ABOUT US
OUR MISSON & VISION
We envision a health revolution for the people.
Freedom Community Clinic envisions a health revolution that nourishes and uplifts the bodies, minds, and spirits of under-resourced communities and brings care directly to where communities gather and celebrate.
SINCE ITS FOUNDING
FCC has impacted 7,500+ people, with 95% of the people served identifying as a Person of Color and 85% of services received by Black and/or Latinx communities.
— Moreover, 75% of the people served have never tried a holistic healing modality before due to financial/access barriers, racism, and/or lack of trust.
OUR STORY
THE BEGINNING
Freedom Community Clinic was founded in 2019 in Oakland through the Youth Impact Hub on Telegraph Ave.
The clinic was founded by Dr. Bernadette (Bernie) Lim, who was 24 years old at the time, in medical school, and the first in her family to become a physician. Inspired by her own family experiences of ancestral healing after trauma in the medical system and building on the rich history of healing justice activism in the Bay (namely the Black Panther Party, Asian Health Services, La Clinica, and Healing Clinic Collective), Bernie sought to build upon the legacies of reimagining new future of healing that drew upon new possibilities rooted in community and in response to the medical industrial complex.
The organizing team came together through serendipitous divine alignment through 2019-2020. Together, they began to organize monthly street healing clinics at local neighborhood parks, festivals, and under freeway underpasses in collaboration with friends and local organizations serving Black and Brown people. Many of these clinics were organized spur of the moment, with organizers storing equipment and supplies in their car trunks and garages and holding organizing meetings at local taco shops.
FCC became a community healing pillar for Black, Brown, and immigrant communities, especially in 2020 when they held impromptu Healing for Black Lives clinics in response to racial injustice and street protests. Through the incredible support of community, FCC was able to establish its first brick-and-mortar Community Healing Sanctuary in September 2021 and began collaborations with many institutions, hospitals, colleges, and universities.
From its grassroots origins with pop-up healing clinics in systemically disinvested areas of Oakland…
Today, Freedom Community Clinic (FCC) is a community-based integrative health ecosystem that uplifts the wisdom of Ancestral Medicine with the strengths of Western medicine to provide revolutionary, community-centered Whole-Person Healing to the People. All services and programs are provided for free/at a community sliding scale and held in English and Spanish.
HEALING IS FREEDOM IS
HEALING IS FREEDOM IS
WHAT DRIVES US
FCC imagines and works towards a Whole-Person Healing Future, prioritizing care for the bodies, minds, and souls of Black, Brown, and immigrant communities in the Bay Area.
MEET THE TEAM
Our core team is Oakland-rooted and led by Womxn & Gender Non-Conforming People of Color.
We each do this work because we witnessed our families, communities, and loved ones create their own methods of survival and love in spite of suffering from physical, mental, and/or spiritual anguish. Our work is to collectively re-imagine, vision, and create a world where whole-person healing is a priority for ourselves, our people, and our communities.
Dr. Bernadette (Bernie) Lim (She/Her) MD, MS
Founder and Board Chair
Dr. Bernadette (Bernie) Lim, MD, MS founded Freedom Community Clinic at 24 years old, is the daughter of Filipinx and Toisan immigrants, and is the first in her family to become a physician. She serves as the youngest faculty at San Francisco State’s Institute for Holistic Health Studies. In addition, Dr. Bernie also is the creator of the Woke WOC Docs Podcast, Freedom School for Intersectional Medicine and Health Justice, and part of the founding team of the Institute for Healing and Justice in Medicine.
Dr. Bernie graduated from UCSF School of Medicine and earned her Master’s at UC Berkeley School of Public Health through the UC Berkeley-UCSF Joint Medical Program. She graduated from Harvard University in 2016 with cum laude honors, and went on to be a Fulbright-Nehru Scholar in India. In her work, Dr. Lim also practices and/or teaches intuitive herbalism, Reiki, meditation, and hatha yoga. She is a pianist of 25+ years, a DJ, farmer, and hula and salsa dancer.
