Organizing is at the core of EBHO’s work. Within my role as EBHO’s Lead Organizer, I facilitate our annual Leadership Academy, a free community program for affordable housing residents and staff covering the essential elements of being an effective affordable housing advocate, community organizer, and leader.
I am happy to report that we are now more than halfway through our 2026 Leadership Academy session! I wanted to take a moment below to introduce our 2026 cohort participants and uplift all of the work and progress they have have made so far.
Keep reading for highlights on the first half of Leadership Academy.
In solidarity,
— Damion Scott, Lead Organizer
Leadership Academy Halfway Report
EBHO launched Leadership Academy in 2015 after hearing from resident organizers that they wanted to learn more about housing policy and organizing skills.
So far in our 2026 session we have welcomed guest speakers and presenters: Chris Shildt of Urban Habitat, Rev. Sophia DeWitt of EBHO, Tahirah Dean and Skylar Spear of Public Advocates, Emily Wheeler and Eddie Ytarte from Oakland Tenant’s Union, Shanti Singh and Eduardo Torres with Tenants Together, and Vanessa Riles and Stasia Hansan with EBASE. Thank you all for joining us!
EBHO also thanks The Greenlining Institute and The California Endowment for hosting Leadership Academy in their spaces!
In the following weeks, participants are excited to learn about using personal storytelling for advocacy, practice meeting and speaking with decision makers, and begin working on group projects that they will present at the end of the session.