Candidate for
School Director; Oakland Unified School District; District 3

Bio for Jumoke Hinton Hodge

Jumoke Hinton Hodge is a community and youth development consultant that has worked in the Bay Area for the last two decades. She has worked with students identified as severely emotionally disturbed, low-income youth and provided gender specific services. Jumoke has dedicated her work in the last seven years to working in the West Oakland community. She has supported the development of arts based programming, community + school collaborations, participated on design teams developing small schools within Oakland Unified School District as well as facilitating parent and family community organizing trainings.

Jumoke is the co-founder and currently serves as the Director for the Parent Leadership and Engagement Academy Initiative (PLEA), a community-building project dedicated to the education and support of West Oakland parents and families. The last year has been dedicated to growing the work beyond a 12-week training program - to creating a meaningful and powerful collaboration of parents across all West Oakland Schools.

Jumoke has worked in collaboration with California Tomorrow over the last five years in developing curriculum for parents and community to increase their ability to navigate public school system and increase their competencies as parents. She has co-facilitated diversity and youth development workshops with California Tomorrow for the Community Network of Youth Development and other Statewide initiatives. She will launch a new community and capacity building non- profit in 2008 called Khepera Inc.

Jumoke served as the President of the Board for the 7th Street McClymonds Neighborhood Improvement Initiative from 2001-2003. Jumoke served on the West Oakland Project Area Committee and co-chaired the Equitable Development Sub Committee 2002-2004. Jumoke represented District Three on the Oakland Children and Youth Planning and Oversight Committee, providing policy and grant allocation for youth services throughout the city of Oakland (2003-2005).

Jumoke is currently developing a network across 12 West Oakland Schools, the West Oakland Education Task Force. Her work includes partnering with the school district, individual school sites, community based organizations and small businesses. She supports 12 parent leaders to develop parent led groups within their children's schools.

Through her consulting work she has deepen her interest in strengthening organizations from the inside out; developing sound infrastructures that ensure the longevity and success of community based organizations. Her work has also taken on a focus of encouraging healthy adult - youth partnerships within community based organizations

Jumoke holds a Bachelor degree in Black Studies and English from Oberlin College. Jumoke is a wife and mother to four children, ranging in ages from 14 to 23 years old, two boys and two girls.