Oakland Small Business Resiliency Fund

Arturo is the Founder and CEO of Centro Community Partners (Centro), an Oakland-based nonprofit dedicated to empowering underserved entrepreneurs and promoting economic opportunity and equity. is an author and social impact leader with over 30 years of work experience as a nonprofit leader and management consultant. As the author of “In Pursuit of a Noble Cause, A Social Justice Leadership Journey”, he provides a perspective on community-based innovation, racial equity, and social justice in nonprofit development. He specializes in economic development, strategy, risk management, finance, and organizational change management. In 2023, he was a visiting social entrepreneur at the Centro of Social Innovation at Stanford University. He earned a Leadership Certificate from the Stanford School of Business, an MBA in Strategic Management and Leadership from the Peter F. Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University, and a BA in Economics and a concentration in Finance from the Haas School of Business of U.C Berkeley.

Cairo Person is the Oakland Director at Uptima Entrepreneur Cooperative, a cooperative community for and by entrepreneurs providing holistic and culturally relevant education, advising, and community to support diverse entrepreneurs in creating thriving businesses in service to their communities. Cairo is a multifaceted businesswoman and a dedicated advocate for entrepreneurs. As the co-founder of a non-profit, she has firsthand experience with the challenges of starting and growing a business. Cairo is passionate about sharing her knowledge and insights with fellow entrepreneurs, helping them build valuable connections and access essential resources, fostering a community where everyone can thrive.

Collette Hanna has 20+ years of experience in economic and community development, with an emphasis on advancing economic equity. Working throughout California, in municipalities and nonprofits, her work has resulted in livable-wage job creation, advancement of small businesses, and work in multiple industries. Accomplishments of which she’s most proud are the launch of an economic development plan to address poverty and underrepresented communities, launch of a city’s first civic hackathon to engage tech start-ups on community issues, and leading a city’s first DEI task force to advance a culture of belonging within the organization.

She has been a volunteer with Oakland Education Fund and EmpowHer Institute – mentoring high school girls, and has served on the boards of TeamCA and YMCA Santa Monica. She also served on the Culver City Committee on Homelessness to ensure services and advancement of housing.

Collette holds a Bachelor’s degree in Economics from San Diego State University and an MBA from Pepperdine University.

Trevor Parham is an award-winning artist, activist, and entrepreneur. He is the Founder of Oakstop; a Black owned and operated business that uses commercial real estate as a platform for community empowerment by providing workspace, meeting/event space, and creative space for entrepreneurs and communities of color.

As part of his work with Oakstop, Trevor co-founded the Oakland Black Business Fund, a Black-led grantmaking program, providing capital, technical assistance, and growth strategy to Black businesses in Oakland, California.

Trevor was named Executive of the Year (2020) by the San Francisco Business Times and Pacific Community Ventures Good Jobs Entrepreneur Fellow (2023). Oakstop also received the Small Business of the Year Award (2020) from State Assemblymember Rob Bonta for its consistent track record for serving community and local nonprofits with affordable culturally competent space.

Yanira Cortez is an Urban Economic Analyst at the City of Oakland – Business Development Division with a background in business, real estate, education and community organizing. 

Prior to this role, Yanira was the Education Director for Frontline Catalysts, a youth development organization rooted in Ethnic Studies pedagogy in Oakland, CA. Yanira create Eco-Summer youth development summer program focused on expositing youth to local government.  She was also a local Real Estate professional serving many non-English speaking clients in the Bay Area. Having witnessed the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis, Yanira focused her working with people vulnerable to predatory lending improving outcomes for those she came into community with.  

Yanira earned her BA in Ethnic Studies from U.C. Berkeley, while serving as lead facilitator and mentor for NavCal, an organization empowering first generation students to increase their financial and social capital. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for Cre9Innovations, an organization that focus on higher education, housing and financial wellness. She was born and lives in Oakland with her husband Jesse, two daughters ages 9 and 12, and Louie and Clover (dog and cat).