San Francisco Revival

Housing is more than a roof over our heads — it's the foundation for opportunity, stability, and belonging. 

From housing to leadership and civic engagement, this conversation explores what it means to build a more equitable Bay Area, and why creating lasting change requires all of us to show up. 

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In this episode of of the San Francisco Revival, a Mission Housing podcast, we sit down with Aseel Fara — urban planner, immigrant rights advocate, new father, and lifelong San Franciscan — for a powerful conversation about community, trust, immigrant voices, and the work of helping guide San Francisco through its next chapter.

Aseel shares his journey as the son of Yemeni immigrants, his experience growing up in San Francisco, and how lived experience shapes the way he approaches community planning, city government, and civic leadership. From supporting youth and families to helping translate community urgency into city action, Aseel reflects on what it takes to build trust between residents and institutions — and why San Francisco’s revival has to be rooted in the people who call this city home.

We talk about the strength of immigrant communities, the importance of public spaces, the role of local government, affordability, community-led planning, immigrant rights, and why San Francisco’s future depends on listening to the neighborhoods and families too often left out of major decisions.

If you care about San Francisco, community development, immigrant stories, local government, housing, affordability, civic engagement, or the future of the city, this conversation is for you.

Chapters

(00:00) Introduction: Meet Aseel Fara

San Francisco Revival is a podcast about the people, stories, and ideas helping guide San Francisco through a new era of revival.

Like, comment, and subscribe for more conversations with the community leaders, artists, organizers, advocates, and everyday San Franciscans shaping the future of the city.

#SanFranciscoRevival #SanFrancisco #AseelFara #CommunityPlanning #ImmigrantRights #CivicLeadership #LocalGovernment #UrbanPlanning #Tenderloin #SanFranciscoPodcast #ImmigrantStories #CommunityDevelopment #AffordableHousing #SFRevival

In this episode of San Francisco Revival, a Mission Housing podcast, we speak with Rodrigo Duran, Executive Director of San Francisco Carnaval, about the power of culture, celebration, and community in shaping the future of San Francisco. Through the lens of Carnaval San Francisco and the Mission District, Rodrigo reflects on how arts and culture create space for freedom, protest, joy, identity, and belonging.

Together, we explore why the Mission remains one of San Francisco’s most important cultural neighborhoods, how Carnaval has carried forward traditions from Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Bay Area, and why community accountability is essential to keeping cultural celebrations authentic. Rodrigo also shares his personal story as the son of Mexican immigrants, his family’s roots in Aztec dance, and how growing up in San Francisco shaped his work as a cultural leader.

This conversation is about more than one festival. It is about San Francisco culture, Mission District history, Latino arts and culture, community organizing, gentrification, cultural preservation, and the ways neighborhoods survive change by adapting, resisting, celebrating, and bringing people home.

Chapters

(00:33) Culture as Freedom and Protest

(03:00) Protecting Carnaval From Commodification

(06:19) Community Accountability in the Mission

(08:28) Love in Action

(10:04) The Mission as a Safe Haven

(13:37) Why the Mission Still Survives

(16:59) Carnaval as a Platform for Justice

(24:31) Rodrigo’s Family Story

(29:48) What Connects San Franciscans

(34:05) The Future of Carnaval San Francisco

(38:08) Dream Headliners and the 50th Anniversary

In this episode of the San Francisco Revival Podcast, Mission Housing reflects on the long journey to the groundbreaking of The Marvel (La Maravilla) at 1979 Mission Street. Members of the Mission Housing team come together for a conversation about community power, affordable housing in the Mission District, the fight against displacement, and what this historic development means for Mission Housing and San Francisco.

As Mission Housing marks 55 years in the Mission District, this episode looks back on the organizing, advocacy, trust-building, and perseverance that helped bring The Marvel to life. The conversation explores key moments in the Plaza 16 campaign, the role of neighborhood unity, Mission Housing’s own institutional growth, and why affordable housing development must be rooted in community voice.

Whether you care about affordable housing, community development, Mission District history, people power, or the future of San Francisco, this episode offers an inside look at how a community fought for a different vision and helped turn that vision into reality.

