Standing Up for Democracy Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow

Katherine Campbell has dedicated her life to her Bay Area community. In 1969, she attended Miami University on a scholarship, but chose to return to San Francisco a few months later to join the Black Panther Party.

Katherine was part of Black Panther Party during the development of its Ten-Point Platform and contributed to some of its most impactful projects, including the free breakfast program, the Sickle Cell Anemia research program, Seniors Against a Fearful Environment, and Oakland Community School, one of the best-accredited alternative schools at the time.

As a member of Black Panther Party from 1969-1978, she received an Associate Degree in social sciences from Laney College, studied Civil Engineering at San Francisco State University and studied Family Counseling and Eviction Defense at UC Berkeley, where she received her counseling certification.

Ms. Campbell’s career centered around community leadership and service. She interned at S.F. County Jail, providing counseling to help inmates find housing placement and readjust to life after incarceration. She also counseled young pregnant women at Juli House, helping them prepare for motherhood and independent living. As a counselor for Mission Housing and later Family Services, Ms. Campbell worked on the transitional housing program for underserved populations and was a case manager and counselor for Family Service Agency. 

Katherine developed a love for community leadership through her family. Her top pieces of wisdom are: take advice from your elders, stay focused, look before you leap into things, and let your dreams of ownership materialize.

Veronica Cañas is a passionate advocate dedicated to empowering communities and transforming adolescent lives. With a background in mentoring youth facing systemic challenges, she has expertise in fostering positive growth and building genuine connections. Her nonprofit consulting work has helped focus grantmaking on community-led initiatives and secured essential resources for local organizations. 

A Facing History & Ourselves alum and graduate of Envision Academy of Arts & Technology in Oakland and Wesleyan University, Veronica is driven by a vision of communities thriving and young people reaching their full potential. She is currently a youth organizer at Urban Peace Movement.

The Rev. Gayle “Asali” Dickson is a Bay Area native. She is an artist, a member of the Black Panther Party, and an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ. 

Asali (as she was known at the time) joined the Black Panther Party in 1970 and was the only woman artist for the Black Panther Party’s newspaper between 1972 and 1974. Between 1974 and 1976 she taught at the Oakland Community School using art as a teaching tool. As an artist she has exhibited locally and nationally and is currently working on a project entitled, The Empowering Voice of Women from the Bible and African-American Women in History.  

Ms. Dickson was ordained in 1998 and served as pastor of a church in South Berkeley where she started the Friday Night Art and Dinner Program to expose children in the community to world cultures through art and food.

Ki Sung is managing editor of digital news at KQED, the NPR/PBS member station in San Francisco, where she oversees news on all digital platforms. She also produces and co-hosts MindShift, the education vertical about the future of learning that reaches a core audience of K-12 educators and parents. She co-led the publication of the KQED Voter Guide and election results for the general election.

Jared Kushida is a Senior Program Associate for Facing History & Ourselves in Northern California. Prior to joining Facing History, Jared was a longtime high school history teacher and administrator. Currently, he facilitates professional learning centered around social studies curriculum, civic engagement, social-emotional learning, and equity-centered approaches at the classroom and whole-school levels.