East Bay Regional Park District Director Ellen Corbett Dies

EAST BAY, CA — Ellen Corbett, a member of the board of directors for the East Bay Regional Park District, died Friday.

EBRPD General Manager Sabrina Landreth made the following statement about her passing:

“Director Ellen Corbett peacefully passed away earlier today, and this news leaves me with great sadness.

“Ellen was an incredible champion of our mission and a tireless advocate for communities to have access to open space, public parks, and nature. In the last eight years, Director Corbett represented her constituents by serving on the Park District’s Board of Directors. Her time with us was the capstone to a long, decorated, and meaningful public service career in local and state government, including serving as the majority leader of the California State Senate and the Mayor of San Leandro. We will remember Ellen as a fearless leader for regional parks at the urban core of the Park District’s jurisdiction. May she rest in peace.”

After serving as mayor of San Leandro and then in the California State Assembly and Senate, including as senate majority leader, Corbett was elected to the East Bay Regional Park District’s board of directors in November 2016. She was co-chair of the Measure FF effort, which passed by 85.6 percent in 2018. From January 2020 to January 2021, she served as president of the board during the pandemic when county health departments led an effort to keep parks open.

Corbett was born in Oakland and her hometown was San Leandro. She attended Chabot Community College and California State University, East Bay. She earned a bachelor's degree in political science from UC Davis and a law degree from the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific.

The flags at EBRPD properties will be flown at half-mast in honor of Director Corbett.