When City Hall proposed bringing discriminatory Stop and Frisk policing to San Francisco, 24-year-old Theo fought back. He built a coalition of civil rights groups and citizens and delivered thousands of signatures to the mayor’s office. City Hall ultimately backed down. Afterwards, Theo transformed the coalition into a Democratic club (now called Black Citizen) that supports nonprofits focused on improving lives in Black communities. Theo later served on the City’s Human Rights Commission, where he defended our sanctuary city and anti-discrimination policies.

Theo also led one of the largest environmental justice cases in U.S. history, when he organized local families in a class action lawsuit against Tetra Tech, a multi-billion-dollar corporation that covered up the existence of toxic soil in Hunters Point Shipyard. The $6.3 million settlement paid to several dozen homeowners brought justice to a neighborhood that has been the target of environmental racism for decades.