#SanFranciscoRevival #MissionHousing #AffordableHousing #SanFrancisco #MissionDistrict #LaMaravilla #TheMarvel #CommunityDevelopment #HousingJustice #Podcast

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Affordable housing in San Francisco, The Marvel / La Maravilla, Mission Housing, Mission District development, Plaza 16 coalition, community organizing, anti-displacement work, nonprofit housing development, San Francisco housing justice, groundbreaking ceremony.

On this episode of San Francisco Revival, a Mission Housing podcast, we honor Women’s History Month, by bringing together three women in leadership for a powerful conversation on purpose, representation, community, and impact: Gisela Angulo-Avellaneda, Communications Manager at Mission Housing; Marcia Contreras, Deputy Executive Director at Mission Housing; and our guest, Lydia Ramirez, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Five Star Bank.

Lydia shares her journey from a nontraditional path into banking to becoming a C-suite leader, reflecting on immigrant family expectations, mentorship, confidence, and the importance of relationship-building. She also discusses cultural banking, why representation matters in leadership, and how she helped shape a more intentional equity and inclusion strategy at Five Star Bank. The conversation then expands into affordable housing, public-private partnership, community investment, and what it takes to build stronger, more responsive communities.

The episode also explores what leadership looks like beyond the boardroom: motherhood, work-life integration, health, self-advocacy, mentoring the next generation, and showing up fully as yourself. It closes with a moving reflection on resilience, building your own “board of directors,” staying rooted in community, and finding joy in culture, color, music, and family.

Chapters

In this episode of San Francisco Revival, the conversation turns to Leticia Landa, Executive Director of La Cocina, the nationally recognized food business incubator that has helped launch dozens of successful restaurants and food companies led by immigrant women and entrepreneurs of color.

Recorded inside Reem’s California in San Francisco’s Mission District — one of La Cocina’s most celebrated success stories — this episode explores how food, entrepreneurship, and community investment can shape the future of a city.

Leticia shares how La Cocina helps entrepreneurs transform recipes and cultural traditions into thriving businesses through mentorship, shared kitchens, and business training. The discussion explores economic opportunity, neighborhood identity, immigrant entrepreneurship, and why supporting local businesses is essential to San Francisco’s future.

The episode also looks at La Cocina’s 20-year journey, the ripple effects of community-rooted businesses, and how small food entrepreneurs are creating lasting impact across the Bay Area and beyond.

This conversation shows how community-led solutions — from kitchens to small businesses — are helping cook up the recipe for San Francisco’s comeback.

Chapters

(00:45) Inside Reem’s California: A La Cocina success story

About San Francisco Revival

San Francisco Revival is a community-driven effort focused on improving both the material conditions and lived experience of people in San Francisco. Through programs, public forums, and community storytelling, the initiative highlights solutions that help residents stay rooted and shape the future of their neighborhoods.

The San Francisco Revival Podcast features conversations with leaders, organizers, entrepreneurs, and community members who are working to build a stronger and more connected city.

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La Cocina

San Francisco Revival

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In this episode of the San Francisco Revival Podcast, we sit down with Katy Birnbaum, Co-Founder and CEO of Into the Streets SF, the cultural production studio behind Downtown First Thursdays and other transformative public events across the city.

Katy explains why reclaiming public space isn’t just about events — it’s about culture, healing, and creating shared reality in an AI-driven world.

From the emotional aftermath of the 2016 election to the economic impact of revitalizing downtown San Francisco, this conversation explores why joy might be the most radical act of all.

Episode Highlights:

(02:12) – The moment Katy realized streets could be healing spaces

If you care about civic renewal, community healing, downtown revitalization, or the future of San Francisco — this episode is for you.

Subscribe to the San Francisco Revival Podcast for conversations with the people shaping the city’s comeback.

WATCH ON YOUTUBE: https://youtu.be/udaZ75gdJu4

In this powerful episode of San Francisco Revival, Mission Housing sits with longtime community organizer and city planner Oscar Grande for a wide-ranging conversation on organizing, equity, and the soul of San Francisco.

Oscar traces his journey from growing up as the Salvadoran son of unionized immigrant parents to becoming a central figure in some of San Francisco’s most consequential housing and anti-displacement battles. He reflects on how environmental justice organizing, cultural identity, and cross-racial coalition building shaped his approach to movement work—especially during the dot-com boom and the fight against gentrification in the Mission District.

