Alford named Woman of the Year by Grayson
Vallejo resident receives an award for the 14th Assembly District
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree in the Wilson Alford family.
After watching her parents be a strong part of communities she grew up in, Latressa Wilson Alford has followed in their footsteps. In fact, according to California Assemblymember Tim Grayson, D-Concord, there wasn’t any woman better in 2020.
Grayson, in recognition of Women’s History Month, last
week named Vallejo’s Wilson Alford as Woman of the Year for the 14th district.
When asked what the award meant, the winner needed a moment to compose herself.
“I just feel with so much else going on this year and with COVID-19 being so difficult for everyone, that this … I feel there were so many other people also worthy of this award,” Wilson Alford said through a few tears. “So this award is representing all those people. This award really means more in that it happened this year of all years.”
Grayson said that Wilson Alford is one of the most inspirational people he knows.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be able to recognize Latressa as the 14th Assembly District’s Woman of the Year,” said Grayson in a news release. “I am so inspired by Latressa and the work that she’s done for our region, and I hope that by honoring her in this way she will inspire and lift up even more members of our community.”
Wilson Alford, J.D. is a member of the NapaSolano Chapter of Black Women Organized for Political Action (BWOPA) and serves as its Chapter Vice President. She serves on BWOPA’s State Board as its State Director of Legislative Education and Policy and has previously been awarded the organization’s highest honor, the Ella Hill Hutch Award.
Wilson Alford is Senior Campaign Advisor for U.S. Congresswoman Barbara Lee of the 13th Congressional District. She previously served as Senior Aide to Congressman George Miller for 15 years until his retirement in 2015 and is one of the founding members of California’s Black Women’s Collective — a statewide initiative to support women in elected and appointed offices.
As CEO of the firm L. Wilson Alford & Associates, she provides community engagement services and assists agencies seeking to work on issues of diversity and inclusion. She recently assisted the City of Richmond to reach underserved communities with its innovative First Mile, Last Mile Transportation Strategic Plan.
Wilson Alford serves on the Board of the Community Democratic Club and is Vice Chair of the City of Vallejo Design Review Board. In 2019, she collaborated with a team of diverse women to draw the winning map for the firstever District elections in Vallejo.
A strong advocate for promoting and protecting the performing arts, she was inducted into the Bay Area Blues Hall of Fame in 2013.
Wilson Alford is also an Adjunct Professor and a featured lecturer on Law and Public Policy throughout the Bay Area, which has included the School of Nursing at Touro University. She has a Doctorate of Jurisprudence from New College/JFK University, School of Law and a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from San Jose State University, and is the proud mother of three daughters.
Wilson Alford says all this involvement comes from taking after her parents. She lost her mother in 2020, a death she believes was related to COVID-19.
“She had trouble breathing all of a sudden and nobody knew why, so we think it was related to COVID-19,” Wilson Alford said. “But both my parents were very much a big part of the community. They were givers and big with philanthropists and in politics.”
Although Wilson Alford has won the award, she doesn’t see herself stopping anytime soon in helping the community.
“It’s really important that people like myself find a way to connect with local officials,” Wilson Alford said. “They need our support. We can’t just be couch potatoes and sit back. We need to be actually involved and doing something.”