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Oakland City Councilmember Sheng Thao Honors Mother as Women’s History Month Closes

My father and mother met in a refugee camp in Thailand before they immigrated to the United States. It was there that my mother changed her name to Chua, which translates to “wind.” They settled in Stockton, California, in 1979. They didn’t have much, but they raised me and my nine siblings with a strong foundation of love, a focus on family values, and a commitment to supporting the community.

Published

4 years ago

April 3, 2022

Oakland Post

Sheng Thao with her mother, Chua Thao, right. Photo courtesy of Sheng Thao.

By Sheng Thao

My mom fled her home country of Laos during the secret war in the early 1970s when genocide was being perpetrated against our people – the Hmong people.

She lost her first husband, a soldier, to the war. And when she finally escaped, she was a widowed mother of a 1-year-old, and also eight months pregnant.

During her escape, my mother was shot in the arm, and being the fighter that she is, she was going to do whatever she could to make sure her children would make it out safe.

My father and mother met in a refugee camp in Thailand before they immigrated to the United States. It was there that my mother changed her name to Chua, which translates to “wind.”

They settled in Stockton, California, in 1979. They didn’t have much, but they raised me and my nine siblings with a strong foundation of love, a focus on family values, and a commitment to supporting the community.

As a mother who is disabled, not able to drive, who didn’t understand the language of her new home, she thrived and persisted and conquered.

The strength of my mother, in fighting back against persecution and injustice inspires me to fight for others to this very day.

My mother has always been the glue that holds our family together.

A woman who still carries a bullet in her arm, a woman who was not given a fair opportunity to succeed in a new world that she did not choose, and yet, she continuously learned how to adapt and survive.

Through her persistence, she ensured that all of her children were given all the opportunities that she was never afforded.

That persistence is why I am able to be here today standing up for those without a voice.

So, this Women’s History Month and every month and every day, I honor Chua Thao as my mother, our family’s matriarch, and the strongest person I will ever meet.

Thank you, Mom, for leading the way.

Love,

Councilmember Sheng Thao

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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

2 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.