Patrice Berry
AssistHub

Personal Bio

Patrice is an Executive Advisor to Oakland’s Office of Mayor Libby Schaaf, where her mission is to eliminate barriers that deny marginalized communities education and economic opportunity. In 2020, Patrice co-founded AssistHub, a platform that is easing the path to public benefits for thousands of Californians through tech-enabled coaching. Prior to Oakland, Patrice led College Track East Palo Alto, and a Student Success Center with the University of PA’s Netter Center in Philadelphia, where she also co-founded a social entrepreneurship program called Leaders of Change. Patrice serves on the Advisory Board for Hack the Hood, and the Board of Directors of Moneythink and Mount Tamalpais College. She is also an alum of Fast Forward’s Accelerator and 4.0 Schools.

Project Description

AssistHub is a tech platform based in Oakland, CA that helps families build financial security and economic mobility by easing the path to public benefits in California. Our mission is to ensure that everyone can find and obtain the public benefits to which they’re entitled with dignity and without frustration. To achieve this, we address 3 challenges: awareness (knowing what resources exist), application complexity (understanding eligibility and overcoming confusing processes), and stigma (believing that resources are meant for others, as well as distrusting government due to prior negative experiences). AssistHub offers fast navigation to public benefits, as well as coaching, video content, and community forums informed by and for people with lived experience.