Kevin Malone, Lead Organizer (Del Norte and Tribal Lands)
Kevin has been organizing with the PICO National Network for over 20 years, developing hundreds of leaders in communities to unearth and address shared community concerns and social justice issues by building powerful local organizations. He recently joined True North.
Previously, he was Executive Director of the San Diego Organizing Project since 2008, responsible for staff development, fundraising, strategic planning, issue development, and training local leaders to increase their civic engagement and voter participation. Kevin has led campaigns to respond to issues such as health care, housing, community safety, and public school reform. Kevin has also provided leadership within local and regional coalitions that bring together diverse groups of stakeholders to build consensus, work collaboratively to solve pressing issues in the community, and increase voter participation among infrequent voters of color.
Among other campaigns, he was the lead organizer in San Jose that led to the first ever children's insurance program that covered all children and was a model for the national program. He co-negotiated the largest private community benefits agreement, Ball Park Village, that led to over $40 Million in investments in affordable housing, environmental upgrades, and good jobs.
Prior to joining PICO, Kevin worked overseas for over 10 years in West Africa and Southeast Asia doing very similar work. He was one of the lead organizers of the Dhammayietra in Cambodia, a nonviolent peace movement led by the Venerable Maha Ghosananda, that helped to end the civil war there. He was also one of the lead field organizers for the Campaign to Ban Landmines, which won the Nobel Peace Prize. He has a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Notre Dame.