‍A team of leaders and a $250,000 Grant from Gilead Foundation, coupled with other grants and in-kind donations from Life Science Cares Bay Area members, bring the “Equity Express” to the Coast.

‍From Conversation To Impact

Leadership Council San Mateo County and their Leadership CORPS program are inspiring, connecting, and educating leaders to create positive change.

A Coastal Challenge

Across San Mateo County (SMC) there are great disparities in equity. The coastside farming communities lack essential services including healthcare, education, and English language and job readiness skills training. Data shows that accessibility is a key barrier.

The team at ALAS (Ayudando Latinos a Soñar), the Latino cultural arts and social services program in Half Moon Bay dedicated to supporting the youth and families in the coastal community, has a vision to tackle this challenge: a wifi-enabled “Equity Express” bus that will travel to the farms and provide essential services and programs to those that need them most.

And it’s happening! With the long term vision, community connection, and hands-on administration coming from ALAS, a grant of $250,000 from Gilead Foundation, bus operations expertise from Genentech’s Transportation Team, and key facilitation from Life Science Cares Bay Area, plans are underway to bring this bus and its offerings to the communities—soon—in 2022! The vision includes providing an array of virtual services including telemedicine access to doctors and nurses, tutoring for youth, parent/teacher conference connections, English lessons, and job readiness skills training.

The Leadership Council SMC Connection

In spring 2021, Aisha Baro, Executive Director of Life Science Cares (LCS) Bay Area, attended Leadership Council SMC’s Speaker Series event entitled, “Global Companies, Local Community Members & Equity in Drug Development and Access” with CEOs from Gilead Sciences and Genentech. Aisha asked presenters, “What are the opportunities for large life sciences companies to work together to solve community problems?”

This question is central to Aisha’s work at Life Science Cares, an organization dedicated to leveraging the power of the life science industry to solve one of our most intractable social issues—poverty.

Sparks really started flying on the Equity Express project when last fall, at one of the Leadership CORPS’s Learning Days, Leadership Council SMC’s immersion program, Aisha had a conversation with Kate Wilson, Senior Director of Public Affairs at Gilead, and fellow member of the CORPS’s Class of 2022.

After just a few moments of getting to know one another, Aisha and Kate discovered common ground: their shared dedication to equitable access to healthcare and education. It wasn’t long before they were discussing the Equity Express.

“The Gilead Foundation envisions health prosperity for all,” said Kate. “Enabling access to healthcare and education for marginalized and traditionally excluded communities is at the core of what Gilead does everyday to advance health equity.”

Aisha and Kate made plans to visit ALAS at the end of the next Leadership CORPS Learning Day which happened to be at the Half Moon Bay Library, two blocks from ALAS. There the two met Joaquin Jimenez, Half Moon Bay Councilmember and Farmworker Program and Outreach Director at ALAS. Councilmember Jimenez has dedicated himself to connecting with individuals, groups, and organizations to provide much-needed services to the Coastside community. They were joined by Andy Jefferson and Lyndel Fusello from the Genentech Transportation Team and, over the course of two hours, learned from Councilmember Jimenez the details of this opportunity to bring access to much-needed services to the farmworkers’ population.

Making an Impact

ALAS and Life Science Cares worked together to outline the details and submitted their grant application to the Gilead Foundation, which awarded a $250,000 grant to help create the Equity Express.

The team is both grateful and thrilled!

Aisha said, “I have long admired both Genentech and Gilead’s commitment to philanthropy. I started my career journey in the life sciences industry and spent 15 years at Roche/Genentech. I have witnessed both Roche/Genentech and Gilead’s work to provide access to medicines in the US and globally. But seeing them reach their local community really hit home for me. I was particularly excited for the opportunity to bring Genentech and Gilead together on a community project.”

Rob Perez, founder of Life Science Cares, further commented, “This is an inspiring partnership and exactly what I imagined LSC becoming throughout the country.”

“ALAS and the City of Half Moon Bay are grateful for the opportunity to connect with Aisha, Kate, and other leaders to make this vision a reality,” said Councilmember Jimenez. “The Equity Express will truly bring essential services to better serve our farmworkers.”

Diverse Voices Collaborating at Leadership CORPS

This story illustrates how the vision of Leadership Council SMC and their commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging can translate into real impact.

With the inaugural Leadership CORPS class composed of individuals who represent the population of San Mateo County, important conversations about real issues are underway. “This work on the Equity Express demonstrates how leaders in the CORPS Class of 2022 are bringing their diverse voices to work on common commitments,” said Margi Power, Leadership Council SMC Co-President. “We could not be more excited to see synergy happening and the strides this team of leaders is making for all of San Mateo County.”

From their Speaker Series to their Leadership CORPS Program and soon-to-launch Emerging Leaders Program, Leadership Council SMC is creating the space for dedicated members of business, nonprofit, and government sectors across the county to learn, find common ground, and collaborate to solve real issues.

At the heart of Leadership CORPS is the opportunity to network with like-minded peers. “Leadership CORPS is a fantastic source of learning and connection,” said Aisha.

Of her participation in the Class of 2022, Kate added, “What I love about this class is that it has helped me take vision and ideas into action and impact.”
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Applications for the 2022-23 Leadership CORPS and new Emerging Leaders Program are now available. The application deadline is Monday, May 2, 2022. Learn more on our website at www.leadershipcouncilsmc.org/apply.

For more information on the Equity Express, please see the February 2022 article entitled “ALAS wheels out ‘Equity Express’ ” in the Half Moon Bay Review or contact Aisha Baro, Executive Director of Life Science Cares (LCS) Bay Area, at aisha@lifesciencecares.org.