The conversation dives deeply into landmark campaigns like “The Monster in the Mission” and Casa Adelante at Chancaján Park, unpacking how community-led visions transformed parking lots and proposed luxury developments into affordable housing, public space, and cultural landmarks. Oscar emphasizes the importance of joy, creativity, and cultural grounding in organizing, alongside hard strategy and power analysis.

Now working within city government, Oscar shares a candid perspective on what equity actually means inside municipal planning—and why real equity requires authentic partnerships, shared decision-making, and resourcing community leadership. He also reflects on San Francisco today: its struggles, its resilience, and the urgent need to address addiction, displacement, and generational wealth with dignity and compassion.

The episode closes on a lighter but deeply personal note, as Oscar talks about biking as liberation, his favorite routes through San Francisco’s industrial neighborhoods, and how joy, movement, and love for the city continue to fuel his work.

Chapters

(01:05) Introduction & Oscar Grande’s Roots

(10:55) Environmental Justice & Becoming an Organizer

(13:13) The Monster in the Mission

(27:10) From Fighting “Against” to Building “For”

(31:52) Casa Adelante & Chancaján Park

(36:43) Equity Inside City Government

(50:06) San Francisco Today: Struggle, Joy, and Solidarity

(01:02:00) Biking, Joy, and Loving the City

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San Francisco Revival, Oscar Grande, Mission District organizing, affordable housing San Francisco, anti-displacement movement, Monster in the Mission, Plaza 16 campaign, community planning equity, San Francisco activism, housing justice, environmental justice organizing, Latino organizers San Francisco, Mission Housing Development Corporation, grassroots organizing strategies, equity in city government

In this episode of The San Francisco Revival, Mission Housing sits down with Jorge Rivas Jr., Executive Director of San Francisco’s Office of Civic Engagement and Immigrant Affairs (OCEIA), for a timely and deeply personal conversation about immigrant safety, civic trust, and resilience in San Francisco. Rivas addresses the fear many immigrant communities are experiencing amid heightened federal immigration enforcement, clarifying what sanctuary city policies can—and cannot—do, and urging residents to continue accessing city services without fear.

The conversation explores how language access, legal services, mental health support, housing stability, and economic opportunity are all inseparable from immigrant safety. Rivas explains OCEIA’s role as a bridge between City Hall and immigrant communities, highlights the work of the Immigrant Rights Commission, and names critical gaps that still require investment, especially in legal defense, workforce pathways, and trauma-informed care.

Drawing from his own family’s immigration story, Rivas reflects on leadership, responsibility, and hope—pointing to San Francisco’s shared values, the emergence of young immigrant leaders, and the city’s enduring commitment to standing with immigrant neighbors as sources of strength during uncertain times.

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RESOURCES

SF Immigrant Forum: Centralized hub for immigrant legal services, housing resources, preparedness tools, webinars, and community updates

Immigrant Rights Commission (San Francisco) – Advisory body to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors representing immigrant community needs

Stand Together Bay Area Fund – Regional fundraising effort supporting organizations assisting families impacted by immigration enforcement

Power Not Panic: Know Your Rights with Andrea Reyes | San Francisco Revival Podcast

In this urgent and empowering episode of San Francisco Revival, we sit down with Andrea Reyes, an immigration attorney at CARECEN SF (Central American Resource Center), to discuss the critical legal rights immigrants have—regardless of status—in the U.S. 

Andrea shares insights from her decade of experience in deportation defense, offers practical guidance for dealing with ICE at home, in public, or at work, and unpacks the reality behind “sanctuary city” protections in San Francisco. She also talks about the red cards that can protect you in immigration encounters and how everyday allies can support community defense efforts.

This episode is a must-listen for immigrants, advocates, and allies alike. Knowledge is power—and in uncertain times, asserting your rights can be your strongest defense. 

👉 Learn how to protect yourself, your family, and your community.

🔗 Resources mentioned:

ILRC Red Cards (Immigrant Legal Resource Center)

📢 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share this episode.

CHAPTERS

(01:20) The emotional toll of immigration advocacy