Welcome to the Supervisor Wilma Chan Legacy Book. To post a photo, tribute, or memory in celebration of her life, please see the comment box at the bottom of the page.
__
Alameda County Supervisor Chan was a kind, dedicated, and brilliant role model, mother, grandmother, boss, mentor, friend, and much more. She represented District 3, which includes the cities of Alameda, San Leandro, and Oakland’s Chinatown, Jack London, Fruitvale and San Antonio neighborhoods. District 3 also includes the unincorporated communities of San Lorenzo, Hayward Acres and a portion of Ashland.
Over her illustrious 40 year career in public service, Supervisor Chan was steadfast in her commitment to uplifting community voices and fighting for social and economic justice. Supervisor Chan broke numerous ceilings throughout her career as the first Asian American elected to the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, and as the first woman and first Asian American to be Majority Leader in the California State Assembly.
A trailblazer and a passionate leader, Supervisor Chan leaves behind a remarkable legacy of groundbreaking policy and community-based initiatives. While she will be missed, her extraordinary legacy will endure as communities throughout the country and the state continue to celebrate her incredible life and career.
|
About |
|---|---|
| Name | Wilma Chan |
| Date of Birth | October 5th, 1949 |
| Date of Death | November 3rd, 2021 |
| Home Town | Boston, MA, US |
| Other City | Alameda, CA, US |
| Interests | Health Care, Early Childhood Education, Affordable Housing, Children, Youth, and Family Services, Economic Empowerment, Food Security, Older Adult Services, Community Capacity Building, Safety Net Services, Immigration |
| In Memoriam Donation | Wilma Chan Legacy Fund |
|
Milestones |
||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Wellsley College, BA | ||
| 1990 - 1994 | Board Member, Oakland Unified School District | ||
| 1994 | Stanford Graduate School of Education, MA | ||
| 1995 - 2000 | Supervisor, Alameda County Board of Supervisors | ||
| 1998 | Founded First 5 Alameda County, an innovative public entity that improves the lives of children from birth to age five and their families | ||
| 2000 - 2006 | Assemblymember, California State Assembly | ||
| 2001 - 2004 | Majority Whip, California State Assembly | ||
| 2002 - 2004 | Majority Leader, California State Assembly | ||
| 2006 | Authored groundbreaking bills in the Assembly, including one that implemented a no-lead standard in drinking water pipes and fixtures, one to end the practice of hospitals overcharging uninsured and underinsured patients, and another to cover California’s 800,000 uninsured children | ||
| 2006 | Her historic legislation that made California the first state to ban toxic flame retardants went into effect. In February 2016, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control announced that Ms. Chan’s legislation had resulted in a 39% decline in the level of flame-retardants absorbed into women’s breast milk since her bill was enacted. | ||
| 2011 - 2021 | Supervisor, Alameda County Board of Supervisors | ||
| 2012 | Developed the “Human Impact Budget” to address the impact of state budget cuts to the county’s most vulnerable populations, including securing a $300,000 grant from the California Endowment | ||
| 2013 | Saved San Leandro Hospital from closure, preserving the emergency room, saving numerous jobs and protecting a safety net hospital in central county | ||
| 2014 | Created ALL IN Alameda County, an innovative, countywide initiative to end poverty | ||
| 2016 | Launched the award-winning Recipe4Health initiative, an integrative food prescription model that addresses the social determinants of health and chronic disease | ||
| 2016 | Served as Board champion for Measure A1, the successful $580 million affordable housing bond measure which will build nearly 3,000 homes including 1,000 for the homeless | ||
| 2019 | Led a Board action that secured $90 million to invest in unincorporated Alameda County | ||
| 2019 | Served as Board champion for the Alameda County Tobacco Retail License ordinance, one of the strongest and most comprehensive tobacco retail licensing ordinances in both California and the entire nation. | ||
| 2020 | Co-Chaired the COVID-19 Racial Disparities Task Force. Prioritized an immediate, multi-sector response to the disparate impacts of the virus among people of color, particularly African American, Latino, Asian, and Native American residents, including those experiencing poverty, immigrants, elders, people with disabilities, formerly incarcerated, and unsheltered residents. | ||
| 2020 | Secured funding to provide stipends to eligible people diagnosed with COVID-19 to stay home and self-isolate, and developing the Alameda County Communities Connect strategy that prioritized the areas most impacted by the pandemic. | ||
Error
Sign in to Keeper:
Send as Guest:
published a tribute .
I was proud to learn that my representative on the County Board of Supervisors was also a Wellesley woman. I followed her voting and felt she truly represented Oakland with her progressive stance consistently offered as a counter to more moderate and conservative county level reps. Truly a model alum of our shared alma mater, her spirit of service, determination, and community care was the very best we can hope to achieve. I grieve the unnecessary loss of such a leader to the violence of automobiles, which dominate and destroy so much of our world.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
published a tribute .
Wilma was an inspiration to me as I entered community service and particularly her example and caring for children and all those needing an outreached hand. She was always accessible and generous with her time. Thank you, Wilma, for sharing your gifts. You are missed.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
published a tribute .
Supervisor Chan was a powerful supporter of CALICO, the children's advocacy center for Alameda County. Her support of our work truly made a difference in the lives of hundreds, if not thousands, of abused children in our community. She will be remembered by all of us for her championship of our work to bring justice and healing to abused children.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
published a tribute .
