August 28th @ 8:30 am – 11:00 am
This event has passed. Thank you to all who attended and supported! Read our recap blog post for highlights!
A Convening for Faith-Rooted Advocacy and Systemic Change
East Bay Housing Organizations, the Multi-Faith ACTION Coalition, and the Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy invite you to our 2025 Faith & Justice Breakfast: Building Community with Faith-Rooted Action.
The focus of our Breakfast this year is this powerful nexus of community-building and taking action for justice. The program will delve into practical strategies for engaging faith-community members in meaningful action for justice, focusing on key topical examples such as the housing crisis, alleviating poverty, and championing our immigrant neighbors. We will explore how these vital issues resonate with the common values and calls to action arising from our various faith traditions.
This gathering offers a unique opportunity to connect with other faith communities, share methods and priorities, and brainstorm ways to energize our community to be powerful agents of positive, systemic change in the world around us. A light breakfast will be provided.
Rev. Leslie Takahashi serves as the Lead Minister at the Mt. Diablo Unitarian Universalist Church where she has been part of the ministry for 16 years. Prior to entering into the ministry, she worked as a journalist and in public policy and leadership development. Her previous positions included serving as Assistant Vice President for the 59-institution North Carolina Community College System and as the Executive Director of the Wildacres Leadership Initiative. Leslie is a contributing author of two books related to the impact of race and her faith and has an upcoming book called Truth, Trauma, and Transformation. She has held numerous national leadership positions in her association and currently serves as the president of the Unitarian Universalist Minister’s Association.
Supervisor Shanelle Scales-Preston represents Contra Costa County’s District 5. She was elected to the Pittsburg City Council in 2018 and served as Mayor in 2023. With a focus on supporting youth programs and improving city services, she has worked to contribute to a stronger and more vibrant community.
Supervisor Scales-Preston’s career includes decades of service in federal government agencies, where she developed expertise in advocating for residents and coordinating solutions to bureaucratic challenges. Throughout Contra Costa County, she has fostered strong working relationships with community members and stakeholders.
Laura Nakamura was elected to the Concord City Council in November of 2022. She represents District 5, and was appointed to the position of Vice Mayor for 2025.
Laura’s dedication to equity and community well-being is rooted in her faith tradition and a lifelong commitment to fairness and compassion. She recognizes that community-based organizations and engaged individuals are the heartbeat of Concord, bringing energy, resilience, and creativity to the City. Their efforts strengthen neighborhoods, uplift those in need, and add to the cultural vibrancy that makes Concord a healthier, more sustainable, and inclusive place for all.
Rev. Jeremy J. McCants is a native of the little town of Senoia, Georgia. He is a 2013 Cum Laude graduate of Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in Religion, and he is also a 2016 graduate of The Divinity School at Duke University, earning a Master of Divinity Degree with a concentration in Baptist Studies.
Rev. Jermey serves as a Faith Rooted Organizer for FAME (Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy), an interfaith component to economic justice campaigns led by EBASE (East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy). Rev. McCants also serves as the Chair of the Religious Affairs Committee of the Oakland Branch of the NAACP and as the Community Liaison on the Board of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Samuel Merritt College.
Ali Saidi is the in-house immigration specialist at Contra Costa County Public Defenders and he is responsible for ensuring that attorneys properly advise non-citizen clients regarding the immigration consequences of the criminal charges against them. Mr. Saidi specializes in the intersection between immigration law and criminal law and regularly provides expert assistance as well as continuing legal education trainings for public defender offices, community-based organizations, clinics, and bar associations throughout the Bay Area regarding representation of non-citizens in criminal proceedings.
Mariana Moore proudly serves as Senior Director of Ensuring Opportunity, which brings together advocates across issues and sectors in a collective effort to end poverty in our community. We focus on the root causes of poverty in challenging and changing unjust and racist policies, practices, and narratives that keep our neighbors in Contra Costa members from reaching their full potential to thrive.
Before joining Ensuring Opportunity, Mariana served as director of the Human Services Alliance of Contra Costa, a coalition of community-based organizations that work in partnership with the local government to meet the needs of low-income residents.
She also served as a consultant for many years, providing strategic counsel, facilitation, organizational development, executive coaching, and capacity-building services to social sector organizations and coalitions throughout the Bay Area. Her experience includes serving as an Executive Director, Development Director and Board Member for numerous organizations in the social sector and higher education. She is Past Chair of the Diablo Valley College Foundation Board and currently serves as Board Chair for LeaderSpring, a leadership training institute for social sector changemakers.
