Cassandra Jennings

Municipal official and nonprofit executive Cassandra Jennings was born on May 24, 1956 in Williamstown, North Carolina to Mary Bunch Brinkley and Bernard Brinkley. Jennings graduated from Bowie High School in Bowie, Maryland in 1974, and received her B.A. degree in urban studies from the University of Maryland College Park in 1978. She then earned her M.P.A. degree from the University of San Francisco in 1983.

Jennings worked as an analyst for the City of Oakland, California from 1978 to 1983. Jennings was then hired as a project manager for the Neighborhood Housing Services of America in Oakland. In 1987, she joined the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, where worked in various positions, including that of deputy executive director. During her time there, Jennings founded the consulting firm of Jennings & Associates in 2000. After leaving the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency in 2005, Jennings was hired by the City of Sacramento as an assistant city manager, a position she held until 2011. She then briefly returned to the Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency as the deputy executive director, handling special projects and evaluating special entities. From 2012 to 2016, Jennings served as a senior advisor to Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson. In this role, Jennings worked on a number of city-wide initiatives, including For Arts’ Sake, Sacramento Steps Forward, and Volunteer Sacramento. Jennings became the president and chief executive officer of the Greater Sacramento Urban League in 2016.

Jennings has received numerous awards, including a Repairer of the Breach Award in 2010 and an Award of Excellence from Zeta Phi Beta Sorority in 2011. In 2016, she received the Community Leader Award from Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and was a California Legislative Caucus Black History Month Honoree. Jennings also received an Al Geiger Memorial Award from the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce and a Chancellor’s Achievement Award for diversity and community from the University of California, Davis in 2018. Jennings served as chair of the American Leadership Forum and the Florin Road Foundation boards as well as on the boards of the California Musical Theater and the Golden 1 Credit Union. She served as president of the Sacramento chapter of The Links, and was co-chair of the Career Education African American Advisory Panel.

Jennings and her husband, Richard T. Jennings II, have two children, Richard Jennings III and Asha Jennings.

Cassandra Jennings was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on April 3, 2018.