I'm thrilled to announce that Miya Saika Chen will join my team as Chief of Staff! I'm confident and excited about her leadership and commitment as we represent District 2.

Miya was raised in Oakland, is a resident of District 2, and comes from a family of community activists and organizers. Her father Art Chen is a family practitioner and has served low-income patients in Oakland Chinatown for nearly 40 years. Her mother Peggy Saika has been a longtime advocate for environmental justice and equity, fighting for the rights of immigrants and women of color.

This upbringing influenced Miya to forge a path in service and social justice that includes over 15 years of policy, legal, organizing, and coalition-building experience. Most recently, she worked at the Partnership for Working Families advising grassroots coalitions to secure a range of community benefits, including affordable housing to combat displacement, local hire, minimum wage, and greater transparency in government contracting. Her experience also includes working at the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights of the SF Bay Area, addressing the displacement of immigrant-owned small businesses and creating opportunities for people with conviction records. Miya started her career as a researcher at SEIU for janitor and security organizing campaigns in Oakland and San Francisco.

Miya’s public sector experience includes serving in the Obama Administration helping to relaunch the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to increase the federal government’s response and efficacy to underserved populations. During that time she helped manage the federal disaster response during the BP Oil Spill in the Gulf Coast where many Asian and Latino immigrant seafood workers were impacted. Miya also serves locally on the West Oakland Jobs Resource Center Board where they implement local hire policies at the Oakland Army Base.

Miya and her partner Amado Uno are raising their two young children in District 2.  

Thank you again for making our victory possible. I look forward to being your representative at City Hall!