The Arc of Leadership | Part 10

Written by Tim Buckley, March 2026

Ron Berkley grew up in the gang-heavy streets of South-Central LA. “I was the oldest of three kids and I suppose my younger sisters looked to me for leadership,” he said. “But I was a knucklehead; I was fed up with the chaos in my family, and I thought I knew better. So, I left home at the age of 12.”

He tired of street life and got out before he became another homicide statistic. “I lost so many friends to gang violence,” he said. Thankfully, he found love and came to Oregon with his lady friend and her kids. “That relationship didn’t last but it did get me turned around in the right direction,” he said.  Ron soon married and beside his wife, their family includes four children and a two-year-old grandson. “I’ve calmed down a lot and can see the bigger picture.”

Part of leadership is finding confidence. Part of finding confidence is finding and trusting your values and your voice.

In the early days living in Keizer and Salem, the Berkley family’s roots were shallow, due to moving from house to house, and fighting “no cause evictions” in court.  “Even though we always paid our rent on time, we were evicted from two places for no cause,” he recalled. “The first was when the owner wanted us out to move his brother in. And the second was because we told the landlord that we were saving our money to buy our own place.”

Standing up for his family’s rights as a tenant gave Ron an opportunity to exercise his rights and his voice. Home ownership further boosted his confidence and sense of security. It allowed him to focus more on parenting and being a member of a larger community.

“As a kid, I didn’t get listened to much by adults,” Ron said. “As a father, I’m doing a much better job than my dad did. I’m there for my family and my kids all the time. And I’m a better listener, too.”

Ron attended a community meeting at Kennedy Elementary in 2022, a concerned parent during the pandemic, wondering how to keep kids safe and get them a good education at the same time. “The meeting was sponsored by CBEL, and I remember being interested in what Eduardo was saying, about what we could do as parents living in the neighborhood.”

So, Ron showed up at thesecond meeting. “Eduardo asked, ‘What can we do, as neighbors, to make things better for the kids, and better for their families?’ He went on to say that it depends largely on how families band together to help ourselves as a neighborhood.”

Now serving as Vice-Chair of the Kennedy Neighborhood Family Council, Ron joined the group at its inception. He’s active in Council activities, generating ideas to help the neighborhood, encouraging and listening to his fellow Council members, and coordinating dozens of events organized and hosted by the leadership team.

“They’ve become a second family to me,” Ron said. “The diversity reflects the makeup of our neighborhood and it’s the first time I’ve been a leader in that kind of setting. It’s healthy and, though sometimes we have differences, the way we resolve conflict and come to consensus makes us stronger as individuals and closer as friends.”

Ron said his exposure to leaders in local government, police agencies, the school district, and dozens of local nonprofits has helped him grow confident in his own leadership, as he uses his neighborhood experience to advocate for changes there and in the larger community. His confidence grows further each time he presents in front of an audience. That confidence builds admiration among those who work with him, for his steady and kind leadership qualities.

In the bigger picture, the leadership on display in neighborhood family councils is generating respect and enthusiasm among the next couple of generations. “My kids have been exposed to this whole thing, watching me become a leader and appreciating the kind of community we’re creating,” Ron said. “My being involved has given them a chance to be involved too. My kids come to most of the events and volunteer. My niece and nephew, who live in South Salem, come out too. They enjoy helping. They also have fun, and enjoy meeting new and different people. As they do that, they’re learning grass roots leadership, being part of community building, and understanding that to keep it going relies on the work of families living here.”