Morning Session (10:45 AM – 12:00 PM)

Workshop Summary

The good, bad and ugly of what happens when well-funded organizations collaborate with a well-intentioned government to build housing in East Palo Alto. Review the nitty gritty of case studies from current and recent experiences of people committed to building housing and wealth in East Palo Alto. How are we growing both housing and wealth without displacing long-time residents? What are the realistic, concrete steps to overcoming challenges? What obligation do peninsula-based tech companies have to contribute to housing solutions?

Moderator and Panelists

Moderator – Nicholas King
Executive Director, Soup
Nicolas King, Executive Director of Soup, is a lawyer by training who served for many years in the San Francisco city government, first as an advisor to Mayor Gavin Newsom, then to Supervisor Bevan Dufty, and later in various capacities under the City Administrator. Most recently, he worked in San Francisco on improving processes in construction project delivery and contractor selection. In all of his roles, he gained a wide variety of experiences with the legislative process, permitting, and policy implementation. Nicolas is also the former director of non-profit programs devoted to justice and economic empowerment. He ran a public-private micro-loan program for small businesses in Los Angeles, and an indigent defense program in the East Bay.

Karen Camacho
Housing Project Manager, City of East Palo Alto
Karen Camacho is the Interim Housing and Economic Development Manager for the City of East Palo Alto, where she is responsible for leading the City’s housing and economic development initiatives and increasing the number of affordable units citywide. Karen has broad experience in state, regional and local policy, with prior roles as Partnership for the Bay’s Future fellow focusing on housing preservation in the City of East Palo Alto, and organizer at the Housing Leadership Council of San Mateo County and ACLU of Northern California. Karen holds a bachelor’s and master’s from Stanford University.

Iliana Nicholas
Program Associate, EPACANDO
Iliana leads the CANDO ADU program, a program centered on assisting East Palo Alto homeowners with accessory dwelling units. She earned her Master’s Degree in Urban and Regional Planning from San José State University and previously worked in environmental justice around climate resilience and adaptation planning. Iliana lives in East Palo Alto and volunteers her time as a youth mentor, empowering youth to pursue higher education, engage in civic participation, and become agents of social change.

Derek Ouyang
Executive Director, City Systems
Derek Ouyang graduated from Stanford University in 2013 with dual Bachelor’s in Civil and Environmental Engineering and Architectural Design, and in 2015 with a Master’s in Structural Engineering and Geomechanics. He was project manager of Stanford’s first-ever entry to the U.S. DOE’s 2013 Solar Decathlon and has been featured as an up-and-coming designer in the Los Angeles Times, in Home Energy magazine’s “30 under 30”, at TEDxStanford, and at Stanford+Connects NY and Seattle. He is Executive Director of City Systems (city.systems) and Researcher Manager in Stanford’s Regulation, Evaluation, and Governance Lab (reglab.stanford.edu).