Keith Archuleta has provided over 30 years of service to businesses, schools, nonprofit organizations, churches and government agencies throughout California as an innovative leader, manager, consultant, evaluator, legislative aide, executive director, board member and volunteer.

Keith's experiences as a child, living in the projects of Denver, Colorado and then as a teenager working in the tobacco fields of segregated North Carolina, drew him as a young adult to become actively engaged in the betterment of people and the community.

For the last 16 years, through their company, Emerald Consulting, he and his wife, Iris, have been working to improve the lives of people, create healthy organizations and build sustainable communities.

Keith has been recognized for his innovative leadership throughout the Bay Area in building initiatives that foster positive community outcomes such as the Mayfair Neighborhood Improvement Initiative in San Jose and collaborative programs, such as the Elementary Arts Education Program in San Francisco, that provide educational opportunities for youth. He has assisted numerous nonprofit organizations in capacity building, fund development, and strategic planning.

His work and life experiences have been challenging and varied. For example, he has been an Assembly Fellow in the California Legislature, a volunteer in Liberia, West Africa, founder of the Youth Theatre Project in East Palo Alto and the Black Community Services Center at Stanford, Chairman/CEO of an internet-based start-up company in Silicon Valley, and Site Administrator for the Young African American Achievers Program in San Francisco.

He has served as Executive Director of several nonprofit organizations including Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Contra Costa County that recruits and trains volunteers to advocate for foster children; and the East County Business-Education Alliance, that brings east Contra Costa County business, community and educational organizations together to build strategic partnerships that support and equip students for life, post-secondary education and careers.

He is a firm believer in life-long learning. He earned two bachelor degrees from Stanford University, one in Communications with distinction and one in African and African American Studies with honors.  He has also earned a Masters degree in Nonprofit Organizational Management from the University of San Francisco. His work requires constant research, reading and study, and continuous learning.

A long-time Bay Area resident, he has founded several arts and youth programs such as the Nia Community Project and the Youth Theatre Project in East Palo Alto and was the Founder/Director of the Black Community Services Center, the Black Media Institute and the Kuumba Arts Ensemble at Stanford University. He has been instrumental in developing and implementing the Work Ready Certificate program in order to equip students in six area high schools for life, post-secondary education and careers.

He has also served on the Board of Regents of John F. Kennedy University and on the Board of Directors of several nonprofit organizations, including the Center for Community Benefit Organizations of Alameda and Contra Costa County. He is a member of the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Pittsburg Rotary Club and a graduate of East County Leadership, class of 2001.

Keith currently serves as Board President for Opportunity Junction, Vice President of Finance on the Contra Costa Council Board of Directors, Chair of the Antioch Unified School District Career Technical Education Advisory Committee, member of the DOW Community Advisory Panel, the California CASA Association, and the Leadership East County Steering Committee.

Keith and his wife Iris  reside in Antioch, CA and have one son, and a grandson and granddaughter.

Iris Archuleta is co-founder and senior partner of EMERALD CONSULTING, founder of UrAtWork and the architect of Emerald Consulting's HIGH Performing Communities model.

Having held the post of Director of the San Francisco/Oakland Minority Business Development Centers, Ms. Archuleta is a recognized expert and leader in the area of community reinvestment.

She has been called upon to speak and lead discussions on the economic condition of California's inner city communities and how community development is accomplished.  She has spoken before an extensive range of audiences such as Chairman Greenspan of the Federal Reserve Bank; Eugene Ludwig, Comptroller of the Currency; the California State Legislature; the California Base Closure Hearings; the Alameda County Board of Supervisors; Leadership San Francisco; Kathleen Brown's Economic Summit; and the Southern California Urban League to name a few venues..

Mrs. Archuleta has served as an advisor on minority business development to public officials, community organizations, financial institutions and economic development agencies. She has served as an advisor and consultant to the President and CEO of Odwalla Corporation on minority and youth entrepreneurialism and has previously served as chief consultant to the Ecumenical Development Initiative - USA and the California Community Investment Partnership. These initiatives were aimed at small business development in inner cities and rural communities of California with high levels of poverty and unemployment.

She has also previously served as a Fellow with The Greenlining Coalition, a multi-cultural, statewide coalition of community groups committed to ending redlining and promoting community economic development. Through her background in banking and her expertise in the Community Reinvestment Act and Home Mortgage Disclosure Act policy, she successfully assisted with the  negotiation of several significant CRA contracts with financial institutions, lobbying relevant legislation, and developing community reinvestment strategy.

Mrs. Archuleta has contributed her time and talents to youth development in the Bay Area for over 18 years.  She has served the San Francisco school district as a consultant to the Arts Education Funders' Collaborative and the SFUSD Elementary Arts Education Program.  Additionally, she is a  past member of the Board of Directors of Our Kids First and the Fellowship Academy and Preschool, Ms. Archuleta has developed countless programs for underserved youth of San Francisco and is currently the Co-Chair and designer of the Youth Intervention Network, (YIN) in Antioch, California.

Mrs. Archuleta has a degree in Political Science from the California State University at Hayward and a Law Degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Law