Libby Schaaf

Libby Schaaf served as Mayor of Oakland from 2015-2022 and is a candidate for California State Treasurer in 2026. While mayor, she set records in reducing gun violence, fixing roads, and producing housing. She created The Oakland Promise, nationally recognized as the most comprehensive cradle-to-career program of its kind. In 2018, Politico named her one of the 50 most influential people in American politics. Schaaf was appointed by Governor Newsom to his Council of Regional Homelessness Advisors. She was the first woman elected Chair of the Big City Mayors of California and as Democratic Co-chair of the national bi-partisan Mayor & CEOs for US Housing Investment. She participated as a local leader in COP21 (Paris Climate Accords) and in the US delegations to Habitat III (Quito) and COP 27 (Egypt) and is an Aspen Institute Rodel Fellow.

She currently serves as HUD’s appointee to the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and Bay Area Housing Finance Authority. She teaches at the Goldman Public Policy School at UC Berkeley and holds a Senior Fellowship at the Harvard EdRedesign Lab.

Contact and Office Hours

About

Areas of Expertise

• Leadership and Management
• Public private partnerships for systems change
• Public budgeting & finance for policy makers
• Crisis management

Curriculum Vitae

Download a PDF (633KB, updated 08-21-2024)

Other Affiliations

• Harvard EdRedesign Lab Senior Fellow
• CalKIDS Institute at UCLA

Research

Research Affiliations

• CalKIDS Institute at UCLA: Researcher

Last updated on 08/11/2025