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For her work, Dr. Bernie has received many honors including, but not limited to being the youngest recipient of the San Francisco Business Times Most Influential Women in Bay Area Business, an Echoing Green Fellow, World Policy Forum Young Global Changer, Josiah Macy Jr. Foundation Award for Excellence in Social Mission in Health Professions Education, Yamashita Prize Outstanding Emerging Social Activist in California, AAMC Herbert Nickens Scholar, National Minority Quality Forum 40 Under 40 Leaders in Minority Health, California Senate District 29 Women of the Year Honoree, U.S. Philippines Embassy Filipino Young Leaders Program Delegate, UCSF Dean's Prize Scholar in Health and Society, and Pacific Standard Top 30 Under 30 Thinkers in Policy and Social Justice, among many others.
Previously the Director of People, Culture & Operations, Diana Tâm-Đan Trần (she/her) now serves as Freedom Community Clinic’s Interim Executive Director. Her career has been defined by a single driving question: “How do we nurture spaces where healing, belonging, equity, and leadership become inseparable – intentionally interwoven into the systems and structures where we live, work, rest, and play?”
As a child of Vietnamese immigrants and war refugees and a first-generation university graduate, Diana has spent over a decade supporting leaders, changemakers, and collectives working toward social change at both interpersonal and institutional levels. Her path has taken her around the globe—from conducting educational equity and civic engagement research at Arizona State University to developing curriculum and facilitating positive identity development workshops for BIPOC communities in Washington DC, to teaching English and supporting international youth ambassador programs in Japan, where she also consulted for nonprofit organizations on strategic planning, donor stewardship, and community engagement.
Diana Tran (she/her)
Interim Executive Director
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Throughout her career, Diana has deepened her expertise in organizational leadership through the lens of educator, culture-creator, and space holder. She has led and designed transformative and award-winning programs with organizations including Asian American LEAD (AALEAD), Phoenix Sister Cities, and March of Dimes—scaling regional and national initiatives while building sustainable systems for operations, staff leadership development, volunteer engagement, and cross-cultural partnerships. Regardless of her role or title, she has consistently centered racial equity and created environments where organizers, advocates, and changemakers of all ages, sociopolitical identities, and lived experiences can explore their power while developing practical skills for social impact.
At FCC, Diana’s primary role is to build and reinforce the structural foundation—from management systems and policies to our people-first organizational culture of care—that allows our revolutionary healthcare and wellbeing ecosystem to flourish. She proudly works alongside a team of talented and passionate leaders committed to reimagining what grassroots organizers and movement builders can accomplish together while co-creating the future of Whole-Person Healing.
Diana fortifies her work in racial equity and organizational development with her practice as a spiritual counselor – bringing together 靈氣 (reiki), breathwork, 言霊 (kotodama), and ancestral healing practices rooted in Buddhism, Shinto, and shamanism. She is committed to leadership models grounded in transformative justice, cultural humility, and the belief that sustainable social change requires healing ourselves, healing our relationships, and healing our systems as one integrated practice.
B Dukes (They/Them)
Director of Creative Media & Program Strategy
Originally from the small town Batesburg-Leesville, South Carolina, organizer, multidisciplinary artist, storyteller, and facilitator B Dukes has a deep commitment of identifying what it means to be of service to their Black, Brown, Indigenous, queer/trans kin. With a background in psychedelic therapy training, creative program development, project management, and sound healing, they are consistently applying all of their skills to hold space for community and drive intentional growth.
In their current role at Freedom Community Clinic, B concentrates on co-creating sacred and safe spaces, culturally impactful programming, and storytelling within FCC and beyond as a cultural strategist, and active artist alongside various collectives and organizations with roots in the Bay Area. Over the last 5 years at the organization they have seeded the visions of initiatves such as Herbalist-in-Residence, Community Medicine Making, and more. Consistently uplifting the mission of bringing whole-person healing to the people here on Ohlone lands as well as Turtle Island.
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“Healing is our birthright.” An ethos that they carry in all that they create.
Collaborative in nature, B looks forward to co-creating healing spaces and offerings alongside community members. Since a young person, Dukes has been passionate about connecting the dots between the needs of the people and the resources that can support community. Their initial involvement within the non-profit sector and organizing began 16 years ago alongside their mentor Dr. Bambi Gaddist and the South Carolina HIV/Aids Council.
