Bilal Mahmood is an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and civil servant based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

, California. He is a former policy analyst in the Obama Administration, as well as co-founder of the Foundation 13 Fund and the software company ClearBrain, where he also served as CEO. ClearBrain was acquired by

Amplitude The amplitude of a periodic variable is a measure of its change in a single period (such as time or spatial period). The amplitude of a non-periodic signal is its magnitude compared with a reference value. There are various definitions of am ...

in March of 2020.

Early life

Mahmood was born and raised in

Palo Alto, California Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was es ...

. Mahmood's parents and grandparents immigrated from Pakistan. Mahmood finished high school in

Lahore Lahore ( ; pnb, ; ur, ) is the second most populous city in Pakistan after Karachi and 26th most populous city in the world, with a population of over 13 million. It is the capital of the province of Punjab where it is the largest city ...

, Pakistan, where his family moved after 9/11. He graduated Stanford University in 2009 with a degree in biology and a minor in business. At Stanford, he interned at the Stanford Pediatric Surgery Lab and co-founded a

microloan :''This article is specific to small loans, often provided in a pooled manner. For direct payments to individuals for specific projects, see Micropatronage. For financial services to the poor, see Microfinance. For small payments, see Micropay ...

non-profit that has distributed more than $13,000. He was named a Gates Cambridge Scholar in 2009 and attended the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

, where he earned a master's degree in bioscience enterprise.

Career

Mahmood was a policy analyst during the Obama administration in the Office of Innovation and Entrepreneurship for the

United States Department of Commerce The United States Department of Commerce is an executive department of the U.S. federal government concerned with creating the conditions for economic growth and opportunity. Among its tasks are gathering economic and demographic data for bus ...

in 2011. After working in the Obama administration and several technology companies, Mahmood founded ClearBrain, a predictive analytics software company which Mahmood describes as technology for mission-minded organizations and small businesses, helping them compete with Amazon. Mahmood served as ClearBrain's CEO until March 2020, when analytics firm

announced it had acquired ClearBrain for an undisclosed sum. Mahmood started the Foundation 13 Fund in 2020, investing in nonprofits local to San Francisco on issues including small business relief, anti-Asian violence, and local journalism. Its first grant raised $100,000 to support restaurant workers impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

2022 California State Assembly candidacy

On September 30, 2021, Mahmood announced he was running as a Democrat for

California's 17th State Assembly district California's 17th State Assembly district is one of 80 California State Assembly districts. It is currently represented by Democrat Matt Haney of San Francisco. District profile The district encompasses the eastern portions of the consol ...

in a 2022 special election. He received public support from Saikat Chakrabarti, who served as chief of staff for New York Congressional Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and helped craft the

Green New Deal Green New Deal (GND) proposals call for public policy to address climate change along with achieving other social aims like job creation and reducing economic inequality. The name refers back to the New Deal, a set of social and economic refo ...

. Together, Mahmood and Chakrabarti planned a similar comprehensive environmental framework for California, including a carbon tax to fund zero-interest loans to help families and businesses pay for green retrofits. Mahmood based his platform on a number of issues including supporting a San Francisco Board of Education recall, a program to end homelessness in over 80 cities and counties, a guaranteed income program for Californians, expanding the California Earned Income Tax Credit ceiling to $75,000, and a combination of carbon and wealth taxes. Mahmood finished third, subsequently endorsing

Matt Haney Matthew Craig Haney (born April 17, 1982) is an American politician from San Francisco currently serving as a member of the California State Assembly from the 17th district, covering the eastern portion of the city. A progressive member of the ...

. Haney ultimately defeated

David Campos David Campos (born September 28, 1970), is a politician who is Vice Chair of the California Democratic Party. In 2008 he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, where he represented San Francisco's District 9 (Bernal Heights, P ...

in the runoff election and was sworn in on May 3, 2022.

San Francisco political advocacy

Mahmood has continued to advocate for reforms in the permitting and approvals process for new construction in San Francisco, identifying excessive bureaucracy as a driver of homelessness and inequality in the city. Soon after Mahmood delineated these issues in the

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

in March of 2023, city Supervisor Ahsha Safai and San Francisco Mayor London Breed put forward separate bills to streamline the city’s complex and time-consuming housing approval process. In May of 2023, Mahmood drew attention to the bureucratic mismanagement and technical missteps which resulted in delayed payments to teachers working for San Francisco's school district. Mahmood collaborated with San Francisco Assembly Member

, his erstwhile political rival in the 2022 California State Assembly election, on legislation which would compel California's Energy Commission to create an emission reduction strategy for buildings and homes with clearly outlined requirements and milestones. The proposed legislation was praised for its potential to bolster investment in local businesses and create jobs in the state. In January 2024, Mahmood announced his candidacy for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, running against incumbent

Dean Preston Dean E. Preston (born ) is an American attorney and member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. He founded Tenants Together, a California tenant advocacy organization. In November 2019, Preston won a special election to finish Mayor London ...

in District 5.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmood, Bilal Living people Date of birth missing (living people) Pakistani expatriates in the United States Expatriate academics in the United States Pakistani expatriate academics Politicians from San Francisco American technology businesspeople Businesspeople from San Francisco Year of birth missing (living people)