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THE CENTER FOR SOCIAL JUSTICE

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Building a movement based on  unconditional love towards a more just and equitable world in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond

The Latest

Refugees and immigrants are one in every three San Francisco residents and are a vital part of our city’s heart and identity. In 2019, 45% of undocumented immigrants had been U.S. residents for more than 10 years.Join GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice for a special virtual event on September 28th to explore truths around Sanctuary Cities, their history, why they were created and where we are today.

Learn more and RSVP here.

GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice in San Francisco works to build a social justice movement to influence public policy on poverty, food insecurity, housing, discrimination, racial justice and human rights.

 

We do this through grassroots organizing, community education and engagement, thought leadership, and policy development. We convene community members and policymakers to amplify the voices of the community. In addition, we mobilize GLIDE clients, congregants, volunteers, supporters, and neighbors to become agents of change.

We invite you to join GLIDE and help advance racial and social justice for all.

Sign up for regular communications from our advocacy team to hear about opportunities to get involved. Together we can create a more just and equitable world.

JOIN THE MOVEMENT

Our Work

INSPIRE
We believe in a world that is fair, loving, and just.
TRANSFORM
We believe that we all have the power to be our best selves.
TAKE ACTION

We mobilize the San Francisco Bay Area community to advocate and build a movement to influence public policy. Join GLIDE and become a Justice Warrior.

CREATE CHANGE
We amplify community voices and implement better policy, legislation, and investments in life-affirming resources.

Center for Social Justice Virtual Events

Virtual Events

Keep up with our stories and justice in the news

Read our Stories

Keep track of our upcoming meetings, events and workshops

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Center for Social Justice Staff

Our organization is lead by a diverse cross-section of dedicated individuals from and for the community.

Holly Joshi, Ed.D

Director of the
Center for Social Justice

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Dr. Holly Joshi
Dr. Joshi joins Glide as the new Director of the Center for Social Justice. She is a Bay Area native and has been a community servant and leader in social justice and systems change work for twenty years. Dr. Joshi has worked on issues of racial and gender justice, youth and community development, and criminal justice reform through executive leadership positions with government, non-profit, and private, social impact organizations. A nationally recognized expert on gender-based violence prevention and intervention, she served as the executive director for MISSSEY, a direct service organization providing crisis intervention, long-term supports, and advocacy for trafficked youth. Dr. Joshi served on then Attorney General Kamala Harris’ Task Force on Human Trafficking and Task Force on 21st Century Policing and has worked to implement survivor-centered policy reform and legislation at the local and state level. Before coming to Glide, she worked as the Director of Racial Justice and Systems Change at Bright Research Group, a woman of color owned and operated research, evaluation, strategy, and design firm. While there, she led participatory action research, qualitative inquiry, and capacity-building projects that centered the voices of marginalized communities, and supported government, non-profit, and philanthropic leaders to think deeply and act strategically for justice. Dr. Joshi holds a B.A. in criminal justice, a master’s degree in leadership for social justice, and a doctorate in educational leadership. Her work has been featured in the Bay Area local press, on MSNBC, Anderson Cooper, and in Essence Magazine. Away from work she enjoys spending time with her partner, kids, and French bulldog, taking in the spicy foods and beauty of the Bay, and hiking, biking, and running.
ian james

Ian James

Community Engagement Manager

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Ian James
Ian James is the Community Engagement Manager for GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice. Before arriving at GLIDE in 2023, he was the Organizing Director for the Coalition on Homelessness San Francisco. While there, he coordinated lobby days, rallies, listening sessions, and reports that advocated for solutions to the housing crisis and centered the leadership of people with lived experience of homelessness. Ian has also worked as the Research Coordinator for the Western Regional Advocacy Project and the Campaign Manager for Supervisor Dean Preston’s 2020 reelection campaign. At GLIDE, he develops and implements strategies to increase community engagement and activism among GLIDE clients and staff. Please reach out with any questions or comments: ijames@glide.org.

Rabbi Michael Lezak

Social Justice Director

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Rabbi Michael Lezak
Rabbi Michael Lezak leads justice pilgrimages to Alabama and into the Tenderloin, empowering leaders to see the through-line from slavery to mass incarceration and mass poverty, ultimately summoning these leaders to moral responsibility and righteous action. He spearheads groundbreaking work with law enforcement and district attorneys from around the country to help them understand the challenges faced by people living in extreme poverty. He is on the board of T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights. Please reach out with any questions or comments: mlezak@glide.org

Erick Arguello

Advocacy Manager

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Erick Arguello
Erick Arguello is the Advocacy Manager under the Center for Social Justice. He is responsible in building our Justice Warrior advocacy arm to lift and move GLIDES Policy Agenda. Erick’s work spans over 25 years advocating to preserve and protect the Missions Latinx Cultural Assets and Latinx immigrant community. He is a Founder and President of Calle 24 Latino Cultural District. There are now 8 cultural districts throughout San Francisco aimed to preserving San Francisco’s cultural diversity. He is the recipient of the KQED Latino Heritage Month Local Hero Award 2011, 2014 Cesar E. Chavez Legacy Award, San Francisco Latino Heritage Award 2014, LGBTQ Individual Community Grand Marshall 2008, and the Instituto Familiar De La Raza, Ollin Rodrigo Reyes Award 2003. Please reach out with any questions or comments: earguello@glide.org

Eleana Binder

Policy Manager

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Eleana Binder
Eleana Binder is the Policy Manager for GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice. Before joining GLIDE in 2021, she worked in eviction prevention at the Homeless Advocacy Project, as well as in nonprofit and local government settings in Berkeley, San Francisco, and Sacramento. Eleana also was in the Emerging Leaders Program at GLIDE when she was in college. In her work, she advocates for changes to oppressive and discriminatory institutional structures and laws in order to benefit GLIDE’s clients and marginalized people in San Francisco and across the state. This includes a wide range of issues from stopping the San Francisco Police Department from doing racial profiling in traffic stops to advocating for overdose prevention centers to pushing for more funding and support for Family Resource Centers.
Hannah Van Aelstyn
Hannah van Aelstyn (she/her/hers) serves as CSJ’s Project Coordinator, and is responsible for supporting the Center for Social Justice in implementing its policy, advocacy, and transformative learning programs. She holds a B.A. in Philosophy and Theology from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland. While there, she helped establish and manage a 106-member housing cooperative that challenged the housing affordability crisis and has provided startup capital for other housing cooperative projects in the U.K., acting as a model for systemic change. She has enjoyed returning to her native San Francisco and putting her love of the city and its people into action by working at GLIDE, as well as continuously learning from GLIDE’s and the Center for Social Justice’s powerful teachers and community. Please reach out with any questions or comments: hvanaelstyn@glide.org

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