Born and raised in Mexico, Esperanza is rooted in love, freedom, and tradition. She is committed to uplifting cultural traditions and medicine for communities that continue to migrate to the U.S. and those that wish to reconnect. She migrated to San Francisco at the age of nine and graduated from SFSU with a BS in Public Health with an emphasis in Holistic Health and Women’s Health. Navigating academia encouraged her turn to ancestral medicine as a way to heal past trauma, deconstruct what it means to live beyond her immigration status, and remember her power.
Esperanza Jimenez (She/Her)
Director of Program Design & Implementation
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She founded Un Mundo sin Fronteras (formerly known as Undocuhealing) with the intention to create a space for newcomers, Indigenous youth from Latin America, to build community, maintain a connection to their cultural traditions and ways of healing. Esperanza is on a journey to use her gifts and testimony as medicine to share with others. She uses travel to expand her wisdom, explores her creativity by experimenting in the kitchen, and prays with the ancestors alongside Calpulli Ehecatl Tonatiuh. Her commitment to self and the communities she serves are deeply intertwined.
When Tiffany chose a healing profession, it was with the goal of bringing affordability and access to those of lower socio-economic backgrounds who are only familiar with western forms of healing. Growing up in a low-income urban environment and then living in a wealthy suburban environment for a few years enabled Tiffany to see not only wealth disparities but also how they affect health and quality of life. These disparities create barriers to accessing the multitude of healing modalities available.
Dr. Tiffany López (She/Her) D.AC, L.AC, Acupuncturist
Director of Community Collaborations
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While Tiffany considered many careers in the field of healing, she came to choose Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) because of its holistic approach. Traditional Chinese Medicine sees that the emotional and physical bodies are linked and dis-ease can stem from an imbalance of either or both.
In graduate school, Tiffany and a classmate offered free acupuncture to the community through a series of monthly clinics. Shortly after, they developed a free acupuncture clinic at St. Vincent de Paul on San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, CA. Since graduating and obtaining her license, Tiffany has contracted with a non-profit organization that focuses on supporting disenfranchised populations seeking treatment for Substance Use Disorder. She enjoys introducing TCM and acupuncture to those who are not familiar with this modality.
Natalie Silva (she/her)
Facilities Manager
Originally from Los Angeles, CA, with roots in both Honduras and Mexico. Growing up, I faced many challenges that shaped my journey and led me to a deep understanding of the importance of community and support. As I began to heal from generational trauma and focus on my personal growth, I realized how essential it is to have a community to lean on. My journey has taught me the value of filling my own cup, and now, I am committed to being there for others, using my story as a testament to the power of self-care and resilience. I am a creative soul, always eager to learn and connect with others. During the pandemic, I found joy in sharing self-care practices, helping others realize the importance of taking care of themselves. I believe that by nurturing ourselves, we can better serve our communities.
Apothecary & Pharmacy Team Members
Dan (Dan preferred)
Apothecary Manager
Dan is an anti-disciplinary artist, DJ, spiritual facilitator, and cultural curator who weaves sound, ritual, and ancestral technologies to create spaces for collective liberation and emotional restoration. Their work exists where art and ceremony meet. They center Black queer people of the diaspora and prioritize the remembering of ancestral power, embodied sovereignty, and pleasure as a revolutionary practice.
Rooted in Afro-Caribbean spiritual traditions and somatic healing, Dan creates portals for immersive transformation. These portals take the form of altar installations, plant medicine ceremonies, grief rituals, sound healing journeys, and movement-centered experiences. Through frequency, earth medicine, breath, emotional release, and spontaneous movement, they guide people into deeper relationship with their bodies and with the wisdom of their lineage.
revel has been creating and distributing herbal medicine in response to community based needs since the 2020 George Floyd uprisings. they desire to hold many people at once and find that one of the greatest gifts of working with herbs is the ability to trust in the plants’ spirit, and medicine to hold others in ways they can not. revel does their best to lead from a heart centered place and meet people where they are at their herbalism practice is rooted in ancestry.
