Remembering Wilma Chan

On behalf of the Vietnamese American Community Center of the East Bay, we wanted to convey to her colleagues and her staff our profound sadness and condolences for the tragic loss of Supervisor Wilma Chan.

We have known Supervisor Chan as a tireless public servant and champion for children and equitable heath for all. It has been a privilege working with her on numerous projects over the years to assure resources were accessible to vulnerable communities.

We were particularly honored to have Supervisor Chan recognize us this past May with a proclamation for our organization for community service.

We take solace in the fact that Wilma was a prime example of a life well lived… a life of purpose, integrity and so very meaningful to others.

On a personal note, I have known Wilma over 3 decades and throughout my personal journey as an activist in Oakland. She has been both a guide and inspiration to me as an Asian American and female public policy advocate.

As a contemporary colleague, she was always a clear thinking, strategist with a keen sense of how to navigate through complex issues. More importantly, she never forgot why she was in public service and who the beneficiaries of her work should be; namely, those vulnerable communities in the most need for a strong advocate in order to access limited resources.

She did this at the School Board, at the County level and at the state level. Her impact on the vulnerable within her sphere of influence has been extensive and her legacy work will benefit many well beyond today.

I still have a vivid recollection of Wilma sitting at my dining table in 1991 poring over the proposed City of Oakland redistricting maps and statistics. She was on the School Board and I was a new community activist trying to draw and get passed a reconfigured electoral map that would empower fragmented Asians into one district. It was a project that would span 3 years of organizing and coalition work and Wilma was one of the few elected officials that supported this effort early on … a fact that I will never forget. We ultimately succeeded in passing that community map in 1993 and I credit people like Wilma for having shared their political capital while we navigated through the political potholes.

I will miss her professionally and personally. Wilma’s premature passing is a good remember that life is fragile and everyday is a gift.

We embrace her family and send them our prayers during this difficult time.

Shirley Gee, Executive Director