Description

The Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center — an Oakland-based 501(c)(3) founded in the tradition of the West Coast’s first MLK March & Rally — seeks a values-driven, mission-centered Executive Director to lead its next chapter.

For over two decades, the Freedom Center has used Dr. King’s teachings to uplift marginalized youth and families across the East Bay and Northern California through youth leadership classes, civic engagement, residential learning programs, and public education. Its constituency is majority African American and Latino/a, 86% low-income, spanning California, Washington, and Alabama communities.

As chief executive, the Executive Director carries full nonprofit leadership responsibility: strategy, program and curriculum integrity, fund development across foundations, government, corporate, and tribal sources, fiscal oversight, governance and Board relations, and external relations with elected officials and community partners. The role also asks

something more distinctive — a genuine commitment to practicing and teaching Dr. King’s Six Principles and Six Steps of nonviolence, leading by example alongside the young people the Center serves.

Requirements

The ideal candidate pairs strong nonprofit management experience — staff supervision, fundraising, fiscal stewardship, governance — with real affinity for King’s methodology. Prior expertise in nonviolence isn’t required, only a genuine eagerness to learn it.

This search is conducted by The Hawkins Company. Interested candidates should submit a cover letter and résumé by September 10, 2026, to mlkfc@thehawkinscompany.com. The Freedom Center is an equal opportunity employer and encourages applicants who reflect the communities it serves.