Olivia deBree

Olivia organizes around transportation-related issues in Contra Costa County, like the Measure J transportation sales tax and Senate Bill 375, California's new smart growth law.  She collaborates with Contra Costa residents and organizations to achieve better public transportation and bicycle/pedestrian safety, more transit-oriented development with affordable housing, and less greenhouse gas emissions that endanger public health.

In 2009, Olivia co-authored a report for the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) about how to bring good jobs and sustainable development to Emeryville.  She is also the Manager of Health Leadership and Education programs at Street Level Health Project, an Oakland nonprofit that serves low-income immigrant communities in the Bay Area.  

Olivia has extensive experience organizing and doing strategic research for labor unions and nonprofits, including UNITE HERE, CWA, SEIU, and Contra Costa Faith Works. Her interest in transportation issues is a product of seeing transportation injustice in working class communities, where residents often need transportation access the most but have it the least.  Olivia is also an avid biker. She received her BA in American Studies from Wesleyan University and her MA in Sociology from Northwestern University.