Our work began in 2005 with a commitment to empowering girls through education, creativity, and opportunity.

In Uganda, BayGanda works directly with early childhood programs to give young children access to their first school experience through play-based learning, literacy, and academic support. In the Bay Area, girls pursue their creative passions through our intensive Sew What program while developing skills in leadership, activism, and philanthropy.

In 2026, BayGanda is supporting more than 120 students in Africa and launching Sew What Global—giving Bay Area girls the opportunity to flex their philanthropic muscle by traveling to Uganda to learn, connect, and serve alongside local communities.

We are building playgrounds and libraries because we believe play and literacy are essential to a child’s development. Across every BayGanda program, we help young people understand that education can be a catalyst for change—and that their creativity can be used to give back to their communities.

Our work cultivates a creative spirit in every child we serve.

2026 Philanthropy Honorees Panel

A conversation with Dr. Tasha Henneman, Dr. Aisha Mays, Erica Furlong and Linda Burnham, moderated by Dr. Akilah Cadet.

Dr. Akilah Cadet

The Founder and CEO of Change Cadet, a creative organizational development consulting firm. As a Forbes Next 1000 Entrepreneur her work is behind some of the biggest brands you use every day. Dismantling white supremacy through storytelling is at the core of her work as a leader, speaker, creative director, producer, writer, editor, designer, co-owner of the Oakland Roots and Soul soccer teams, host of Humane Rights podcast, and author of White Supremacy is All Around: Notes From a Black Disabled Woman in a White World. She literally has all the degrees, lives in and loves Oakland, CA, celebrates her disability, is a proud Beyoncé advocate, and has an incredible shoe game.

Dr. Aisha Mays

A nationally recognized adolescent physician leader, author, professor, and researcher dedicated to advancing health justice for young people. She is the Founder and CEO of the Dream Youth Clinic in Oakland, California. Her work centers on the most vulnerable youth: Black girls, Black young mothers, sex trafficked and gender-expansive youth. Her work has been featured in global news outlets including, The Grio, Ms. Magazine, SanFrancisco

Dr. Tasha Henneman

A social justice advocate, educator, and policy leader committed to advancing equity and systems change. She serves as Chief of Policy and Government Affairs at PRC and directs the Black Leadership Council, a statewide network advancing reforms across pillars: Health, Wealth, Housing, and Education. An adjunct faculty member at Berkeley City College, Tasha holds a doctorate in Education. Her research examines preschool expulsions, particularly their disproportionate impact on Black boys and their families.

Erica Ledward Furlong

A designer, educator, and Executive Director of BayGanda Foundation, where she creates opportunities for girls through arts, leadership, philanthropy, and learning. With 20 years of teaching sewing and design, Erica founded Sew What to empower girls of color to build confidence, creativity, and community. Whether in a classroom, sewing studio, community space, or halfway around the world, Erica’s work reminds young people that where you begin does not determine where you can go.

Linda Burnham

Linda Burnham has been an activist, writer and strategist, focused on women’s rights and racial justice, since the 1960s. In October 2026 she co-produced, with Christine Ahn, Fashion vs. Fascism, a live, narrative-driven show that combines fashion, performance, and satire to reach broad audiences, build political understanding, and catalyze collective action. Burnham is a co-creator of the 2023-24 online education series Fascism101 and the lead author of Project2050, a 2023 report, based on 80 interviews, that explores long-term strategic thinking on the US left. She also co-edited and contributed to the 2022 book Power Concedes Nothing: How Grassroots Organizing Wins Elections. Burnham served as National Research Director and Senior Advisor at the National Domestic Workers Alliance for nearly a decade. She co-authored Home Economics: The Invisible and Unregulated World of Domestic Work. Burnham co-founded the Women of Color Resource Center and served as the organization’s Executive Director for 18 years. In the 1970s, she was a leader in the Third World Women’s Alliance. Burnham has published numerous articles on African-American women, African-American politics, and feminist theory in a wide range of periodicals and anthologies. She serves on the boards of the Center for Constitutional Rights and Political Research Associates. For the past few decades, Burnham has been a mentor to leading social justice organizers and advocates.

Fashion. Activism. Philanthropy.

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