The Future of Oakland: Building a Stronger and Healthier City
On Thursday, September 4th, Oakland’s leaders and healthcare advocates gathered for The Future of Oakland: Building a Stronger and Healthier City—a panel event hosted by Samuel Merritt University (SMU) to discuss the city’s health challenges and collaborative solutions.
The event began with opening remarks from the Mayor of Oakland, Barbara Lee, and SMU President, Dr. Ching-Hua Wang. Both leaders emphasized that health equity must remain central to Oakland’s future, and that supporting healthcare education is a powerful step towards meeting the city’s healthcare needs. President Wang highlighted SMU’s deep commitment to tackling health disparities, noting the university’s plans to revitalize downtown Oakland with a new campus serving as a hub for health education and community engagement. Shannon Golden of KCBS Radio noted that the new campus aims to “help downtown continue to bounce back.”
“We are proud to partner with the mayor and leaders to move forward our mission and common goals to make the city of Oakland stronger and healthier,” said President Wang in her opening remarks. In an interview with KNTV-SF after the panel, President Wang elaborated on the serious health challenges Oakland faces, particularly in communities of color. In West Oakland, the average life expectancy is 10 years lower than in other parts of the city, and Black mothers experience birth complications at more than twice the state average, she explained.
Mayor Lee offered a deeply personal reflection in her opening remarks, recalling the racism and gender discrimination her own mother faced during childbirth. “That is how I came into this world,” she recalled, “here we are now in 2025, still addressing so many of these health disparities…from day one, healthcare has been high on my agenda.” Lee made it clear that confronting the social determinants of health—such as poverty, food insecurity, housing, and jobs—must be part of any strategy to build a truly healthy city.
Moderated by journalist and audio producer Aala Mostafa, the panel featured four leaders at the intersection of healthcare, policy, and community development: Ahmed Ali Bob, Director of Social Impact at Block, Inc. and Chair of the Oakland Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce; Dr. Shelitha R. Campbell, Family Nurse Practitioner at Roots Community Health Center and Assistant Professor at SMU; Jane Garcia, CEO of La Clínica de La Raza; and Julia Liou, CEO of Asian Health Services.
The conversation tackled both local and national challenges, including the impact of federal Medicaid cuts and the lasting effects of COVID-19, which widened existing disparities. “You can’t do well if you don’t have wellness,” commented Ahmed Ali Bob. “That’s what it’s all about,” he reflected, “reducing barriers to accessing the resources that we all need to live.”
In response to a question about how the panelists are addressing health equity amid political setback, Dr. Campbell emphasized the need for strategic, sustained collaboration and a chance to “identify where we’ve had successes, where gaps still exist, and where our partners are.” She commended SMU’s commitment to making “healthcare to look like a representation of those that we will be serving.”
As local media outlets reported, the panel is expected to contribute to the formation of new task forces aimed at tackling Oakland’s health disparities. With leadership from the city, institutions like SMU, and grassroots health organizations, there is clear momentum to move beyond dialogue and into actionable, measurable change. The panel event reinforced SMU’s role as a trusted partner in advancing health equity and served as a call to action for reimagining a healthier, more equitable Oakland.
