Bay Area

Michael Pritchard Receives 2023 Camarena Award at the Elks in San Rafael

The Elks 1108 Lodge in San Rafael awarded Dr. Michael Pritchard the 2023 Camarena Award on April 28, 2023. Pritchard served as a probation officer early in his career in San Francisco and was a core member of Marin County Schools Law Enforcement Partnership for 20 years.

Published

3 years ago

May 10, 2023

Oakland Post

Michael Pritchard. Photo by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

The Elks 1108 Lodge in San Rafael awarded Dr. Michael Pritchard the 2023 Camarena Award on April 28, 2023.

Pritchard served as a probation officer early in his career in San Francisco and was a core member of Marin County Schools Law Enforcement Partnership for 20 years.

He gave hundreds of speeches on drug awareness, prevention, and anti-bullying education, and continued to do so three days a week.

He received the California Probation Officer of the Year award in 1980, and the 2022 Marin Recognition Award for work with drug addicts and parolees in recovery.

When he was working in the San Francisco Youth Guidance Center, Pritchard also became a comedian. In 1980, he won first place in the San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition, according to his website.

Billed alongside Jerry Seinfeld, Dana Carvey, Whoopi Goldberg, and the late Robin Williams, Pritchard played at venues such as Caesar’s, the Comedy Store, and Universal Amphitheater. He has opened for Diana Ross, the Grateful Dead, Kenny Rogers, and Boz Scaggs.

Pritchard has been featured on CNN, NBC’s The Today Show, The Tonight Show, CBS Sunday Morning with Charles Kuralt, Time and People magazine.

Pritchard began using humor to inspire, teach communication skills, anger management, diversity, conflict resolution and overcoming burnout and stress.

Forming Heartland Media, he continued with “Red Ribbon Week” and “PeaceTalks” teaching students to make positive choices.

“SOS: Saving Our Schools from Hate and Violence,” was filmed after 1999’s tragic Columbine High School massacre and was featured in both Time magazine and on CNN. His series “Lifesteps” builds the social and emotional intelligence in youth and has received the Parents Choice Award.

For his work in promoting nonviolence with youth, Dr. Michael Pritchard was awarded an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Hartwick University and won the 2001 Lewis Hine’s Award for Service to Children & Youth Certificate of Appreciation, and the 2002 Marin Community Foundation’s Beryl Buck Fund Award for achievement in Promoting Nonviolence.

When Pritchard accepted the Camarena award at the Elks, he said “This room is filled with people I love, I love living here and the people here.”

He thinks the most important part of his life is to make his life and energy a prayer. “I don’t know why I am so happy. It does not make any sense. There have been so many deaths. I just keep thinking of the things that are unfolding.

“And I am with people that I love very dearly and will never stop calling them. This is family in the center of the heart of Marin, where we care deeply for each other and community unity with love and respect. We take care of each other’s hearts and lives and raise kids to know how to be kind to others.

“A lot of us were raised in the Norman Rockwell community, with cub scouts and loving families that took care of each other. That is what we must protect, that innocence, kindness, and love that I had growing up in my family” Pritchard said.

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Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 4 – 10, 2026

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5 days ago

March 7, 2026

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

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March 1, 2026

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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

3 weeks 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.