Oakland Thrives & Youth Ventures Joint Powers
Authority (YVJPA)
A Public-Private Collective Impact Organization for Equity and Well-Being in Oakland Executive Summary
The Youth Ventures Joint Powers Authority (YVJPA) and Oakland Thrives operate as a unified, cross-sector collective impact model designed to improve life outcomes for children, youth, and families in Oakland. Established in 2006, the YVJPA serves as the public sector governing body that aligns municipal, county, and educational authorities. Oakland Thrives, founded in 2015 serves as the backbone organization and public-private partnership that coordinates operational implementation, community engagement, private/philanthropic funding, and strategic initiatives.
Key Governance Structure & Partner Agencies
YVJPA and the Oakland Thrives Leadership Council bring together senior public leaders and community executives to align policy, funding, and data across jurisdiction boundaries.
Public Sector Joint Powers Authority Members
● County of Alameda: Alameda County Administrator Susan Muranishi, Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas, Supervisor Lena Tam, Alameda County Social Services Director Andrea Ford, Alameda County Health Director Aneeka Chaudhry
● City of Oakland: Mayor Barbara Lee, Councilmember Rowena Brown, Councilmember Kevin Jenkins, Chief of Violence Prevention Dr. Holly Joshi, Human Services Manager Robin Love
● Oakland Unified School District (OUSD): Superintendent Dr. Denise Saddler, OUSD Board Director Patrice Berry, OUSD Board Director Mike Hutchinson, OUSD Board Director VanCedric Williamns
● Single-Member Partner Agencies: First5 Alameda County CEO Kristin Spanos, Alameda County Office of Education Superintendent Alysse Castro, and Peralta Community College District Chancellor Dr. Tammiel Gilkerson Public-Private Leadership Council
In addition to public sector leadership, Oakland Thrives operates the Oakland Thrives Leadership Council (OTLC) which is composed of philanthropic, corporate, healthcare, and community leaders to align regional resources and private investment and support. This body provides community voice to the work that Oakland Thrives does on the day-to-day.
Core Mission & Operating Model
Entity Primary Role Key Functions
Youth Ventures JPA Public Sector Forum
& Legal Framework
Institutionalizes inter-agency alignment;
facilitates shared policy goals; leverages
pooled public funding across city, county,
and school districts.
Oakland Thrives Backbone
Implementing
Organization
Manages day-to-day initiative execution;
leads data synthesis and research;
coordinates community coalitions; drives
philanthropic fundraising; support systems
level policy change and good governance
Key Focus Areas & Priority Initiatives
● Rise East: A major multi-year collective impact initiative focused on accelerating healthy outcomes, housing stability, wealth creation, and educational success for Black children and families in East Oakland.
● Public Sector Data Insights: Inter-agency data sharing designed to track and inform multi-system investment and evaluate equity metrics.
● Economic Security & Health: Led Oakland Resilient Families,Guaranteed Income Pilot with the City of Oakland, and UpTogether, which serviced 600 Oakland families with at least one child under 18, providing $500/month for 18 months from 2021-2023. ● Youth Mental Health: With support from Blue Shield of California, Oakland Thrives created an updated Child and Adolescent Mental and Behavioral Health Landscape Analysis for the City of Oakland. Additionally, in collaboration with Blue Shield operate the Stand for What’s Right Awards honoring those doing critical work in the youth mental health space. Developing youth mental health workforce pipelines with Alameda County Office of Education.
● Fiscal Mapping: Working with our public sector and community based organization partners to better understand the children and youth funding landscape for Oakland and Alameda County to better spend available resources.
● Food Sovereignty: Support the Food Sovereignty Roundtable convened by Supervisor Nikki Fortunato Bas. Working with the Alameda County Community Food Bank to distribute $3.6M in grants to build Alameda County’s food resilience in the face of cuts to the social safety net.