Commissioners

Alternier Cook Mary Forte Carolyn Moskovitz Ayushi Roy Karen Roye Caleb Smith Cathy Smith Cristina Tostado Angelica Valentine

Alternier Cook

Alternier Cook (she/her/hers)

11/14/21 - 11/13/24

Alternier Baker Cook was appointed to the LAC 11/14/2018 to represent District 3. She holds a B.S. Degree in Applied Social Sciences from S.U.N.Y. (State University of New York) at Binghamton and an MSW Degree from Cal-State Long Beach.

She is a member of the City of Oakland Community Development Block Grant Commission, appointed January 2019. She is also the Chair of the Friends of the Hoover Durant Public Library (FOHDPL). She is also a member of the Hoover Foster Residential Action Council and the City of Oakland Police Department Beat 6X Crime Prevention Council Steering Committee.

Alternier is a long time City of Oakland resident, she enjoys spending time with her family, listening to jazz, and exploring fashion. She likes to read mysteries by and about Blacks and historical novels about Spanish speaking and Asian cultures.

Mary Forte

Mary Forte (she/her/hers)

08/19/21 - 08/18/24

Mary Forte is a lifelong resident of Oakland District 7. She is retired from Chevron Information Technology Company (30 years) and is an owner of an It's A Grind Coffee franchise (8 years). She is the vice chair and treasurer of the Friends of Elmhurst Library. Elmhurst Library is the library she went to growing up. She is also involved in her church, her Neighborhood Crime Prevention Council, a member of Block By Block Organizing Network and an Adopt-A-Spot volunteer.

In her spare time, Forte likes to do jigsaw puzzles, read, walk and spend time with her family.

Carolyn Moskovitz

Carolyn Moskovitz (she/her/hers)

Vice Chair, 11/13/21 - 11/12/24

Carolyn Moskovitz was a librarian for 40 years at the Alameda County Library. She was a Teen Librarian, a Jails Librarian and the first Director of the County Library’s Adult Literacy Program. Before retirement she was able to lead a team to write and get funded a $14 million-dollar grant to build the new Castro Valley Library.

Moskovitz is enjoying her work on the Commission very much, especially appreciating the wonderful colleagues and Library leadership. Her major interest is working towards a new replacement for the Main downtown library.

Ayushi Roy

Ayushi Roy (she/her/hers)

11/17/21 - 11/16/24

Ayushi Roy is a proud resident of Oakland's District 1. She enjoys giving back to her city by serving as a Commissioner for the Oakland Public Library, as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate for foster youth, and as a public gardener. By day, she serves the federal General Services Administration as the Director of State & Local Government Technology.

In her personal time, Roy runs a media non-profit focused on civic engagement called We Who Engage and competes in the World Marathon Majors. Previously, she helped build Oakland City Hall's first innovation team, co-founded an SMS hotline for student safety at public universities, and served on the Equity Advisory Committee for the San Francisco Human Rights Commission. She is an alumna of Columbia University and MIT, with additional training in conflict mediation.

Karen Roye

Karen Roye (she/her/hers)

11/14/2019-11/13/2022

Karen Roye is a 30-year Oakland resident of Oakland. She has dedicated her life to public service and advancing the voice and needs of marginalized communities. It is her life's calling.

In her chosen profession, she continues to serve as the director of the San Francisco Department of Child Support Services for almost 20 years, managing operations, budget and finance, statewide legislation, and community outreach. She has also dedicated much of her personal time to volunteerism.

She believes the Oakland Public Library System is a beacon of hope, opportunity, and safety for Oakland's neighborhoods. It serves as a place of community that combats the loneliness and isolation that disenfranchised people experience, a respite for the unhoused people and a place to start a job search, and most importantly, it serves as a place to dream big dreams, learn new skills, and find one’s voice and read, read, read!

Caleb Smith

Caleb Smith, Co-Chair (he/him/his)

11/14/20 - 11/13/23 (second term)

Caleb Smith is a life-long Oakland resident and OUSD graduate who first got involved in library activism as a member of the Youth Leadership Council (the city-wide teen advisory board for the OPL). He studied Public Policy in college and currently works in local government elsewhere in the Bay Area, mostly on housing but also on other topics.

For fun, Smith enjoys playing bridge with his family, participating in a few other community groups, and (surprise, surprise) reading.

Cathy Smith

Cathy Smith (she/her/hers)

06/19/21 - 01/18/24

Cathy Smith has been a member of the Library Advisory Commission since summer of 2018. She is trained as a biologist having received a PhD from Columbia University. After completing her degree, she went on to study the DNA damage response further as a post-doctoral researcher at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research. She left research behind when she moved to Oakland in 2014 and now uses her degree for the management and licensing of UCSF's emerging technologies in the Office of Innovation Ventures.

In her spare time, Smith enjoys reading, hiking Oakland's many beautiful trails, and spending time with her husband and cat.

Cristina Tostado

Cristina Tostado (she/her/hers)

10/5/2020 - 10/4/2023

Cristina Tostado, aka Tina from the Town, was born and raised in East Oakland and currently lives in Oakland District 2.

She enjoys giving back to her city by serving as a commissioner for the Oakland Public Library, a board member for the Oakland Latino Chamber of Commerce, and a volunteer liaison for Mayor Libby Schaaf.

Cristina has a BA degree in Communications and Advertising from Cal State East Bay. In her personal time Cristina loves to travel the world, try different foods, comedy shows, sports and to spend time with family and friends.

Angelica Valentine

Angelica Valentine (she/her/hers)

10/16/20 - 10/15/23 (second term)

Angelica Valentine is a Senior Writer at Carta. She has extensive marketing experience across startups and consultancies, including past roles at data.ai and Mach49. She holds a BA in Sociology and Race and Ethnic Studies from Columbia University in New York City.

Valentine is an Oakland native who enjoys reading, hiking, and baking in her spare time.

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