In January 2025, after four great years, I made the decision to leave my role as President & CEO of the Danville Area Chamber of Commerce.
One of the accomplishments I’m most proud of is working to set up a partnership with a new organization serving the Tri-Valley region.
Three Valleys Community Foundation (3VCF) was founded in 2021 to serve the eastern area of the SF East Bay region and the greater 580/680 corridor. It’s an area that encompasses the valleys of Livermore, Amador and San Ramon.
Post-pandemic, it was difficult for small Chambers of Commerce to survive. All of us were severely impacted by small businesses that closed during the pandemic. The Chamber in Danville was financially squeezed since a majority of our business base is small businesses.
Through ties to Tri-Valley leaders and support and help from the Chamber’s Board of Directors, we forged a partnership with Three Valleys Community Foundation to do well by doing good in our community. This resonated greatly with our members and we gained more members as a result.
Two programs were formed through two different funds we opened at 3VCF:
Women’s Enterprise Initiative – The Women’s Enterprise Initiative is a fiscally sponsored program at 3VCF that kicked off its educational programming in 2024. This transformative leadership and mentoring program offered six community workshops to educate, mentor and train women business owners and non-profit leaders.
Through this program, the Chamber is training the workforce of the future since more than 70% of new members in a two-year period were women-owned businesses.
We offered this training in-person to 24 graduates of the program, concluding with a program featuring the amazing Joy Ofodu, Voice Actor, Comedy Creator CEO, who recently rebranded her business as Enjoyment Endeavor. Joy has been nominated for the 2025 East Bay EDA’s innovation awards this year.
You can view our flipbook, programs and promo videos, on this page.
Youth Mental Health was our focus area for the Chamber, post-pandemic. We started our initiative, called “Breaking the Silence” in late 2022 as our first partnership with 3VCF. The initiative included an educational outreach component that we did in partnership with the San Ramon Valley Unified School District, the San Ramon Valley Fire Protection District, Danville Police, and non-profit organizations in this space. In 2023, our purpose was to educate parents and students on two important areas: Teen Stress and How to Save a Life. Videos of these programs are available.
The Danville Area Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with 3VCF also gave Youth Mental Health Grants of $44,133 to Local Non-Profits in the Danville Area and Greater San Ramon Valley, under a separate field of interest fund at 3VCF. Among the recipients were Discovery Counseling Center, Teen Esteem + and the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse.
All in all – the beginnings of a great partnership that demonstrates commitment to community needs, helping both women entrepreneurs and non-profits focused on youth mental health in the San Ramon Valley.
I’m proud to also serve as a member of the Board of Directors at 3VCF, an organization that continues to address the greater needs of the Tri-Valley region through compassion, diligence, and determination.