2021 Virtual Spring Reception

VIRTUAL SPRING RECEPTION

Saturday, May 22, 2021 | 5:00 - 6:15PM
eastbaysanctuary.org/Spring-Reception

Join us in creating legal protection and integration for immigrant families!

Founded in 1982, East Bay Sanctuary Covenant (EBSC) provides legal services, community organizing,
and transformative education to over 10,000 refugees and undocumented immigrants yearly. During
COVID-19, EBSC continues to provide services and support to people seeking to achieve legal status,
citizenship, and well-being as they overcome extraordinary obstacles.

EBSC applauds and honors our 2021 Sanctuary Champions-- William Tamayo, Luz Hernandez, &
Ying Liu -- for their dedication to the promotion of civil and human rights.

We are grateful for our community of supporters who help us to offer:
• Free legal and social services support for thousands of people through our hotline, phone

appointments, virtual Know Your Rights workshops and citizenship classes, and web-based resources
• Wraparound Services - trauma-informed education, arts, and mental health programs that

support healing and integration
• Advocacy for a permanent path to residency for over 2.1 million holders of Temporary

Protected Status (TPS) and Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)

And so much more – we are more committed than ever to continue to fight for the rights of people
seeking safety in the U.S., especially low-income people and unaccompanied children, survivors of
gender-based violence, indigenous Guatemalans, and LGBT asylum seekers who are not able to find help
elsewhere.

We could not do this work without you!

Honorees

William Tamayo, Civil Rights Attorney

Bill Tamayo was a staff attorney at the Asian Law Caucus where he defended
immigrants in deportation and exclusion proceedings and obtained political
asylum for activists from the Philippines, China, and Burma. He was the lead
lawyer for the effort to have the City of Oakland declare itself a “City of Refuge”
at a time when Haitians and Central Americans were fleeing persecution. Bill was
also co-counsel for Alicia Castrejon in EEOC & Castrejon v.Tortilleria La Mejor, a

pregnancy discrimination case which held that undocumented workers were covered by the federal
employment discrimination laws. He co-led the team that drafted the legal memorandum for Congress
which led to the passage of the “self-petitioning” provisions of the Violence Against Women Act, through
which over 120,000 women have been able to obtain permanent legal residency without depending on the
batterer husband to file the visa petition.Tens of thousands of children have gained legal status as derivative
beneficiaries.

As the Regional Attorney for the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission from 1995-2015 he
directed the EEOC’s litigation program. His office filed over 300 lawsuits and obtained over $300 million
for victims of discrimination including many immigrant workers. Cases included EEOC v.Tanimura & Antle
($1.855 million for farm worker forced to perform sex as a condition of employment and others sexually
harassed or retaliated against) and EEOC v. Harris Farms (near $1 million jury verdict for farm worker who
was raped multiple times). His office’s work is featured in the Frontline documentary,“Rape in the Fields.”As
the EEOC District Director since 2015, he oversees investigations and operations in Northern California,
Northern Nevada, Oregon,Washington, Alaska, Idaho and Montana. Bill is the son of immigrants from the
Philippines.

Honorees

Luz Hernández, Youth Advocate

Luz Hernandez was born in Honduras and was raised by her grandmother.
Unfortunately, at age 10, Luz’s grandmother passed away and her stepfather began
to sexually abuse her. Nobody believed her, so she had to leave her hometown and
work as a housekeeper in the city.A couple of months later, Luz was misdiagnosed
with Lupus and on the verge of death. At age 14, she immigrated with her dad to
the United States, walking days in the desert without water or food. After a year

of living in the U.S, Luz’s father went back to Honduras and left her alone. Luz entered the foster care
system where she was mistreated before having a family that treated her well. Luz worked her way through
City College and graduated with honors, obtaining her AA in Social and Behavior Science. Majoring in liberal
studies and minoring in criminal justice, Luz also graduated from San Francisco State University with honors
in May 2018.

Luz was recently accepted to UC Berkeley for graduate studies in Social Welfare. She has a strong vision
of combining her personal experience and education to work with young people of color who have faced
abuse and trauma. She knows firsthand that the social is personal, and the person is social. Sharing her
story with others and working with housing-insecure youth, including foster youth and youth in the juvenile
probation program, she understands that her own healing is only possible when she is invested in others’
healing processes. Luz meets young people who repeatedly return to the justice system because that is
the only place they can find counselors and people who listen to them. She sees the process of healing for
young survivors of abuse as one of self-empowerment, social change, and community.

