The Board of Directors is pleased to announce Pastor Todd Benson as the new executive director of Faith in Action East Bay. Pastor Todd has served as interim executive director since May 16, 2024.
“I am grateful for the opportunity to be a part of an organization that is working to build power,” he said.
Pastor Todd grew up in North Dakota, where he worked on the family farm from a very young age. After attending college at Lawrence University in Wisconsin, he came to California to attend graduate school, eventually earning a Ph.D. in U.S. history from Stanford. After working as an administrator in higher education for several years, he developed a sense of call to the ministry as a second career. For the past three years he has served as pastor at Bethlehem Lutheran Church, a wonderful faith community in West Oakland.
Pastor Todd has been involved in organizing since 2007, ever since attending a class called “Pastor as Community Organizer” during his second year as a part-time seminary student. He has been involved in organizing campaigns on issues ranging from violence prevention to education to housing. He and his wife Jenny Solorio have been married for 32 years, and live in Union City.
