Sacramento mayor names racial equity adviser, charges her with building reparations initiative

Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg this week announced a newly created position to help address racial equity in city government.

Kelly Fong-Rivas, Steinberg’s current chief of staff, will assume the role of racial equity adviser beginning May 16.

Fong-Rivas is no stranger to the mission of addressing racial equity. She was previously on the staff for the city’s Racial Equity Committee, co-chaired by Steinberg and Councilwoman Mai Vang.

In her new role, Fong-Rivas will focus on supporting the city’s work in a program called Sacramento Centered On Racial Equity (SCORE), as well as developing a municipal reparations initiative.

Her appointment follows Steinberg’s June 2021 call for a pilot program that would explore reparation opportunities for Black residents of Sacramento.

“Having Kelly work on racial equity full-time will speed our city’s ongoing effort to put meaningful engagement and equity at the heart of all of our spending and policy decisions,” Steinberg said.

Mary Lynne Vellinga, Steinberg’s communications director and a former Sacramento Bee senior editor, is to move into Fong-Rivas’ former position as the mayor’s chief of staff.

Andrew Kehoe, currently Steinberg’s civic engagement liaison, will move into Vellinga’s position as the mayor’s communications director.

“My office is entering the next phase of our service with new roles, new faces and plenty of optimism and energy about the future of Sacramento,” Mayor Steinberg said in a memo to his council and city management colleagues.

To learn more about all the members of Mayor Steinberg’s staff and their responsibilities, visit engagesac.org/about-us.

This story was originally published May 11, 2022 at 8:08 AM.