Honorees

Ying Liu, Artist & Refugee Rights Advocate

Ying Liu is a Bay Area Native. She studied law at UC Berkeley Law School. During
her first year, she volunteered at East Bay Sanctuary Covenant, representing asylum
applicants in their asylum hearings. She went on to coordinate the NACARA
Program, helping asylum seekers with their legal residency and other immigration
applications. She decided to use her creative side when she approached a Latino
professional community, Latinos A Morir, and worked with them to have a dance
fundraiser for EBSC. Another time, she worked with volunteers and friends to create skits teaching
immigrants about their rights.

Ying’s experiences at EBSC were extremely rewarding and valuable for her future endeavors. She learned
about a Spanish English bilingual carpentry program at Laney college and thought that would be a great
way to help clients find rewarding jobs. She created her own position at the college to promote this and
other career training programs. As Laney’s career programs outreach coordinator, she kept close ties with
EBSC, making presentations to their clients and participating in their community events. Ying’s experiences
interviewing and talking to people from all backgrounds and languages help her in her job today as a covid
investigator and contact tracer. She’s had many opportunities to help immigrant families through this difficult
time during the pandemic, getting them safe housing and resources.

Ying is also keeping active in the creative world as an actor and producer/director. She is a standardized
patient at UCSF. Her most recent film role was in Ghostbox Cowboy, a film featured at the Tribeca Film
Festival. She also produces documentaries about local interests and paranormal investigations. You can
watch her video about Boichik Bagels on Youtube and her paranormal series,The Haunted Bay, on Amazon
Prime and AsianAmericanMovies.com.

Program

Welcome Ada Recinos, EBSC Board Member


Update from EBSC Staff Alex Kristallis, Staff Attorney

Ying Liu
Honoring our 2021 Sanctuary Champions

Reflections on Asylum EBSC Client from Eritrea

Spoken Word Poetry Performace Irma Gallegos

Honoring our 2021 Sanctuary Champions Luz Hernández

TPS Campaign for Permanent Residency Vanessa Velasco

Honoring our 2021 Sanctuary Champions William Tamayo

Ada Recinos, EBSC Board Member

Closing Remarks

Mini Concert Carsie Blanton

Speakers

Ada Recinos – Master of Ceremonies
Ada Recinos is a community activist working at the intersection of social justice, communications, and
fundraising for grassroots nonprofits. She uses digital fundraising and organizing to redistribute wealth
and power for the benefit of the environment and communities of color. She has been an EBSC board
member since 2018.

Alex Kristallis – Staff Attorney
Alex started volunteering at EBSC in 2016 while completing his Law and Politics degree at Queen Mary,
University of London. He then joined EBSC in October 2019 after completing an MA in International
Human Rights Law at Georgetown University. He primarily helps clients apply for affirmative asylum,
residency and citizenship applications.

Irma Gallegos
Born in Mexico, Irma received asylum in 2015 and permanent residency in 2019 with the help of EBSC.
She is now pursuing a career in business and public speaking.

Ela Banerjee
Ela Banerjee is the Community Partnership Coordinator at Voice of Witness, a nonprofit that advances
human rights by amplifying the voices of people impacted by— and fighting against— injustice.Voice of
Witness is a founding member of EBSC’s Amplifying Sanctuary Voices oral history project.

Vanessa Velasco
Vanessa Velasco is a TPS holder originally from El Salvador who has been living in the U.S. for over twenty
years. She is Community Advocacy and Engagement Coordinator at CARECEN-SF and an active member
of the TPS Campaign for Permanent Residency.

Carsie Blanton
Carsie Blanton writes anthems for a world worth saving. Inspired by artists including Nina Simone and
John Prine, Carsie delivers every song with an equal dose of moxie and mischief, bringing her audience
together in joyful celebration of everything worth fighting for.

