LAC) The library is a magical place. One of the few remaining hubs that bring together residents of every background, libraries are essential cornerstones of any community. As a lover of libraries, I would be happy to serve on the LAC if my background and skill sets would support a more diverse, complementary commission.
In reviewing the information provided by
the LAC on https://oaklandlibrary.org/lac/, I believe I have the skill sets and dedication needed to be an active member of the commission’s core fiduciary functions. In addition, I could be helpful in the following ways:
Pro bono data analysis support, such as to identify operational improvements that could enable the Oakland Public Library to stretch its budget further.
Strategic planning with stakeholder input, to
understand from Oakland residents and Oakland Public Library staff how the LAC can further amplify their voice and support their work.
Thank you for your consideration of my applications, Jane Yang Please submit your resume or curriculum vitae. You may upload a document. (A Word format is preferred.) Alternatively, you may paste the text of your resume in the field provided below.
Jane_Yang_Resume_-
_Oakland_Commissions.pdf
Jane Yang
Please paste the text of your resume or curriculum vitae below.
Please click the acknowledgement below.
Service on City of Oakland boards, commissions, and committees may require filings of the FPPC's Statements of Economic Interest (Form 700). Upon appointment and determination of filing status, I will comply with all filing obligations.
I Agree
*
Jane Yang
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Administration for Children & Families, 2/2023 — present Senior Advisor for Data Analytics
Developing agency-level data strategy and demonstrating how data can deliver for ACF’s mission through analytics, technical advisory, hiring, and acquisition support.
Federation of American Scientists, 11/2022 — present
Impact Fellow
Serving in a selective program that places technical talent in high-impact roles across the federal government.
Harvest, 9/2021 — 10/2022
Senior Research Scientist
Leveled up Harvest’s nascent data function, leading team culture and proactively improving decision-making
through core analyses such as monthly business reviews.
Basecamp, 1/2019 — 5/2021
Head of Data & Senior Policy Analyst (promoted)
Was right-hand person to CTO, advancing intentions into visions with “how-to-get-it-done” processes. / Led multi- functional team in development of Use Restrictions Policy and standardize processes to remediate product abuse
cases. / Co-launched and directed $2M+ via Basecamp
Gives, a quiet “paying it forward” initiative to support systems-thinking groups that provide basic services, and Basecamp’s carbon negativity promise. / Amplified voice of the customer through survey data collection and
analysis. / Democratized data access through more
transparent reporting and choice dashboards.
IFF, 8/2017 — 1/2019
Director of Data Analytics (promoted)
Launched data analytics function, hiring and managing 5- person team that stewards IFF’s data from collection to storage to usage. / Redesigned and rolled out a new data system across 100+ staff members in 6 offices. /
Streamlined and developed more effective, time-saving
business tools at various levels of governance to improve decision-making.
EDUCATION
Princeton University, 2011
BS Chemical Engineering, Honors.
Spirit of Princeton, School of
Engineering Joseph Clifton Elgin
Prize, and Ernest F. Johnson
Distinguished Service Awards.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Upwardly Global, 2018 — 2023
Chaired 10+ member Chicago
Leadership Council, cultivating new
advocacy initiatives to support new
American jobseekers and organizing
professional development events for
Upwardly Global program alumni.
Ladies of Virtue, 2018 — 2023
Mentored student who became first
in her family to attend college.
Asian Americans Advancing Justice,
2021 — 2023
Led legislative workgroup in
successful campaign to embed
Asian American history into Illinois
public K-12 curricula.
OTHER EXPERIENCE
Aspen Tech Executive Leader, 2023
Published policy brief on better
supporting aging-out foster youth in
their transition to adulthood through
a youth-driven web application.
Homeowners Association Board,
2018 — present
Introduced concept of budget vs.
actual analyses and significantly
improved document management.
Jane Yang
civic data scientist
One Acre Fund, 8/2014 — 8/2017
Strategy & Research Senior Manager (promoted)
Identified and prioritized opportunities to raise social return on investment and made One Acre Fund an even
better place to work. / Co-managed 10+ person team:
drove team vision; hired, developed, and retained
members. / Scoped and oversaw 65+ projects delivered
directly and by my direct reports including:
Evaluated potential agriculture, health, energy, and
education product and service offerings based on
impact evidence, financial models, and operational
risks
Facilitated senior-leadership working groups in
charge of: budgeting; R&D; and staff inspiration
Designed and launched formal, fully-inclusive
mentorship program in Kenya operations resulting in
over 90 successful mentorship pairs in first 18 months
Deloitte, 7/2012 — 7/2014
Strategy & Operations Consultant (promoted)
Backstopped Emerging Markets Infrastructure &
Sustainability senior leadership team. Projects included:
World Bank-administered Water & Sanitation Program:
was primary client liaison; scoped and led teams of 2-4 in delivering collateral designed to attract participation of domestic private actors in base-of-pyramid water and sanitation markets.
USAID-funded Jordan Energy Sector Capacity Building
Program: coordinated project, managing reporting,
relationships with implementing partners, compliance,
and monitoring & evaluation tool development.
International Rescue Committee, 6/2011 - 6/2012
Programs & Grants Fellow
Assisted in managing $22M, 40+ grants portfolio, writing winning proposals for $10M+. Produced communications
on projects across health, protection, and economic
development sectors with a readership of over 118,000.
SKILLS
Vision setting. Team management.
Project scoping and management.
Budgeting and financial oversight.
Staff capacity building. Data analysis
and storytelling. Writing with heart.
INTERESTS
Civic engagement, reading, rock
climbing, hiking, strategic board
games, cooking, organizing,
traveling.