Uncategorized

From Mexico to Oakland to UC Berkeley Graduate

Published

13 years ago

January 11, 2013

Oakland Post

Karely Maribel Ordaz Salto

By Karely Maribel
Ordaz Salto

At the age of 21, I was the first in my family to ever attend and graduate from a university, receiving my Bachelor of Arts Degree in American Studies with an emphasis in Environment, Policy and Public Health from UC Berkeley.
I was born in the small fishing and farming town of La Palma, Michoacán, a state located in central Mexico. My father was a laborer with an eighth-grade education while my mother was a farmer’s daughter with a sixth-grade education.
In the fall of 1995, my father, pregnant mother and I underwent the most important journey of our life: we sought a new beginning in the “Land of Opportunity.”
We traveled from La Palma to Tijuana to Oakland, each town giving us a different chance at starting a new life. My parents left everything they knew behind to give my sister and me an opportunity to get an education.
I entered American Indian Public High School (AIPHS) in 2005, a school with zero tolerance for excuses. Founder and Principal Dr. Ben Chavis always told us that we were capable of not only going to college but also getting out of Oakland.
He always reminded me that I was not the same as other students because I was an illegal.
Dr. Chavis told me that if I followed his method of education and obeyed all his rules, he would take care of me. As years passed, I began to understand his method and goal for us. The push that Dr. Chavis and the AIPHS staff gave students fit us all in the framework of a bigger picture: college and a future beyond Oakland.
At AIPHS, I was given the opportunity to take AP courses at no cost, attend a community college throughout high school for free, and meet some of the most dedicated teachers I have ever met.
With the support of people like Dr. Chavis, I graduated from AIPHS with a 4.3 GPA and acceptance letters to UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Riverside, University of the Pacific, and others.
I decided to attend UC Berkeley, but as an illegal I could not qualify for financial aid. Dr. Chavis and the American Indian Model Schools Foundation covered my whole tuition cost, and I graduated from UC Berkeley in only three years.
Although many challenges stood in my way, none however, stopped me. My college experience taught me that my ethnicity and background would never define what I did in life.
With President Obama’s Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program the things I can achieve have reached new heights. DACA has given people like me who arrived to the U.S. as young children, the opportunity to get work permits.
Now, with an undergraduate degree and the opportunity to legally work in the United States, I am an Administrative Assistant at American Indian Model Schools. Most importantly, I own a tutoring business called Golden Eagles, providing tutoring and homework assistance to children from all backgrounds and ages.
Through hard work, I have made my family’s journey to the United States even more meaningful. Although I never forget my struggles, I am not defined by them. I share my story with illegal students to allow them to see that they, too. can attend a great university, make their families proud and above all, do something extraordinary with their lives.

Oakland Post

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Uncategorized

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

6 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

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Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

10 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

11 months ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.