Bay Area

OPD Veteran Danielle Outlaw Hired as First Black Woman to Lead Philadelphia Police Department

Published

6 years ago

January 2, 2020

Danielle Outlaw, an Oakland native and 19-year veteran of the Oakland Police Department, has been hired to serve as the first Black woman to lead Philadelphia’s police department.

Her hiring as the police commissioner was officially announced Monday at a press conference with Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney, who introduced her to the public, ending a four-month interview process that drew 31 applicants, including 15 insiders.

“I am appointing Danielle Outlaw because I am convinced she has the conviction, courage, and compassion needed to bring long-overdue reform to the department,” Mayor Kenney said in a statement. “With our support, she will tackle a host of difficult issues, from racism and gender discrimination to horrid instances of sexual assault on fellow officers. These are issues that too often negatively impact women — especially women of color — within the department.”

“The problems are the same. There are just more of them,” former Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey said of Outlaw’s hiring. “She’s no stranger to crime, no stranger to violence, no stranger to keeping police officers motivated. Philly is just bigger.”

Born in East Oakland, Outlaw, 43, has two children. She joined OPD in 1998 after graduating from the University of San Francisco.

Two years ago. she moved to Portland, Oregon to become the first Black police chief of that city.

“We will be accountable to ourselves, to each other, and to our communities. But to be clear, I cannot do this alone,” said Outlaw, quoted in the Philadelphia Inquirer

Outlaw pledged to be a “conduit” between the community and police and to address the racist and sexist tensions dividing the force.

“If I have to be the conduit, I’ll be the conduit,” she said.

Oakland civil rights attorney John Burris, who got to know Outlaw while working to bring OPD in compliance with the federal court decree mandating police reforms, told the Inquirer that she always supported efforts to bring the department into compliance with the court-ordered reforms.

“She’s always had a good view of progressive policing, but she also has respect for the rights of the police,” Burris said. “I saw her as someone who was very balanced, someone who recognized the importance of acting in the best interests of the community as well as law enforcement.”

Recent lawsuits have accused department commanders of ignoring complaints that female officers were being sexually harassed by colleagues and supervisors and making it difficult for them to keep nursing when they return from maternity leave.

Former Commissioner Richard Ross Jr. resigned last summer after a lawsuit alleged that he ignored sexual harassment complaints because he’d once had an affair with one of the complaining officers. He denied that he had retaliated against anyone.

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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

2 days 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

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.