Sandy Perry

Sandy Perry was raised as a Quaker in Massachusetts and attended Stanford University from 1967-70. He has been a lifelong community organizer and justice advocate, especially after moving to San Jose in 1990. He has been blessed with a 51-year, loving marriage with Andrea Villaseñor Perry, and they have a daughter Christina, son in law Ben, and two grandchildren, Max and Lucia.

In 1991, Sandy joined both the Affordable Housing Network and what is now known as CHAM Deliverance Ministry, and became an active volunteer in both for over thirty years.

Over the years, CHAM helped lead and organize countless rallies, marches, demonstrations, sit-ins, speak-outs, teach-ins and building takeovers to support housing for the unhoused. In 1997, Sandy collaborated with CHAM and First Christian Church to open the church as a shelter for unhoused families. It successfully defied City efforts to shut its doors and then helped create the CHAPP and PROGRESS pilot housing programs. 

In 2001, Sandy participated with both CHAM and Affordable Housing Network in successfully advocating for 30% of San Jose’s affordable housing funds to be allocated to the extremely low-income families who needed it the most. Affordable Housing Network was instrumental in the campaign to strengthen San Jose’s rent control program from 2015-18. In 2017, it helped organize low-income tenants at Sunnyhills Apartments in Milpitas to save their homes, when the owner proposed to opt out of his HUD contract, demolish the apartments, and build million-dollar townhomes instead.

Sandy was a commercial roofer for 20 years and then helped manage the CHAM-First Christian Church homeless shelter from 2000-09. From 2017-20 he was active in efforts by Serve the People San Jose to stop the ill-advised Google expansion into San Jose. In 2019 he helped found the South Bay Community Land Trust and currently serves as vice president of its board.