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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

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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 build a movement to influence public policy. Become a GLIDE 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

View Calendar

Keep track of our legislative priorities and social justice work

Our Legislative priorities

Center for Social Justice Staff

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

Senior Director of the Center for Social Justice

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naeemah
Naeemah Charles
Naeemah Charles is a proud San Francisco Bay Area native with a lifelong passion for social justice. She brings over 10 years of high-level experience in public policy, community organizing and government affairs. Naeemah is a political veteran with a plethora of knowledge in public policy, public speaking, grassroots organizing, and issue-based campaigns. She is a political veteran; using her expertise to uplift and advocate for social justice causes. Naeemah most recently served as the Senior Director of Public Policy Communication at Children’s Council of San Francisco (CCSF). She built the advocacy, policy, and government affairs Department from the ground up which transformed Children’s Council of San Francisco to become the leading policy voice for early care & education in San Francisco. Naeemah co-founded the SF Early Care & Education Advocacy Coalition, secured millions to expand childcare access in S.F & pushed forward innovative childcare policy for San Francisco families. She educated and mobilized community members to make their voices heard, turning out over 700 parents and child care educators in her final organizing effort. Prior to CCSF, Naeemah served as public affairs officer for Planned Parenthood Northern California. In that role, Naeemah directed public affairs operations in San Francisco, Marin, and Sonoma counties. Naeemah oversaw the passage of local ordinances, mobilized efforts around state and federal policy and analyzed various bills and ordinances related to reproductive and sexual health. Naeemah has also worked at the SF Democratic Party and the California State Assembly as a Jessie M. Unruh fellow. Naeemah is a Hope Institute, YP4, and College Democrats of America alum. She currently resides in San Francisco where she enjoys life with her mini poodle Meadow. In her spare time, she enjoys exploring various artistic forms of expression; currently, she practices Ashtanga yoga and is learning the guitar.

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
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Regina Wells Rashida Oji

Senior Manager of Training & Transformative Learning

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Regina Wells (Rashida Oji)
Regina Wells (Rashida Oji), Pronouns: Universal, is a singer, healing arts practitioner, and educator with a BA in Physical Education and graduate theology studies. She has dedicated her life to the one true religion: love. A founding member of Linda Tillery & the Cultural Heritage Choir, Rashida draws on diverse religious and spiritual traditions—including Catholicism, Lukumi, AME, Buddhism, Qigong and Woman-Centered Spirituality—to uplift and heal. Trained in the Rosen Method, she brings breath and body awareness to her work at GLIDE, offering compassionate presence. Regina’s journey from hardship to self-love inspires her commitment to transforming suffering into strength and fostering community healing.
Ian James CSJ

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.
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Faith Sanchez

Project Coordinator

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Faith Sanchez
Faith Sanchez is the Project Coordinator for GLIDE's Center for Social Justice. She graduated with a sociology degree from UC Berkeley. Prior to GLIDE, she worked at the ACLU of Nothern California's Development Department, supporting the major and leadership gifts team, and planning educating and engaging donor events. In her current role, she supports the administrative work of CSJ and is planning the annual pilgrimage to Alabama.

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

Director of Public Policy and Legislative Research

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Eleana Binder
Eleana Binder is the Director of Public Policy and Legislative Research 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.

Shiba Bandeeba

Policy Associate

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Shiba Bandeeba
Shiba Bandeeba is a Policy Associate for GLIDE’s Center for Social Justice. She has a Masters Degree in Education with an emphasis on Equity and Social Justice. Before arriving at GLIDE, she was a Public Policy Manager for HomeRise (formerly Community Housing Partnership). At HomeRise, she organized residents to participate in civic engagements and advocacy opportunities that resonated with the policy agendas of the organization. Alongside the Director of Policy, she coordinated the Treatment on Demand Coalition, worked on local legislation regarding behavioral health, criminal justice, homelessness and housing. Her first introduction to the Tenderloin community was in 2015, interning for a labor organization, Young Workers United (YWU) under the Jobs with Justice umbrella. Her work with YWU focused on organizing San Francisco retail workers, organizations, and policy makers to pass the Retail Workers Bill. After her internship with YWU, she interned for the California Faculty Associate (CFA) union at SF State University and developed a student-led organization called Students for Quality Education (SQE). She has both teaching and advocacy experience with primary school children, specifically socioemotional learning and restorative justice practices. She is a strong advocate for Education reform, Labor Rights, and overall Systems Change in our society, specifically within communities of color. Please feel free to reach out with any questions or comments: sbandeeba@glide.org
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