Leadership
Black Support Network has a grassroots built board of directors. We prioritize candidates who are residents of Oakland and those with lived experience in our key focus areas. Our aim to collaborate with Black and Brown communities in Oakland guides our commitment to ensure our leadership team represents the people we serve.
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Interested in joining? Fill out our 4-minute BSN Board Member Survey!
Meet The Team
Simone West
Founder & Executive Director
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Simone is a philanthropist and development strategist driven by her love for Oakland and the Black community. She loves to read, write, create and story-tell. Because reading has opened so many doors, access to literacy is the founding purpose for creating Black Support Network. She lives to learn and share connection with others passionate about building Black knowledge, community, and economic power in Oakland, CA.
Matthew Bailey
Board Member
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Matt is a career educator and Regional Pro Trainer at Playworks. Through years of working with OUSD schools, Matt discovered a passion for leadership in education and helping children succeed. His lived experience as a Black student growing up in Oakland has inspired his career in fostering social and emotional development of children. Honored by Good Morning America and the Golden State Warriors for his contributions to OUSD and Playworks schools, Matt is a deep-rooted community leader and youth advocate in Oakland.
Mercedes Gibson
Board Member
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Founder of Mercedes Gibson Coaching, LLC - Career Coach For Women of Color​
Sr. Program Manager For Economic Equity (BIPOC Small Business Strategist) - The Greenlining Institute
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Mercedes Gibson is a strategy coach from Oakland, CA. She loves authenticity and self expression, and finds immense joy in supporting clients to lead with their own. She partners with her clients to find insightful solutions to meaningful problems. Pairing her creativity with her analytical nature, she works to solve complex problems and innovate ways to improve logical systems.
She has over 22 years of nonprofit development including: establishing new networks and advancing current ones, building infrastructure, providing project management and connecting leaders to solutions. Her strength is holding a process from germination to completion. Other areas of expertise include program design, facilitation, outreach, event production and self care.
She is certified in positive psychology based coaching via San Francisco State University, and an International Coaching Federation student. Although establishing logical systems to accomplish practical, real world goals is second nature to her, she is also an empath. Intuitively, she hears the unasked questions and readily gauges the emotional tone of a room.
Veronica Dangerfield
Interim Board Treasurer
Veronica Dangerfield brings an enthusiasm that is engaging and thought-provoking. Her mesmerizing style grabs your mind, ignites your soul, and fattens your wallet. She is a Financial Educator for Patelco Credit Union, an award-winning international speaker, a published poet, and a professional comedienne. What you will remember most about Veronica’s presentation is how much fun you had learning, and you’ll be armed with key takeaways that will shift your thinking and impact your life.
Open Seat!
Board Member (Finance)
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If interested, please apply by completing the BSN Board Member Survey.
Dax Bermudez
Board Member​
Dax is a Finance Manager at Meta and career finance professional. As Principal of Verdant Coast Consulting, Dax works with small businesses and non-profits to design financial processes and strategies to scale. As a first generation immigrant from Nicaragua, Dax is passionate about preserving spaces that provide economic opportunities for underserved communities of color. As former Treasurer of the CASA of San Mateo board, Dax brings 6 years of non-profit finance management experience to BSN leadership.