Business

Twitter Joins 25×25 Pledge on Diversity in Leadership Positions

The 25×25 Pledge challenges companies to increase their diversity in leadership positions in their companies with a goal of filling 25% of leadership positions with hires from underrepresented groups by 2025 or by making a pledge that leadership roles from underrepresented groups will increase by 25% by the year 2025.

Published

5 years ago

February 24, 2021

Kiki

Dalana Brand, vice president of People Experience and head of Inclusion and Diversity at Twitter

On February 18, 2021, Twitter joined the Silicon Valley Leadership group by signing on to the 25×25 Pledge.

State law requiring diversity on corporate boards of publicly traded companies defined “underrepresented groups” as someone who self-identifies as Black, African American, Hispanic, Latino, Asian, Pacific Islander, Native American, Native Hawaiian or Alaska Native, or who self-identifies as gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender.

The self-identify component brings to mind Rachel Dolezal and others who identify as Black but are not, in fact, Black.

“We’re proud to join the 25×25 pledge, which expands on our bold vision for workforce representation and commitment to inclusion and diversity programs to accelerate progress,” said Dalana Brand, vice president of People Experience and head of Inclusion and Diversity at Twitter.

“Twitter’s purpose is to serve the public conversation and we’re committed to making sure our company reflects the diversity of people who use the service.

“Twitter has long been a groundbreaker in Silicon Valley and a driver of the important conversations in our culture. By taking the 25×25 pledge, they propel the conversation of inclusion and show themselves to be one of the most forward-thinking, action-oriented companies in diversity and representation in our industry,” Brand said. “This is all about action to make our leading companies stronger at the end of the day. We’re proud to have them alongside so many of our member companies at this historic moment of reckoning, on diversity and representation.”

Other organizations taking the pledge include Alaska Airlines, Bay Area Council, Equilar, Facebook, Flex, Foothill De Anza College, Listo, Lumentum, NAACP (California & Hawaii), Santa Clara University, San Francisco 49ers, San Francisco Chronicle, Stanford Lucille Packard Children’s Hospital, SunPower, United Airlines, Western Digital and Zoom.

California Sen. Alex Padilla spoke at the Diversity Forward Conference by the Silicon Valley Leadership group on February 19 and said: “[j]ust embracing the dialogue in this and agreeing that it is important to diversify your individual companies and organizations at all levels. If you have something to brag about in terms of diversity, you know, why wait for it to be a mandated requirement for you to report it? Show us where you are and show us the progress that you’re making.”

For more information about 25×25 visit Pledge25x25.org.

The San Francisco Chronicle, Pledge25x25.org and SVLG.org were sources for this report.

Kiki

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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

5 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

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.