Lateefah Simon

Lateefah Simon has spent her career fighting for justice — fighting for folks without a voice. A 25-year veteran organizer and nationally-recognized advocate for civil rights and social justice, Lateefah began her career in advocacy at age 16 as an outreach coordinator for the Young Women’s Freedom Center. At age 18, she gave birth to her eldest daughter, Aminah, and quickly learned as a young single mother that the government wasn’t working for people like her. A year later, she became Executive Director of YWFC and spent the next decade earning national acclaim for her advocacy on behalf of marginalized young women. In recognition of that work Lateefah won a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, and at age 26 she became the youngest woman to receive this prestigious award. She was tapped by then-San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris to lead the creation of Back on Track — a highly effective, first-of-its-kind anti-recidivism initiative for young adults charged with low-level offenses. In 2016, galvanized by the death of Oscar Grant, Lateefah ran and was elected to the Bay Area Rapid Transit Board of Directors. Born legally blind, Lateefah relies solely on public transportation to go about her day and sought to make BART more affordable for working families and transit-dependent people like herself. Lateefah continues to be a leading voice in Oakland and the Bay Area, serving a multitude of local organizations and frequently offering state officials strategic advice on policy matters related to racial justice.