Candidate for
Board Member At-Large; Alameda-Contra Costa Transit District

In February 2009, Joel Young was appointed to the Alameda-Contra Costa Transit Board (the "AC Transit Board"). Joel was the youngest African-American to have ever been appointed and served on the AC Transit Board.

A lifelong Bay Area resident, born and raised in San Francisco, Joel can truly say that he "grew-up" on public transportation. As a young child he rode the bus with his father who drove buses for San Francisco Municipal Railway ("Muni"). After attending local schools, Joel went on to U.C. Berkeley where he played football for the Golden Bears and then on to the University of California, Berkeley School of the Law (formerly Boalt Hall).

Since being appointed to the AC Transit Board, Director Young has served has served on the operations committee, as well as the finance and audit committee. Joel was elected to Vice-President of the Board in 2010. Since being on the AC Transit Board, Joel has been an advocate for increasing the amount of AC Transit's contracting dollars that go to local businesses. He has also supported AC Transit's Climate Action Plan, which will work as a blue print for AC Transit to reduce its carbon imprint and get the organization to a point in which it no longer emits greenhouse gases.

Joel has also played a key role in increasing the amount of public awareness related to AC Transit and public transportation, as he has written articles illuminating the importance of healthcare reform to AC Transit service and held various community forums on the topics ranging from doing business with AC Transit to the state of public transportation in the Bay Area.

Joel has also been involved in many community organizations, including the Alameda Democratic Lawyers Club, the Alameda County Central Committee, the Black Elected Officials and Faith Based Leaders of the East Bay, and the 100 Black Men of the Bay Area, Inc.