Like a rising underdog, East Oakland Boxing Association forges ahead after scandal

A poster of Muhammad Ali watches over the East Oakland Boxing Association’s gym, a visual reminder of the discipline and resilience it takes to be great. The only other posters in the facility are visually minimal, but powerfully messaged. 

“Live everyday as if it were your last,” reads the quote on the Ali poster, “because someday you’re going to be right.”

The message is personal for the EOBA. 

Former Executive Director Solomon Howard was sentenced to prison in September for embezzling around $549,000 from the nonprofit during his 2017-2021 tenure, putting the association under a spotlight. Attendance and participation at the nonprofit dwindled. Some funders paused their support. The EOBA struggled to meet the requirements to renew its insurance. 

When Dawna Williams stepped off the board to head the EOBA in March 2024, the association’s bank account had $176.55 — not enough to cover the electricity bill. So Williams went to work, stabilizing operations and diversifying funding sources to ensure the nonprofit’s sustainability through rough waters. 

“If I close the door on these kids and they have nothing, then he wins,” she said of Howard. “And I refuse to let him not only rob us blind but close our doors too.”

Founded in 1987 by Stanley Garcia, the EOBA established itself as a boxing gym with an after-school program for Oakland youth. Since the public scandal, Williams has worked to expand the EOBA beyond the boxing ring, offering programs, classes and resources for the community.

The organization opened the boxing gym up to the public, offering membership for $30 a month. It collaborated with other Oakland organizations to host media literacy courses for seniors, public speaking classes and the Body Shop Academy, which teaches how to repair vehicles after an accident — just a few programs among many newly offered. 

“We need to be a community hub. We’re in a prime area where there’s not a lot of resources for the community that is in this deep east area,” she said. 

Addressing inequities

Due to historic redlining practices, Black residents gravitated to East Oakland, forming a vibrant community. But health care and education there lag behind other parts of Oakland. East Oakland youths also have much higher rates of poverty and homelessness, and are more likely to drop out of high school or be involved in the criminal justice system, according to Youth Rising, a nonprofit supporting East Oakland young people. 

The EOBA has attempted to remedy some of these inequities by offering after-school programming for elementary and middle-school students as well as a food bank. It also is helping by employing about 40 young adults, either directly or as interns through a collaboration with other youth development and leadership nonprofits.

“They do everything here, from maintenance to janitorial,” Williams said. “They write grants, they do the administration, they help with finance. We teach them everything.”

Belen Suaraz, 22, was hired part time after interning at the EOBA last summer and currently researches grants to support the EOBA’s Wednesday food banks. She said the organization has created a safe space for East Oakland youth. The opportunities it provides, she said, “is really important for them and how they turn out to be and what they want their career to look like, rather than like being in the street.”

Last year, the youth staff helped the organization bounce back after the embezzlement scandal by making phone calls and writing letters to donors and foundations. They also worked tables at community events, showing residents EOBA’s continued commitment. 

The nonprofit gradually regained traction. Committed donors, foundation support and small community contributions mitigated the lost donations and helped keep the organization going. The EOBA’s donor base is at over 30,000 supporters.

Ashley Villegas, 18, joined the staff this year, working part time and doing grant research for the youth development program. Villegas, who lives on 96th Avenue, said the community needs the kind of support the EOBA provides.

“A lot of people here in Oakland feel hopeless,” she said. “They feel like they’re not getting help or they have to rely on assistance to even buy food and stuff.”


The nonprofit’s role in the East Oakland community compelled William Scott, 83, to become a donor, a little over a decade ago. Scott has witnessed the fallout following Howard’s embezzlement and EOBA’s evolution under Williams’ leadership.

“With Dawna there, it has become a safe place for kids. You know, they can come there, they can study, they can be there, they can learn, because some of them don’t have anywhere else to go,” Scott said. 

Scott, who recently joined the EOBA’s board of directors, said the nonprofit has extended beyond its name under Williams’ leadership.

“I think it’s becoming what it’s always wanted to be,” Scott said. “They still do boxing and self defense, but it’s so much more than that.” 

Thanksgiving meals

Scott’s men’s group, East Bay Circle of Men, is helping to organize the EOBA’s annual holiday food drive this weekend, which will provide Thanksgiving meals to about 1,700 families. 

Even as the EOBA has entered a new era, serving the community in more expansive ways, it remains firmly rooted in the discipline and grit of boxing. Williams and her staff work to make sure every day is not the nonprofit’s last. She compared the gym’s comeback to the efforts of the fictional boxer Rocky, the underdog who gives world heavyweight champ Apollo Creed the fight of his life. 

“You know, he had Apollo Creed, who was a multiple champion,” Williams said. “And here comes little Rocky, who’s training in a meat locker. That’s us.”

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