Transform Strategic Plan 2024-2028

For close to three decades, Transform has launched programs, built coalitions, and won campaigns to promote thriving transit, dense, affordable housing, and safe, vibrant, people-oriented streets.

OUR MISSION/VISION

Transform works to ensure that people of all incomes thrive in a world safe from climate chaos. We envision vibrant neighborhoods, transformed by excellent, sustainable mobility options and affordable housing, where those historically impacted by racist disinvestment now have power and voice.

Download Transform’s Strategic Plan

OUR APPROACH

We empower communities of color, innovate solutions, and advocate for policies and funding—all with the aim of helping people thrive and averting climate disaster.

ENVISIONING A BETTER FUTURE

Transform is moving the Bay Area and California toward a future where…

An excellent transit system and safe streets have opened up healthy, sustainable mobility options
People can afford to live close to jobs, schools, services, and other necessities
No one is displaced by rising housing costs, and people can stay connected to their families, identities, and communities
People drive less, greenhouse gas emissions decline, and we avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis
Black and Brown communities that have borne the brunt of racist housing policy and transportation investments take the lead in reimagining their communities
Dense, walkable/rollable1 neighborhoods with excellent transit service and green spaces are the norm, and taking transit is the easy choice
The Bay Area is economically diverse: teachers, plumbers, restaurant workers, medical assistants—everyone—can afford to live here
All Californians experience the dignity that housing and transportation security provide

To advance this vision, Transform works to reshape transportation and housing using community-driven solutions and transformative policy advocacy.

1We use “walk/roll” instead of “walk” to be inclusive of people who use wheelchairs.

PRINCIPLES THAT POWER OUR WORK

People-centered climate work

Climate work is equity work. In order to ensure that BIPOC and disinvested communities are not left behind in the transition to a clean transportation system, and that fewer people are displaced to faraway exurbs where the only mobility option is a long drive, we must create a climate-friendly transportation and housing ecosystem that serves everyone equally.

Countering the impacts of racism and making the world better for everyone

We center and amplify the voices of low-income and historically disinvested communities in every aspect of our work. We also know that this approach benefits everyone—reducing carbon emissions, creating world-class transit systems, making our streets safer for everyone, and helping to build a strong and economically diverse region and state.

Intersections and Connections

Transform works at the intersections, not just of housing and transportation, but also as a key coalition builder among different kinds of organizations, forging connections among community, environmental, equity, labor, and advocacy groups. We play a critical role in the power-building ecosystem, bringing block-level groups to tables where decisions are made.

Community Leadership

We ask: who is in the room, and who is left out? Transform’s strength is in building authentic partnerships with grassroots groups and less-resourced communities, and in bringing their voices into the halls of power, and their concerns into wider policy conversations. We listen to communities and center equity not only in the outcomes of our policy work but in the process, fostering community leadership.

Bay Area as Incubator

We see the Bay Area—a dense, highly unequal region with an urgent housing crisis but also a history of progressive policies—as an ideal place to try out transportation and housing solutions that can be replicated elsewhere. Many of these pilots develop into lasting, impactful programs. As longtime policy leaders, the experience and relationships we build through our programs ground our policy work in community knowledge, allowing us to run more strategic and effective campaigns at the regional and state levels.

OUR GOALS

OUR STRATEGIES

STRATEGY 1

WIN TRANSFORMATIVE INVESTMENTS IN CLIMATE AND EQUITY

The transportation choices individuals make are influenced by our investments at every level of government—and California’s past investments incentivize us to drive. By pushing for much greater investment in sustainable transportation and affordable housing, Transform is creating a future that enables people to live closer to jobs and that makes transit, biking, and walking/rolling the easy choice. Driving won’t be the only choice or even the most appealing one; transit will be safe, reliable, and frequent; our streets will be safe and inviting for active transportation.

STRATEGY 1A

Supercharge Funding for Green Transportation and Affordable Housing

If California is to help avert the worst impacts of the climate crisis, we need massive public investment in reliable, safe transit and in affordable housing near transit. Transform will build and support coalitions of transportation, housing, and climate groups to dramatically increase funding at the state and regional levels for world-class transit and affordable housing.

