[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 35 (Thursday, March 15, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E376]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   IN HONOR OF DAVID OCEGUEDA BRACKER

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NANCY PELOSI

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 15, 2001

  Ms. PELOSI. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to David Ocegueda 
Bracker as he retires from his position as the Executive Director of a 
non-profit group in my district, Arriba Juntos. For the past three and 
a half years, David has led this agency through a time of transition 
and expansion. During his tenure with Arriba Juntos, he has helped low-
income residents of San Francisco receive the training they need to 
find employment or to advance their careers. His inspirational 
leadership has had a profound effect on our city.
  David has dedicated his entire professional life to public service. 
After receiving his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees in Social work from 
San Francisco State University, David began his career by working for 
four years at the organization from which he is now retiring, Arriba 
Juntos. As a Project Manager for the Model Cities program, he 
implemented an employment training program and directed other social 
services programs.
  After a brief stint as Associate Director of the Mission Neighborhood 
Health Center, he joined the U.S. Department of the Interior as an Area 
Director. In this capacity, he founded and led an employment training 
program in the Western U.S. that became nationally known and emulated 
for its effectiveness.
  In 1980, he began working for the University of California, San 
Francisco. First in the Office of the Public Programs, then in the 
Chancellor's Cultural Diversity Task Force, and then in the Office of 
the Vice Chancellor, David spent twelve years with U.C.S.F. While 
there, he raised support for their health programs and represented 
U.C.S.F. in the health care community; he helped to design and 
implement U.C.S.F.'s plan to achieve full diversity on campus; and he 
secured corporate and foundation support for many projects, including a 
joint gerontological research project with Mount Zion Medical Center, a 
pediatric crack cocaine project, a campus capital improvement project, 
and the 1990 International Conference on AIDS.
  After leaving U.C.S.F., he spent four years as the Executive Director 
of the Hearing Society for the Bay Area before becoming the Executive 
Director of Arriba Juntos. At Arriba Juntos he has presided over a time 
of great transition as the agency has adapted to respond to the 
nation's welfare Reform effort. Where many have been content to reduce 
the Welfare Reform effort. Where many have been content to reduce the 
welfare rolls, David has fought to ensure meaningful employment for 
those losing benefits. He has been concerned not with saving money but 
with saving lives. David's concern for those around him and his 
emphasis on helping people better their own lives have earned him the 
respect and appreciation of the community.
  It has been my distinct pleasure to know and to work with David 
Bracker. He is a caring and able man whose many talents will be missed 
at Arriba Juntos. I know, however, that he will continue to serve our 
community in new and creative ways.
  I join Arriba Juntos in thanking David for his time there as 
Executive Director, and wish him, his wife Kathy, and his daughter 
Megan all the best in their future pursuits.

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