Emeryville proclaims March 2025 Women’s History Month; honors longtime community volunteer Nellie Hannon

The Emeryville City Council on March 18 proclaimed March 2025 as Women’s History Month and honored former Councilmember Nellie Hannon for her long-running work with the Emeryville Citizens Assistance Program (ECAP).

The proclamation recognized Hannon’s contributions to affordable housing advocacy and community support, and noted that the “Nellie Hannon Gateway” will stand as a lasting tribute. Mayor Dianne Mora (referenced in the meeting) presented the proclamation and Vice Mayor John Carr read it aloud to the council and attendees.

Why it matters: The recognition highlighted the role of a local nonprofit that distributes food and other resources to low-income residents and the broader city effort to celebrate community leaders. Dozens of residents and volunteers spoke during the public comment period, sharing personal recollections and describing ECAP’s operations.

Hannon, speaking after the proclamation and photographs, described her reasons for the work: “God gave it to me to help his people, and that's what we...do.” Several volunteers and beneficiaries said ECAP staff and volunteers work daily to collect and distribute food and other basics.

Community speakers gave concrete estimates of ECAP’s scale. Christopher Hannon, introduced as a grandchild of Nellie Hannon, and another speaker who identified program statistics said, “Last month, we provided food for over 34,000 people. And the month before there, it was 36,000.” Those figures were presented by public commenters during remarks and attributed in this report as statements by those speakers.

The office of State Senator Jesse Arreguín sent a certificate recognizing Hannon’s service. A representative read the certificate, which commended Hannon’s advocacy for affordable housing and her founding of ECAP.

Council members and staff praised Hannon’s volunteering and community impact. Vice Mayor Carr said he hoped the occasion would accelerate efforts to complete the ECAP building’s technology and infrastructure, urging that needs be met “efficiently, quickly, and very soon.” Councilmember Maria Welch noted Hannon’s long involvement in Emeryville policy and nonprofit activity and said Hannon’s legacy made the city “a better place.”

Public comment also included a separate request that the city explore ways to secure an apartment for Hannon in the new affordable housing building associated with the ECAP project. Speakers described uncertainty about whether the developer (referred to in the meeting as RCD) had promised a unit and discussed how standard affordable-housing lotteries and waitlists work.

City staff and council discussed next steps. The council did not make any binding commitment at the meeting, but staff indicated they would explore the request and communicate offline; Director Chad Smalley said staff would “explore it, creatively and...communicate out.” This was described as an exploratory staff follow-up rather than a formal council action.

The meeting also included multiple expressions of gratitude from volunteers, neighbors and public safety staff, and a short presentation of signs and certificates. The council reported no formal vote related to ECAP or an apartment allocation at this session.

Ending: The proclamation and the public comments brought both formal recognition and new public requests to council attention; staff said they would follow up on the housing inquiry outside the meeting record.