it is informed by the lands that raised them, Powhatan lands, by traditional Afrikan spiritualities, and by western herbalism. the first ancestral herbalism program revel engaged in is, xinachtli, whose circle keeper is xochicoatl bello revel is the lead steward at Freedom Community Clinic’s Apothecary, located on telegraph ave. they are excited to meet you and to learn together <3
revel (they/them)
Lead Apothecary Steward
Jordan (they/them)
Apothecary & Garden Steward
jordan (they/them) is a Black, Queer Hoodoo, and a great-grandchild of the Great Migration. Their vocational roots and offerings include Land stewardship, community herbalism, regenerative gardening, cooperative decision-making, leadership development, group facilitation, and conflict navigation.
Raised on unceded Lands of Potawatomi, Ho-Chunk, Miami, Kickapoo, and Indigenous Nations of the so-called midwest, and nurtured as a young adult on unceded Lands of Lenape, Mohawk, Mohican, and Indigenous Nations of the so-called northeast, jordan currently resides on unceded Lands of Ohlone and Indigenous Nations of the so-called east bay area. In addition to their work with FCC, jordan hosts a variety of offerings through freedom & forage, which partners with Black/Africana communities, comrades, and Land to carry forward our ancestral and Indigenous recipes, nurture our relationships of cooperation and care, and fortify the soils of our autonomous Black and Indigenous futures. Learn more by emailing freedomforage.99@protonmail.com.
Dr. Alexis Cooke (She/Her) PHD, MPH
Community Research Lead
Alexis is a Reiki practitioner, public health professional and intuitive herbalist. As a public health professional, Alexis is interested in how community, policy and clinical environments shape substance use behaviors risks and consequences. Both professionally and personally Alexis is interested in examining the behaviors, activities and relationships people engage in to deal with the impacts of inequitable social structures.
As a wellness practitioner, Alexis is most interested in holding space for people, wherever they may be in their healing journey and she hopes to support people through connecting them to tools and resources which facilitate well-being.
Fruitvale Healing Sanctuary Team Members
Crisantema Gallardo, she/they
Bilingual Program Manager
Crisantema `Krizaflor` is a cuir auntie, cultural bearer, and multidisciplinary artist rooted in Oaxaqueña lineage. Krizaflor weaves art, culture, and healing to nurture intergenerational movements for liberation. As a bEarthworker and end-of-life companion, she holds space for grief and ancestral veneration. Krizaflor cultivates healing spaces for 2SQT+ youth, campesinas/farmworkers, and elders to (re)connect with their inner child and Mother Earth. She finds joy in astrology, gardening, and sharing meals with loved ones.
René <Maiz> Revolorio
Sanctuary Steward
Rene `Maiz` Revolorio is a 2 spirit herbalist, artist, and land worker. Born in Guatemala with Kaqchikel Maya, Italian, Ojibwe Lakota and Irish roots, Rene has always known borderlands to be both a physical and a spiritual fallacy. As a child, they were fascinated by rocks, soil, shells and plants. Rene has a background in Environmental Geology and Latin American Studies, is certified as an outdoor educator by LifeLab, and holds a certificate in community herbalism through Tierra Rituals. Outside of work, Rene enjoys printmaking, hiking, camping, and gardening. '
René «Maiz» Revolorio es un curandero, artiste y cultivador de la tierra, de ascendencia kaqchikel maya, italiana, ojibwe lakota e irlandesa. Siempre ha considerado las zonas fronterizas como una falacia tanto física como espiritual. De niño, le fascinaban las rocas, la tierra, las conchas y las plantas. René se graduó con un título en geología ambiental y estudios latinoamericanos, está certificado como educador al aire libre por LifeLab y posee un certificado en herbolaria comunitaria de Tierra Rituals. En su tiempo libre, disfruta del grabado, el senderismo, acampar y la jardinería.
Mercedes de la Torre (ella)
Promotora Leader
Mercedes de la Torre is deeply passionate about building community. Based in Fruitvale, she has spent over five years organizing events that bring people together. As a trusted community Promotora, she leads workshops on herbalism and ancestral medicine. Mercedes finds joy in tending community gardens, spending time with her granddaughters, and relaxing with a good movie.
OUR SUPPORTERS
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