OUR WORK IN ACTION

Regional Housing Measure Advocacy
Regional Transportation Measure Advocacy
State Budget Advocacy

STRATEGY 1B

Reallocate Transportation Investments to Reduce Driving
The billions that California currently spends on transportation are largely funding climate arson. We’ll keep pushing to dramatically reshape our transportation investments so that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build equitable communities. These shifts will change how people get around, funding less highway expansion and more green mobility—infrastructure like bus priority lanes, bike lanes, bike share, and crosswalks; and excellent, reliable, safe transit service so that it’s easy for people to drive less.

OUR WORK IN ACTION

Fighting Highway Widening
Caltrans Accountability Campaign
Equitable Road Pricing
Flexing Highway Funds to Transit

STRATEGY 2

NORMALIZE TRANSIT, BIKING, WALKING, AND ROLLING

“Build it and they will come” is not always sufficient when it comes to breaking old habits, normalizing new ways of moving, and ensuring that people have what they need to access green transportation. We also need to build people’s knowledge and resources, and shift how they feel about mobility options, so that they begin to see transit, biking, walking, and rolling as viable choices, and, eventually, as completely normal and expected. To do that, we need to educate and empower communities and build community leadership. We need to roll out programs and investments so that they effectively reach and serve low-income and transit-dependent people, disabled people, and BIPOC communities. We need to work to include communities in the transition to sustainable, healthy transportation.

STRATEGY 2A

Make Walking, Rolling, and Transit Affordable and Accessible

Even with dramatic infrastructure and operations improvements, many people will still face barriers to accessing green mobility options. Transit or bicycling may be out of reach financially. Programs may be designed so that burdens fall on communities of color, and benefits accrue to those who already have resources. Government agency staff may have “equity blind spots” when rolling out new programs or building infrastructure, and may fail to reach or serve low-income communities adequately. We’ll continue our work to make sustainable transportation affordable, ensure that programs are shaped to be inclusive and reach communities that need them, and help agencies implement infrastructure projects equitably.

OUR WORK IN ACTION

New Mobility in Underserved Communities
Promoting Transit and Biking Subsidies
Promoting Safety and Inclusion on Transit
Needs Assessments
Community Engagement

STRATEGY 2B

Change the Culture and Build Community Resources—in the Halls of Power
and in Neighborhoods

We need to build a broad societal consensus at all levels to transform our investments and stop driving so much. We’ll shift the narrative, producing research and communications to make sure that policymakers and the public understand the enormous impact that building more affordable homes near transit and investing in alternatives to driving will have on our region and state’s climate emissions. We’ll continue to build community resources and knowledge to overcome barriers to green transportation, empowering community leaders and helping communities gain the tools for change, including funding, community leadership, and educating and engaging with communities. We’ll continue to teach kids, families, and elders the skills and knowledge to bike, walk/roll, and ride transit. Through our programs and policy work, we’ll listen to and nurture community leaders.

Through all of this, we’ll build a culture of walking/rolling, biking, and taking transit, creating a new normal where more people are willing to try something new and change their behavior—whether that’s a teen riding to school for the first time or a policymaker standing up for better transit and less highway expansion.

OUR WORK IN ACTION

STRATEGY 3

HOUSING AS A CLIMATE STRATEGY

To create a just and equitable transportation system that effectively reduces climate-disrupting emissions, affordable housing near transit is as important as reliable, safe, healthy transportation solutions. Working at the intersection of housing and transportation means innovating housing and parking solutions that encourage sustainable transportation and healthy, active communities so that suburban and urban residents alike can rely less on driving.

STRATEGY 3A

Integrate Housing with Climate-Friendly Transportation

We’ll continue to push policies and develop innovative programs that integrate clean mobility with affordable housing so that low-income people have affordable homes with a range of convenient mobility options. In partnership with communities, we’ll push for authentically equitable, community-driven solutions, and lift up those strategies for others to replicate. We’ll advance state and regional policies that foster denser, more transit-friendly development in every city type, uplifting urban areas that are on the right track, while challenging our suburban neighbors to adopt a higher standard of density, parking, and transportation.

