Berkeley, C.A. – On January 26, Assemblywoman Loni Hancock (D-Berkeley) nominated six women for Alameda County’s 2007 Women’s Hall of Fame, in the categories of community service, justice, health, youth, business, and environment.

“These are remarkable women, who have provided important leadership in our communities.  Their years of service have greatly benefited not only the County of Alameda, but the East Bay region as a whole. I am honored to be able to nominate these women to the 2007 Alameda County Women’s Hall of Fame,” said Assemblywoman Hancock. 

Deane Calhoune, nominated for the community service category, is a long-time public health advocate, founder of  both Teens on Target and Youth ALIVE!, organizations that work to prevent gun violence and youth violence. Through her work, Calhoune has dedicated her professional life to provide programs training youth leaders in communities with high rates of violence, created model anti-violence policies and made courageous efforts to end gun violence in her community.

Eva Jefferson Paterson, co-founder of A Safe Place and President and founder of the Equal Justice Society, is being nominated for her dedication to justice in Alameda County. Paterson has been a champion for civil rights for more than three decades and has devoted herself to changing the law through progressive legal theory, public policy and practice through activism, both locally and nationally.

Sade Daniels is being nominated in recognition of her outstanding work on behalf of youth in Alameda County. Having overcome many challenges as a foster youth, Daniels, the current chair of Alameda County’s California Youth Connection, has become an important leader in the movement to reform the California foster care system by helping to shape public policy. She has been a mentor and inspiration to other foster youth, helping her peers find a voice and the power to become active players in the decision making processes that govern their lives.

Judith Rogers, disability activist, author and recipient of the 2002 Robert Wood Johnson Community Health Leadership award, is being nominated for her unique contributions to health in Alameda County.  As a Pregnancy, Birthing and Parenting Specialist, she has committed herself to supporting the right of all women to choose motherhood, improving access for disabled women and helping impoverished, underserved families coping with disabilities.  Rogers’s ability to weave together so many aspects of involvement in the disability and health communities has been an immense contribution to the County.

Sylvia Rosales-Fike, Founder and CEO of AnewAmerica Community Corporation, is being nominated in the business category for her dedication to helping “new Americans” in Alameda County.  AnewAmerica assists entrepreneurial immigrants and new citizens get on the fast track to financial success through life-long team support, integrated job creation and community empowerment.  Rosales-Fike has set the standard of what it means to be an activist and has created an ever-widening pool of people involved in peace and justice in a world desperately in need of these qualities.

Margaret Gordon, a founding member of West Oakland Environmental Indicator Project and one of the co-writers of the Healthy Home Indoor Air Quality Project, is being nominated for her environmental activism. Gordon has dedicated her work towards improving the knowledge base, prevention and intervention awareness of residents about indoor air quality, diesel pollution and community health.  As a result of her efforts, Gordon has provided ongoing assistance to the City of Oakland in developing environmental justice guidelines.