ALANA D. MATHEWS
Board Member
Alana Mathews, an Emerge Alumna, is an equity champion, inclusion strategist and agent of change. She currently serves as an Assistant District Attorney and Policy Director for the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office. She is also an Adjunct Professor at McGeorge School of Law teaching and training on Implicit Bias and is the Founder of the Racial Equity and Justice Summer Practicum program. Ms. Mathews began her legal career as a deputy district attorney for Sacramento County before being appointed Public Adviser by Governor Brown for the California Energy Commission. She was later appointed Chief Consultant for the Joint Legislative Committee on Climate Change for the California Legislature and is Director Emeritus of Policy, Training and Membership for the Prosecutors Alliance of California.
Ms. Mathews earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Philosophy from Spelman College and her Juris Doctor (J.D.) and a Master of Laws, (LL.M) in Governmental Affairs and Public from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law.
Ms. Mathews has won numerous awards including the Wiley Manual Bar Association’s Attorney of the Year, the National Bar Association’s Nation’s Best Advocate award, Sac Cultural Hub and UC Davis’ Exceptional Woman of Color award, The Ella Hill Hutch award and she was recently recognized by the Sacramento Bee as one of the region’s Top 25 Changemakers. Last year she made history as the first African-American and woman of color to run for Sacramento County District Attorney.
Ms. Mathews currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Girls Scouts Heart of Central California Council and the Advisory Board for Fitrah, Inc. She is a Life member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc, Black Women Organized for Political Action, and Girl Scouts. She has previously served on the Board of Directors for the Sacramento County Bar Association, the Wiley Manuel Bar Association, and the Florin High School Law Academy. She is the founder of the Critical Thinking Workshop series, the Summer Institute for Energy Law and Policy and the Community Justice Collaborate. She is the proud Army wife of retired First Sgt. Eugene Arcurio and mom to Caleb, Jordan, Josiah and Jayden.