OpenOakland bridges technology and community for a thriving and equitable Oakland. We do this by:

  • Cultivating meaningful relationships.
    By partnering with the city and the community we foster a more inclusive, equitable, and engaged Oakland.

  • Inspiring civic engagement.
    We co-create tools and events that educate Oaklanders on how the city works and inspires them to effect civic change.

  • Empowering Oaklanders.
    We recognize that Oakland has a rich history of activism. We seek to empower all Oaklanders to keep advocating for our community‘s collective well-being.

We’re part of the Code for America network

We’re a fiscally-sponsored project of Code for America, a 501(c)3 nonprofit dedicated to improving government in meaningful ways. Donations to OpenOakland are tax-deductible through Code for America (be sure to select OpenOakland from the drop-down menu after choosing the amount).

How we work

Brigade membership is open to all, regardless of expertise or skill level. We work collaboratively, in the open, and strive to ensure those most impacted by our work are included in the decision-making that shapes it.

Governance Process Brigade Bylaws

2022 leadership team

The brigade is managed by a Steering Committee made up of one project representative from each project team, plus four co-leads elected by general membership. As of April 2022, we are revisiting our governance structure to explore how we can make participation easier, more effective, and more inclusive. We do not currently have any elected co-leads.

Current Steering Committee members:

  • John Baldo (rep, OpenOUSD)
  • Felicia Betancourt/Sean Martinez (alternating reps, Open Budget)
  • Elina Rubuliak (rep, Open Disclosure)
  • Niels Thorsen/Gabriel Ehrlich (alternating reps, WOAQ)
  • Tom Theimer (rep, Councilmatic)

Get involved

  • Join us at Hack Night.
    Every Tuesday from 6:30-9:00pm PST, we meet on Zoom (normally, we meet in City Hall but are working remotely during the coronavirus pandemic). After intros on Zoom, we break off into Slack channels to work and you can bounce around to introduce yourself. Don’t be shy about joining in; we’re friendly folk. RSVP on Meetup.

  • Join us on Slack.
    Join us on Slack and introduce yourself in #oo-meet-and-greet (see our OpenOakland Slack Guide for help). We look forward to meeting you!

  • Contribute to an existing project.
    Check out our active projects. You’re welcome to contact project leads directly or jump into their Github repos but if you’re not a coder or are unsure how you might contribute, we suggest attending Hack Night to get to know our project teams.

We hope to see you soon!