Activism

Navdeep Jassal Journeys to Atlanta to Join the Fight to Save Our Democracy

Published

5 years ago

July 9, 2021

Christy Price

Navdeep Jassal/LinkedIn

The January 6^th insurrection at the U.S. Capitol was a strong call to action for Navdeep Jassal.

“It breaks my heart to see what’s happening in our country,” Jassal said. “So many people sacrificed their lives to win the right to vote; we can’t sit on the sidelines and watch it get taken away.”

Jassal has been a committed volunteer in Oakland, preparing and serving food for the hungry with Post co-publisher Gay Plair Cobb at First Presbyterian Church and participating with the Poor People’s Campaign and volunteering for Common Cause and local progressive candidates. She recently volunteered in the campaign of Janani Ramachandran, who will be in the runoff election for the 18^th district state assembly seat in August.

Born in Manchester, England, to Indian immigrant parents, Jassal’s family moved to Iowa where she graduated from the University of Iowa with a major in business and communication studies.

After living in San Francisco and Oakland for nearly 30 years, Jassal is getting into the thick of the fight for voting rights — in Atlanta, Ga.

She recently left her job analyzing consumer goods for Post Consumer Brands and is heading to Georgia for the next two months to volunteer for Fair Fight Action, the organization founded by Stacey Abrams to fight voter suppression efforts and make elections more equitable.

Of South Asian Indian heritage – like Vice President Kamala Harris — Jassal wants to help save democracy.

Why work with Stacey Abrams? “She’s tenacious and gives more than 100% in everything she does. She includes and treats all people of color with the highest level of respect,” she told the Post.

Jassal read New York Times columnist Charles Blow’s book “The Devil You Know,” to gain insights on how and why she should work shoulder-to-shoulder with Blacks and liberals who are moving to the South to continue the struggle for voting as the path to save democracy.

Her past volunteer experiences include serving as a field organizer for the Equal Rights Amendment Campaign in Iowa and as a participant with Rev. Dr. William Barber’s Poor Peoples Campaign and their Moral Mondays direct action efforts in North Carolina.

Asked why she wanted to become a modern-day Freedom Rider, she said “I want to serve as a worker bee in the streets with communities of color.”

Her experience with public relations, fundraising, and organizing along with her skills in sales support, cross-functional collaboration and analytical background with such companies as Lucent Technologies, Clorox and Del Monte could prove to be major assets for voter participation groups.

“I know the work is going to be hard; I know the hours are going to be long, but I’ve never been so sure in my heart that I’m doing the right thing,” Jassal said.

Jassal has been introduced to some civil rights activists through connections provided by Gay Plair Cobb, who had also moved to Atlanta in 1973 to work for political progress.

Jassal has agreed to provide reports on her volunteer mission to the Post News Group.

Christy Price

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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

Published

4 days ago

March 7, 2026

Oakland Post

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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

Published

1 week ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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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.