Chris Iglesias, Chief Executive Officer. Chris Iglesias is a visionary leader who has dedicated his career to executing a social equity agenda through innovative and strategic public-private partnerships. As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of The Unity Council (TUC), he leads one of East Oakland’s most vital community assets—a 60-year-old social equity development organization devoted to improving the quality of life for the residents of the largest Latino neighborhood in the Bay Area—Oakland’s Fruitvale District—through a place-based economic and intergenerational equity agenda.
As CEO, Iglesias is responsible for leading the organization’s 300 dedicated staff and $20 million annual budget, providing holistic support services to over 8,000 individuals and families, including high-quality early education, pioneering youth programming, robust senior citizen services, and financial and career empowerment. In addition, he oversees $125 million in assets, including the management of major affordable housing and community real estate like the Fruitvale Transit Village—a nationally recognized transit-oriented development project.
Over the last eleven years, Iglesias’ leadership has led to the organization’s financial growth, including a reinvigoration of the business model and real estate portfolio. He has been instrumental in:
- Securing $58 million in funding for 94 units of affordable housing for families and veterans at the Fruitvale Transit Village Phase IIB;
- The revitalization of TUC’s early education programming through the City of Oakland’s Early/Head Start Program;
- Institutionalizing Oakland’s Latino Men & Boys program—a key project of President Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Initiative, in partnership with the Oakland Unified School District and Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf; and
- Partnering with residents and small business owners to preserve and enhance the neighborhood’s unique cultural identity and vitality.
Iglesias, an Oakland native, is a recognized public sector leader with a longstanding career in the Bay Area. Prior to joining TUC, he served as San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom’s Senior Advisor on Jobs and Contracting Programs. He also served as the Executive Director of San Francisco’s Human Rights Commission and the Founding Director of CityBuild—San Francisco’s nationally recognized construction workforce program aimed at training residents for public and private construction projects.
Iglesias currently serves on the Job and Housing Coalition and SPUR Oakland Board, the Oakland Thrives Leadership Council and is the Co-Chair of the African American Latino Action Alliance. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business from San Jose State University, where he played NCAA Division I FBS Football as a wide receiver.