East Bay Sanctuary Covenant Board of Directors

Bill Balderston Eduardo Martinez, Chair, Richmond City Councilmember
Glenda Pawsey – St. John’s Presbyterian Church
Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists Ada Recinos, Treasurer – Community Member at Large
Sister Maureen Duignan, Executive Director Alex Schafran - Community Member at Large
Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia Andrea Valverde – Community Member at Large
Sarah Barry Fike – St. Joseph the Worker Roberta Weisbard, Vice-Chair – Member at Large
Margaret Fine – Community Member at Large Dorothy Wonder – Epworth United Methodist Church
Minda Hickey – Community Member at Large
Maria La Boissiere – Haiti Education Program

East Bay Sanctuary Covenant Staff

Sister Maureen Duignan, Executive Director Esmeralda Mendoza, Refugee Rights Advocate
Michael Smith, Refugee Rights Program Director Esmeralda Perez, Refugee Rights Advocate
Kaveena Singh, Managing Attorney Jaime Ross, Staff Attorney
Lisa Gano, Assistant Director Jasmine Ruiz, Refugee Rights Advocate
Abigail Rich, Staff Attorney Juan Enriquez, Office Administrator
Alex Kristallis, Staff Attorney Liliana Macias, Refugee Rights Advocate
Angela Fitzsimons, Staff Attorney Lisa Hoffman, Development Director
Anna Flurry, Support Services Coordinator Manuel de Paz, Community Development &
Brenda Gomez Vazquez, Refugee Rights Advocate Education Program Coordinator
Brianna Davis, Development & Communications Associate Miriam Henneberger, Finance Coordinator
Cristina Campos, Refugee Rights Advocate Shiori Akimoto, Refugee Rights Advocate
Cristina Ceballos, Refugee Rights Advocate Yoshi Mendez, Refugee Rights Advocate
Cynthia Coronel Borboa, Refugee Rights Advocate Yuko Matsumoto, Refugee Rights Advocate
David Garcia, Maintenance

Please Support Our Local Business Sanctuary Champions!

Plátano Salvadoran Cuisine
2042 University Avenue, Berkeley

Tel: 510-704-0325

We are grateful for in-kind donations from:
Vignette Wine Country Soda,Trader Joe’s, Berkeley Bowl, Natural Grocery Company,The Cheeseboard

Collective, Carsie Blanton

Thank you for your generous support!

Isabel Allende Foundation Catholic Charities of the Bay Area
The San Francisco Foundation Horizons Foundation
Sisters of Saint Francis of Philadelphia California Humanities
Van Loben Sels/RembeRock Foundation
The California Wellness Foundation UC Berkeley Chancellor’s Fund
Immigrant Legal Resource Center
Y & H Soda Foundation
Firedoll Foundation Flora Family Foundation
Hispanics in Philanthropy Family Unity Fund
Zellerbach Family Foundation
California Department of Social Services

We are grateful to St. John’s Presbyterian Church and Trinity United
Methodist Church for their

steady support of EBSC since 1982!

Thank you to all of our individual donors and volunteers
who have accompanied and supported EBSC.

Each of you makes a huge difference in the lives
of the people we serve!

EAST BAY SANCTUARY COVENANT

Applauds and honors our 2021 Sanctuary Champions:

William Tamayo Luz Hernandez Ying Liu

Words cannot express our deep gratitude and awe for your immense dedication and commitment to
the promotion of civil and human rights.

Bill, your advocacy around the Violence Against Women Act forced Congress to grant permanent
residency to 120,000 undocumented women.You teach us that nothing is impossible when “you are

getting into good trouble.”

Luz, your vision of combining your personal experience and education to lift up young people of color
led you to reach out to foster youth in the juvenile probation program and be an instrument of healing

and change in the lives of the most traumatized and abused.

Ying, as a beginning lawyer, you immersed yourself in EBSC’s Refugee Rights Program for 8 dedicated
years doing asylum and permanent residency, effecting change in the lives of countless immigrants.

Your creative side as producer/director of documentaries inspires you to continue to engage with the
immigrant community.

We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your partnership with us. Each of you has gifted us
with your unique talents, your faith and wisdom. Our world depends on advocates like you whose

contribution truly makes the earth a more just and equitable place.

CONGRATULATIONS! ADELANTE!

We celebrate the Now more than ever,
partnership of Covenant in support of EBSC,
& the Berkeley Law SLPS working for justice and
students on asylum & safety for all migrants,
refugee issues. Thank you to asylum seekers and
Kaveena, Mike & the other
attorneys who supervise & refugees.
mentor our students.

– Kathi Pugh & Josh Maddox – Nancy Powell

Thank you EBSC for
demonstrating the
true Spirit of the

USA!

