Creating a Thriving Oakland Through Effective Government
Empower Oakland is a volunteer-led civic organization founded in 2023.
Our Mission
Oakland is the most dynamic city in the Bay Area — incredible weather, amazing diversity, a fantastic restaurant and arts scene, and a thriving community of engaged residents. But Oakland's government still doesn't match that potential. Years of mismanagement led to surging crime and rising costs, despite a $2 billion annual budget — the highest per capita of any city in California.
City Hall is more professional today, but professionalism alone won't solve Oakland's problems. That takes leadership — and sustained civic engagement to demand it.
By fixing local government, Oakland can be the greatest place to live in the Bay Area for people of all income levels.
In ten years, we believe Oakland will be a model for cities worldwide on how to improve standards of living, economic mobility, and vibrancy for all residents.
Our approach starts and ends with what Oaklanders actually want. We conduct regular polling, produce the city's most-read voter guide, and organize everyday citizens to hold leaders accountable and elect candidates who will deliver results.
Our Story
Loren Taylor founded Empower Oakland in 2023 with a mission to inform and mobilize voters around the issues that matter most: public safety, housing, schools, economic vitality, and government accountability.
The first year featured public forums, speaker events, and voter mobilization ahead of the 2024 primary. In summer 2024, new leadership joined and a core volunteer team took shape. That September, Empower Oakland 2.0 launched — and in our first general election cycle, we became the #1 voter guide in Oakland and the #2 most influential endorsement source in the city.
In 2025, we went all-in on the District 2 special election, backing Charlene Wang. Outspent 3-to-1, our candidate won — demonstrating that smart strategy and candidate quality beat big spending. Today, Empower Oakland's newsletter reaches 11,000+ subscribers, and our coalition continues to grow.
Advisory Council
Empower Oakland's strength comes from being deeply connected to the communities we serve. Our Advisory Council brings together Oakland leaders across neighborhoods, sectors, and perspectives to help ensure our work reflects the full fabric of the city.
Council members serve as a sounding board on policy and political developments, help us understand what's happening on the ground across Oakland, and contribute to identifying and encouraging strong candidates for public office. The Advisory Council does not set Empower Oakland's positions — those are driven by voter polling — but provides the ground-level insight that makes our work sharper and more responsive.
Core Team
Empower Oakland is built by everyday Oaklanders who know how to get sh*t done. Our secret sauce is focus and execution, combined with an Advisory Council deeply rooted in the full fabric of the town we love. Our core team donates their time — squeezing in Empower Oakland around families and day jobs — because we believe Oakland deserves better.
Gagan Biyani
Executive Director
Gagan loves Oakland. He has lived in the East Bay the majority of his life, and graduated from UC Berkeley. Raised by a single mother, he is a proud immigrant who benefited greatly from public infrastructure and the safety of growing up in the Bay. He went to California public schools, has been riding AC Transit and Bart since he was 14 years old, and is a frequent visitor to our many amazing parks. Gagan was lucky to have founded multiple Bay Area companies including Udemy, Sprig, and Maven. He brings digital marketing and operating experience to Empower Oakland's mission.
Reze Wong
Communications Lead
Reze manages the Empower Oakland newsletter. His background is in technology and venture capital, where he’s advised founders and companies on communications and narrative strategy. A UC Berkeley grad, he’s spent the past 15 years in West Oakland, Lake Merritt, Rockridge — and is committed to raising his family and building their community in Oakland.
Arielle Fleisher
Policy Lead
Arielle has proudly called Oakland home for the last decade, and she loves being part of this vibrant, exciting, and special city. A city enthusiast who genuinely loves untangling complex governance challenges (yes, really), she's a fierce advocate for safer streets and a relentless voice for public schools that actually deliver for kids. If you know Arielle, there's a good chance she's already recruited you into some form of civic action.
Kim Ayers
Partnerships Lead
An East Oakland resident, bi-cultural gringa and OUSD parent, Kim is passionate about making things work for people. Her career includes time as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru, a coach to entrepreneurs in Chile, a management consultant, and various strategy & operations roles at Docusign. She hopes to utilize her skills in community organizing and fixing broken processes to improve how the school district and City Hall are governed and operate to better serve Oakland families. When she isn't at school board meetings, you can find her grabbing tacos in the Fruitvale or a beer at Degrees Plato.
Emily Wasserman
Operations Lead
Emily is a consultant, product manager, and operations leader. She led Empower Oakland's field operations for the 2024 election and continues to drive operational execution for the organization. Emily is an advocate for strong public schools and new TK parent leader at Laurel, who seeks to make an impact on the school board and beyond through her efforts at Empower Oakland.
Chris Hadley
Digital Operations Lead
Chris is a startup founder, consultant, and former VP at wikiHow. He leads Empower Oakland's digital operations and marketing efforts. Chris loves Oakland for its people, food, weather and fantastic outdoor spaces, and is a fan of hiking in our parks with his family and dog. In addition to his work with Empower Oakland, Chris is a current board member and former president of the Lower Montclair Security Association.
Focus and Execution
Empower Oakland's approach is simple: find out what Oaklanders actually want, then organize to make it happen.
Driven by Public Opinion
We conduct regular polling to understand voter priorities. Our positions are rooted in what the public wants — not ideology or insider politics.
Content That Reaches People
Our newsletter reaches 11,000+ subscribers with independent analysis of what's happening at City Hall, on the school board, and in Oakland elections. Combined with our social media, we're in regular conversation with Oaklanders across the city.
Organizing
We activate our base to contact their representatives, show up at public meetings, and make their voices heard. Politicians notice when constituents are organized.
Election Machinery
When it's time to vote, we deploy digital advertising, direct outreach, and our volunteer base to help strong candidates win. We proved in 2025 that you don't need the most money — you need the best strategy.
Get Involved
Subscribe to our newsletter for independent analysis on City Hall, schools, and Oakland elections. Follow us on Instagram for updates and ways to get involved.
Want to do more? We're always looking for people who can contribute time and skills — from event support to content creation to community outreach. Reach out at info@empoweroakland.com.
Support our work by donating to the Empower Oakland Committee, our campaign arm. We're volunteer-led, so your contribution goes directly to reaching Oakland voters — not overhead.