We will miss you Supervisor Chan! You were an amazing, fierce Asian woman leader who leaves a lasting important legacy.
I worked with Supervisor Chan back when she was an Assemblymember in Sacramento. She successfully authored the bill to increase language access for immigrant parents in schools and championed millions in budget funding to develop systems for translations. i admired her commitment to our communities, focus to get things done, and deep understanding of equity across sectors like education, health care, and social services.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
published a tribute .
We lost a great leader who genuinely cared about our challenges and about us in alameda county.
Her leadership to champion the rights of those on the marginal society including children, immigrant community, women, and low wage workers for affordable housing and health cares and early education.
As an Asian woman in office, Supervisor Chan represented a community that has often not had a seat at the table. Her dedication to her constituents was second to none, and she was a fierce defender of justice and empathy. Wilma Chan was a leader in the fight for health care justice for all including support for the Affordable Care Act
Wilma Chan was a trailblazer and social justice warrior. Wilma Chan always stood firmly with working families. She always fought for a better future for the residents and families she represented.
Wilma Chan always supported SEIU 1021 members in Alameda County. Few days before her passing she met with SEIU 1021 La Clinica Chapter leaders to discuss on what is best ways to support their contract bargaining.
She was smart and savvy, principled and pragmatic. She was an author for many righteous fights for coverage expansion and consumer protection, including the Hospital Fair Pricing Act, which saved uninsured and uninsured patients from having to pay inflated hospital charges multiple times what insurers or Medicare pay.
A health care hero, Wilma Chan made a difference in so many ways in our community, and She will be deeply missed and may she always be carried in spirit throughout the county.
Rest in power Supervisor Wilma Chan and know your work will have a lasting impact on the communities you served. Yeon Park, SEIU 1021 Vice President
published a comment .
We have lost Wilma Chan, a visionary leader that supported and advocated for vulnerable populations and equitable healthcare for everyone. Supervisor Chan was smart, focused and driven to serve and improve our community! Her legacy thrives in Alameda County.
published a comment .
It was an enormous honour to learn from such a creative, decisive, determined woman whose passion for equity and building a better community was evident in everything she did. Alameda will certainly miss Supervisor Chan’s leadership, but her legacy will live on in all the lives she changed, including mine.
published a comment .
I attended the memorial celebration of life this afternoon for Wilma Chan. All the speakers eloquently express all attendees were feeling. I was proud and fortunate to have Wilma Chan as my Alameda County Supervisor/political representative. I attended a senior luncheon hosted and attended by Wilma Chan at the San Leandro Senior Center right next to the San Leandro Hospital m, which Wilma rescued from closure. I’ve been a San Leandro resident for the past 30 years. I am a fourth generation Californian, Chinese-Anerican born in Oakland, CA and the daughter of the first Chinese-American elected to the Oakland City Council, Dr. Raymond L. Eng. I believe he would have proud of Wilma Chan’s numerous accomplishments on behalf of our community. She will continue to be a positive role model as her legacy continues to in her legislation and deeds. We were blessed to be the recipients of her efforts!
published a comment .
We will miss you Supervisor Chan. You are our Shero. Thank you for al you had done to help our Communities. May you Rest In Peace and Power!❤️✊
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
published a tribute .
So much of my career at Children's as well as my work with First 5 revolved around implementing visions that Supervisor Chan felt were important. She was a visionary and leader in relation to building programs that would benefit children and families in Alameda County. With a steady and calm spirit externally, she never gave up on what she thought was right and important. And the impact of this is widespread.... In this picture, she and Dr. Bert Lubin were kicking off our Food as Medicine program which began with their vision as a pilot and research project and has now been built into a county wide collaborative effort under the auspices of All In. She had an uncanny sense of how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together whether it be health care, healthy food, early literacy, child development, or childcare. It is going to be so challenging to keep her legacy alive and we must continue to channel her vision everyday.... Such a great loss to her family and to all of Alameda County. Rest in power Supervisor Chan.... we love you....
published a comment .
Supervisor Chan was a human rights advocate through and through and in losing her, Alameda County and the greater community have suffered a great loss. Supervisor Chan's support for our Immigration Unit at the Alameda County Public Defender's Office has been unwavering and steadfast and yet another example of the direct difference she has made in the lives of some of our most vulnerable community members. And an example of courageous women of color coming through for all of us, yet again. It has been an honor to collaborate with Supervisor Chan over the last several years and we will miss her dearly. Our hearts go out to her family and friends during this time. Supervisor Chan - thank you for your brave heart and clear voice.
published a comment .
Supervisor Chan served as an ardent advocate for the underserved. The residents of San Leandro are particularly grateful for Ms. Chan's role in saving San Leandro Hospital from closure. At the time the hospital was the only acute care hospital with an emergency room in our city. Ms. Chan's persistence delivered dividends with the hospital's ownership being transfered to the publicly controlled Alameda Health System. Thank you for this and many other examples of fighting for those in need.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
published a tribute .
I worked for Wilma for 6 years. I am so saddened by the loss of this good woman. She worked relentlessly for the women and children of Alameda County. She was real, honest, and true to her word. I worked with her on several projects. She had great integrity. She treated everyone with respect and in turn was able to get many things done for the people of Alameda County..
I send my sincere condolences to her family. I feel very fortunate to have known her.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
published a comment .
Read More