Omar Carrera Added as Co-Chair to the Latine Kitchen Cabinet, Helping Lead Regional Work on Housing and Equity  

On October 14, the San Francisco Foundation’s Latine Kitchen Cabinet (LKC) brought together more than 125 Latine leaders from across the Bay Area for the first-ever Latine Bay Area Regional Convening. It was a day filled with energy, connection, and hope—a moment for our community to come together and imagine a more equitable future. 

During the Housing & Local Economy working group — led by Rita Mancera, Executive Director of Puente de la Costa Sur—leaders like José A. Quiñonez from Mission Asset Fund, Carlo Gomez Arteaga from the SF Transgender District, and our very own Omar Carrera, came together to tackle one of the toughest issues facing our community today: the rising cost of housing. 

Participants shared stories of neighborhoods where rents have doubled, forcing longtime families and testing communities. But they also shared bold ideas for what’s possible — community land trusts, cooperative housing, and ownership models that keep people in their homes and local wealth in community hands. 

In a moment that resonated deeply with everyone in the room, Omar reminded everyone presentwhat’s truly at stake: 

“We need to protect the people that are already in our communities.” 

That message — which captured Canal Alliance’s goals of safe, secure housing and protections against displacementg — captured the spirit of the convening.  

With our collective power, creativity, and compassion, we can shape a Bay Area where everyone has the opportunity to belong, to stay, and to thrive — today and for generations to come.