CONCORD
Officials with the city of Concord are pleased to announce Margaret O’Brien as the city’s new finance director.
With nearly 20 years of municipal finance experience, she brings expertise in financial strategy, budget management and community-focused fiscal planning. She assumed her role Feb. 24.
Previously the city of Alameda’s finance director, O’Brien while there managed a $140 million general fund budget and a $355 million all-funds budget while implementing policies that improved efficiency and transparency. She has also held leadership roles in finance for the cities of Oakland and Emeryville.
“We are thrilled to welcome Margaret,” said City Manager Valerie Barone. “Her expertise and leadership will be instrumental in ensuring Concord’s long-term financial health.”
O’Brien holds a master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University, an MBA from CSU Dominguez Hills and a bachelor degree’s in business management.
“I am honored to join Concord,” said Margaret O’Brien. “I look forward to working with city leadership and the community to strengthen the city’s financial foundation.”
— city of Concord
PITTSBURG
Job training program expands East Contra Costa services
In mid-February, Oakland-based Civicorps added a second crew and new Job Training Supervisor to its operations in Contra Costa County. Civicorps is the only workforce development program in Contra Costa that caters to adults ages 18 to 26 to prepare them for public service careers in climate resiliency and the environmental movement.
Thanks to visionary investments from the Dean & Margaret Lesher Foundation and the Walter S. Johnson Foundation, Civicorps can now serve twice as many Civicorps members in Pittsburg.
Civicorps expanded youth services from Oakland into East Contra Costa County in October 2022 based on the needs of the growing number of Civicorps members living in East County and facing long commutes.
Since fall 2022, one crew has performed conservation services for a variety of land management agencies including the Contra Costa Water District and the East Bay Regional Park District.
Thanks to a brand-new contract with the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District, Civicorps is increasing wildfire resilience work around the county. At the same time, they now have the capacity to serve more Civicorps members. Visit cvcorps.org for more information.
— Civicorps
WALNUT CREEK
Garden club’s next free monthly meeting set for March 10
The Walnut Creek Garden Club will hold its free monthly meeting March 10 in The Gardens at Heather Farms in Walnut Creek at at 1540 Marchbanks Drive. Registration will start at 9:15 a.m., followed by a brief meeting and a break at 10:15 a.m. with complimentary tea, coffee and snacks, followed by an educational program.
March’s education program will feature Patricia St. John’s discussion of “Edible Landscaping.” St. John has been in the landscape design business for the past 30 years and will share her ideas about growing vegetables and herbs in pots and other small spaces.
Members welcome the public to visit their meeting and join the Walnut Creek Garden Club! For more details, visit walnutcreekgardenclub.org online.
— WCGC
Gift of Schooling Gala on March 29 to benefit kids in need
Yours Humanly, a global nonprofit group working to elevate the lives of children in need around the world through the power of education, is holding its 2025 Gift of Schooling Gala, a fun, formal affair, on March 29 in the Blackhawk Museum at 3700 Blackhawk Plaza Circle in Danville.
Attendees will be Bay Area leaders and advocates in private, public and nonprofit sectors who support educational initiatives for children in need around the world. Proceeds will support Yours Humanly’s educational projects that benefit underserved children in Cambodia, India, Nepal, the Philippines and the United States.
This year’s theme is “A Formal Affair with a Multicultural Flair!” Festivities will include a cocktail and hors d’oeuvres reception, dinner, silent and live auctions, music, live entertainment and dancing. Emceeing the gala will KTVU Channel 2 news anchor Alex Savidge.
Adonal Foyle, the former Golden State Warriors player and founder of the Kerosene Lamp Foundation, is this year’s Yours Humanly Leading With the Heart honoree, recognized for his inspired vision and leadership on behalf of children and youth. Purchase tickets online at giftofschoolinggala.com.
— Yours Humanly
ALAMO
Group removes about 100 pounds of trash from Livorna Road
On Feb. 8, area residents joined hands as dedicated volunteers of the global nonprofit group named for its founder, Dr. Shri Nanasaheb Dharmadhikari Pratishthan (DSNDP), undertaking an adopt-a-road cleanup drive in collaboration with Contra Costa County’s Public Works Department at Livorna Road in Alamo.
This cleanup drive drew 11 local volunteers who collected and bagged about 100 pounds of trash. Under the guidance of DSNDP officials Dr. Shri Appasaheb Dharmadhikari and Dr. Shri Sachindada Dharmadikari, the organization continues to collaborate with 18 states and 74 cities across the United States for cleanup drives.
DSNDP has successfully engaged 2,784 volunteers, actively collecting 43,995 pounds of trash, resulting in significant cost savings for state and local governments, from which the organization has received accolades in the form of 67 certificates and 97 signboards nationwide. To learn more about or help the group, visit dsndp.com online.
— Abhilasha Pawar
LAFAYETTE
Meher elementary, preschools celebrate 50th anniversary
On Feb. 23, more than 1,000 people gathered to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the founding of The Meher Schools, White Pony Preschool and The Meher School for elementary students (meherschools.org).
This included hundreds of graduates as well as former teachers — some traveling from across the country. The school in Lafayette has nurtured generations of students since its founding in 1975.
To those who attended, the celebration offered video montages of school plays, photos from the past 50 years, a chance to meet the teachers and a storytelling session that let alumni, teachers and parents share their memories and experiences of the school throughout the years.
The Meher Schools began in 1975, fulfilling the dream of Murshida Ivy Duce (trustmeher.org/meher-baba-close-disciples/women/ivy-duce) for a school for children based on Meher Baba’s principles of love, harmony, beauty and selfless service to life.
Each year, the school has a “Founders Day,” celebrating the birthdays of the school and its founders, Duce and Meher Baba (sufismreoriented.org/meher-baba).
— Steve Spraitzar
To submit an item for our “In brief” section, please email it, at least a week before print publication, to njackson@bayareanewsgroup.com. Each item should be 90 to 180 words and include a short headline along with the name of the group or individual to credit for it.