OUR WORK IN ACTION

STRATEGY 3B

Reclaim Our Space: Innovative Parking Reform

Transform will continue to pioneer creative solutions to better use existing parking so that developers can build more affordable housing and less car storage, and so that our communities can build more bike and bus lanes, more plazas and parklets. We’ll make sure that new developments prioritize transit passes and bike share pods for residents. With community input, Transform will change the narrative from one of deficit to one of abundance, and propel a future where less space for cars means healthy, safe, people-centered neighborhoods.

OUR WORK IN ACTION

OUR VALUES

COLLABORATION/LISTENING. We listen to and amplify the voices of those who have been left out of decision-making so that their values and needs shape investments and echo through the halls of power.

CREATIVITY. We look at problems from multiple angles and consider multiple solutions, aiming for flexible open-mindedness.

TRANSPARENCY. Decision-making processes are transparent and clear within our organization and to the communities we serve.

EQUITY. We aim to right and repair past harm, disinvestment, and disenfranchisement of people of color; woman-identifying, non-binary, LGBTQ, and disabled people; youth; elders; and others.

TRUST. We recognize that true partnership is earned through authentic listening, mutual respect, and long-term investment.

EXCELLENCE. We work hard to build a world where people of all incomes can access what they want and need through world-class transit, bicycling, and walking/rolling, and where they have great, affordable housing choices close to jobs, education, family, community, services, and stores.

SHARED LEADERSHIP. We work to meaningfully engage folks in decision-making that impacts their lives and creates paths to leadership.

Download Transform’s Strategic Plan

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Our strategic plan was created thanks to thoughtful input from partners, stakeholders, and supporters, along with our dedicated board and staff.

Brytanee Brown of emergent labs guided our Project Team, bringing clarity, inclusive facilitation, and an eye to equity. Our Strategic Planning committee provided expertise and insightful perspective, shaping the plan from start to finish. We drew on the wisdom and knowledge of Transform’s board and staff, as well as dozens of external thought partners via workshops, surveys, interviews, and informal conversations. We greatly value the wisdom of the many thought partners who shared their insights to help us understand Transform and shape our vision. Ultimately, this plan is that of Transform’s leadership, and we take responsibility
for any flaws or oversights.

Project Team
Jenn Guitart, Transform Executive Director
Carrie Harvilla, Transform Deputy Director
Tejus Shankar, Transform Board
Brytanee Brown, emergent labs

Strategic Planning Committee
Jennifer Ledet, Transform Staff
Zack Deutsch-Gross, Transform Staff
Clarrissa Cabansagan, Silicon Valley Bike Coalition
Joy Massey, Marin Clean Energy
Alice Chen, Transform Board
Jame Ervin, Transform Board

Additional Transform Staff
Dave Severy
Stephanie Jim
Sheila Islam
Mario Valadez
Jasmine Law
Emilio Elenes
Michele Walker
Michelle Campbell
Liz Holm
Grecia Mannah-Ayon
Abibat Rahman-Davies
Amy Thomson

Transform Board
Linda Rhine
Alice Chen
Jame Ervin
Nirit Lotan
Warren Logan
Sally Greenspan
Tejus Shankar
Elizabeth Madrigal
Michelle Beasley

Additional Thought Partners
Zak Accuardi
Bob Allen
Emily Alter
Kevin Boyd
Kate Breen
Amanda Brown-Stevens
Dan Carroll
Ken Chan
Ann Cheng
Stuart Cohen
Hana Creger
Hayley Currier
Alfonso Directo, Jr.
Jean Fraser
Hannah Garcia
Barnali Ghosh
Sally Greenspan
Jordan Grimes
Sarah Guitart
Chris Harrelson
Jeff Hobson
Jill Holloway
Heather Hood
Justin Hu-Nguyen
Alicia John-Baptiste
Nick Josefowitz
Jen Klose

Nicolay Kreidler
Nelson Layag
Chris Lepe
Jeff Levin
Rose Linke
Eli Lipmen
Jennifer Madden
Richard Marcantonio
Christopher Martinez
Jennifer Martinez
Laura McCamy
Ron Milam
Adam Millard-Ball
Melanie Morelos
Tamsin Nutter
Laurel Paget-Seekins
James Perez
Geeta Rao
Martha Roskowski
Axel Santana
Chris Schlidt
Zoe Siegel
Krute Singa
Laura Tolkoff
Noe Veloso
Alex Walker
Kenya Wheeler
Rochelle Wheeler