Activism

2025 in Review: Seven Questions for Black Women’s Think Tank Founder Kellie Todd Griffin

As the president and CEO of the California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute, Griffin is on a mission to shift the narrative and outcomes for Black women and girls. She founded the nation’s first Black Women’s Think Tank, securing $5 million in state funding to fuel policy change.

Published

3 months ago

December 14, 2025

Oakland Post

Kellie Todd Griffin. CBM file photo.

By Edward Henderson
California Black Media

With more than 25 years of experience spanning public affairs, community engagement, strategy, marketing, and communications, Kellie Todd Griffin is recognized across California as a leader who mobilizes people and policy around issues that matter.

Griffin spoke with California Black Media (CBM) about her successes and setbacks in 2025 and her hopes for 2026.

Looking back at 2025, what stands out to you as your most important achievement and why? 

Our greatest achievement in this year is we got an opportunity to honor the work of 35 Black women throughout California who are trailblazing the way for the next generation of leaders.

How did your leadership, efforts and investments as president and CEO California Black Women’s Collective Empowerment Institute contribute to improving the lives of Black Californians? 

We’re training the next leaders. We have been able to train 35 women over a two-year period, and we’re about to start a new cohort of another 30 women. We also have trained over 500 middle and high school girls in leadership, advocacy, and financial literacy.

What frustrated you the most over the last year?

Getting the question, “why.” Why advocate for Black women? Why invest in Black people, Black communities? It’s always constantly having to explain that, although we are aware that there are other populations that are in great need, the quality-of-life indices for Black Californians continue to decrease. Our life expectancies are decreasing. Our unhoused population is increasing. Our health outcomes remain the worst.

We’re not asking anyone to choose one group to prioritize. We are saying, though, in addition to your investments into our immigrant brothers and sisters – or our religious brothers and sisters – we are also asking you to uplift the needs of Black Californians. That way, all of us can move forward together.

What inspired you the most over the last year?

I’ve always been amazed by the joy of Black women in the midst of crisis.

That is really our secret sauce. We don’t let the current state of any issue take our joy from us. It may break us a little bit. We may get tired a little bit. But we find ways to express that – through the arts, through music, through poetry.

What is one lesson you learned in 2025 that will inform your decision-making next year?

Reset. It’s so important not to be sitting still. We have a new administration. We’re seeing data showing that Black women have the largest unemployment rate. We’ve lost so many jobs. We can have rest – we can be restful – but we have to continue the resistance.

In one word, what is the biggest challenge Black Californians faced in 2025?

Motivation.

I choose motivation because of the tiredness. What is going to motivate us to be involved in 2026?

What is the goal you want to achieve most in 2026?

I want to get Black Californians in spaces and places of power and influence – as well as opportunities to thrive economically, socially, and physically.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

1 week ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.