Karely Ordaz

Karely Ordaz joins The Unity Council (TUC) as Chief of Staff with extensive experience in organizational development, executive leadership, policy, and advocacy. In her role, she serves as a strategic advisor to the CEO, strengthens alignment and cohesion across the organization, and leads TUC’s policy and advocacy efforts.

Prior to joining The Unity Council, Karely worked as Chief of Staff at Hamilton Families, an anchor institution in San Francisco, where she led a series of executive-level transitions, strategic planning and developed the organization’s equity, diversity, and inclusion strategy. She worked for the City of Oakland as Special Assistant to Mayor Libby Schaaf and Policy Analyst to Councilmember Noel Gallo where she focused on strengthening East Oakland communities. She has worked on various local, state, and federal policy issues including housing justice, homelessness, human trafficking, education, gender equity, climate change, and immigration.

Karely has held leadership positions at various nonprofit boards supporting low-income youth and families in Alameda and West Contra Costa Counties. Currently, she sits on the board of directors of East Oakland Boxing Association (EOBA), an anchor institution lifting up youth and families in deep East Oakland.

Karely is an immigrant-American who grew up in Oakland’s Fruitvale District. She holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley in American Studies with a concentration in Environment, Policy & Public Health. She is a proven strategic and innovative leader who is passionate about creating equity in the most marginalized communities.