– The Tiedemann Family

Advancing Justice - Asian Congratulations Bill on your decades of
Law Caucus is proud to share service as an immigrant rights activist and
in EBSC’s celebration of Bill a social justice advocate! Your dedication
Tamayo as a 2021 Sanctuary dates back to the 1970s at the Asian Law
Caucus and continues through today.Your
Champion. recent talk for the Filipino Law Students

Bill has spent a lifetime Association at your alma mater, UC
dedicated to defending the Davis’s King Hall, shows your commitment
rights of immigrants and
working in solidarity across to mentorship.Your precise analysis of
history, power, and the marginalization of
communities of color. workers along gender, race, and class lines
offered an invaluable perspective on how

the law can be used as a tool by those
most vulnerable in society.

Maraming Salamat!
– Terry Bautista and Minda Bautista

Hickey, EBSC Board Member

Jewell Stewart & Pratt PC
is proud to support the important work of

East Bay Sanctuary Covenant

www.jspvisa.com | 456 Montgomery Street, 19th Floor, San Francisco, CA 94104

William Tamayo
Luz Hernández

Ying Liu

Heartfelt congregations to La I am so incredibly proud of Luz—
Hermana. I am proud to remember for her bravery, determination
and kindness. Her generosity is
the day that I, as brand-new integral to our documentary film
director of EBSC, formally ‘hired’ No Separate Survival. Thank you
Sister Maureen for the work she for always uplifting others while
was already doing and continues to working so hard for your own

this day! How we love her! growth. You deserve to be honored
every day.
- Marilyn Chilcote & Bob McKenzie
- Shabnam Piryaei

FELLOM & SOLORIO

Paula J. Solorio Emma Friaz Gallardo Pablo A. Lastra Nancy A. Fellom

Thank you to East Bay Sanctuary Covenant for your tireless work and dedication to our
immigrant communities. Congratulations to the honorees:

William Tamayo
Luz Hernández

Ying Liu

231 Sansome St. Fl 6 San Francisco, CA 94104 | (415) 362-1212

Thank you, Bill Tamayo, for a lifetime I am proud of and thankful for my
of defending the rights of workers, brother Bill for carrying on the

immigrants and refugees. Tamayo Family Legacy to advocate
Keep going - You’re a blessing! for the least among us.

And Luz, for turning your own experience – Juanita Tamayo Lott
of abuse into a life calling to help in the Author of Golden Children: Legacy of
healing of traumatized young people of Ethnic Studies, SF State.A Memoir

color.

And Ying Liu, a whirlwind of talents who has
spun together law, acting, and organizing

to lift the spirits of immigrants and
refugees and the institutions who work
on their behalf, and especially East Bay

Sanctuary Covenant!

Congratulations, Bill, Luz, and Ying -- the
guardians and healing spirits of our broad

society!

— Dave Rorick

Ying Liu has shown us that it is
critical to stay curious, open and
compassionate for your fellow human
beings.Whether it’s through her
filmmaking, dancing or social justice
advocacy, she teaches us to listen,
observe and enjoy the world around
us and to make sure everyone can
enjoy it.We are forever grateful to

call her our friend.

-Christine, Michael, Maria, Emily and
Farah

CONGRATULATIONS

to our kasama who has devoted all
his working life to the human rights
of the marginalized of U.S. society
- women, immigrants, the poor, and

communities of color.

Love you forever and Maraming
Salamat Po.

“Congratulations to Bill Tamayo – Filipino Advocates
for over 40 years as a strong for Justice

voice and advocate for immigrant
families and working people!”

— Josie Camacho and Victor Uno

We are so proud of you, Luz. You inspire us every
day. To think of everything you have been through
and everything you have done and are doing is
commendable. Your telling your life story touches
thousands of people across the country and empowers
others who have suffered abuse to share their stories.
We’re thrilled that you have become part of theVoice
of Witness and the East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
communities and are engaged in the overall project
of elevating the voices of people who are forced to

migrate as well as providing pathways for people to
lead meaningful lives. We have seen you work your way
though City College of San Francisco and San Francisco
State University, and now applaud your entering the
Master’s Program in Social Welfare at UC Berkeley.
Your dedication to the youth and to the underserved
is moving.We know that your abuelita is watching you,
that you are practicing what she taught you,and fulfilling
her dreams for you.

Proud to be your honorary uncles,
Steven and Jonathan



East Bay Sanctuary Covenant
Mail: P.O.Box 4670 Berkeley, CA 97404
Location: 2362 Bancroft Way Berkeley, CA 94704

www.eastbaysanctuary.org

Tel: 510-540-5296
Email: [email protected]

Twitter:@EBaySanctuary
Instagram:@EastBaySanctuary
www.facebook.com/EastBaySanctuary