Lateefah Simon was elected to serve District 7 on the BART Board of Directors on November 8, 2016.
The Seventh District includes Albany (partial), Berkeley (partial), Emeryville, Oakland (partial), El Cerrito (partial), Hercules, Pinole, Richmond, San Pablo, Unincorporated Contra Costa County (partial) and San Francisco (partial).
A nationally recognized advocate for civil rights and racial justice, Lateefah brings over 20 years of executive experience advancing opportunities for communities of color and low-income communities in the Bay Area. Raised in the Fillmore District of San Francisco, Lateefah began organizing at age 15 for the Center for Young Women’s Development. At 19-years-old she was appointed Executive Director of CYWD, where she served 11 years and brought the organization to national acclaim. At 26, her work earned her the distinction of the youngest woman ever to receive a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship. She went on to lead the creation of San Francisco’s first reentry services division under the leadership of then District Attorney Kamala D. Harris. Lateefah later served as Executive Director of the Lawyer’s Committee for Civil Rights and Program Director at the Rosenberg Foundation.
