Ellina Yin, CEO, Founder
Ellina Yin is a first-gen Cambodian American social practice artist, activist, and entrepreneur who works at the intersection of art, technology, and lawmaking to reimagine the future of civic participation in local government. Ellina is the Founder & CEO of Only in San José (OSJ) a civic education and media organization transforming the City of San José’s practice of civic engagement by providing the people of San José with the knowledge, skills, resources, and confidence to create the change they wish to see in their communities.
Ellina founded Only in San José (OSJ) in 2019 with a mission of building a culture of civic participation for democracy to thrive. In 2020, OSJ launched San José’s first civic education podcast. In 2021, OSJ launched the San José Constitutional Convention project alongside the San José’s Charter Review Commission. In 2022, off the heels of the Charter Review Commission, Ellina worked in community to successfully champion the creation the Measure I Ballot Initiative and its unanimous approval by Council, later approved by voters in November. Measure I is about systems change. It expands the right to serve on city boards and commissions to everyone living in San José, elevates the ethics commission to hold government accountable, and led the City of San José Council to unanimously establish a first of its kind in the nation equity values and standards policy. In 2024, OSJ in partnership with the City of San José Office of Racial and Social Equity launched a companion piece to Measure I, another first of its kind in the nation multilingual Free Civics Masterclass. Most recently, Ellina was accepted into the Pulitzer Center’s AI Spotlight Series where she is currently exploring AI use in government and civic participation efforts.
In addition to her advocacy work, Ellina is deeply invested in storytelling. She is a Social Practice Artist and served as the Creative Director and Research Manager of the AAPI Perspectives Project with the San José State University Research Foundation and Santa Clara County. Most recently, she was the Executive Producer of "Home" by Kamiko and Anna Macan, a tribute to the AAPI Oral History Project, Other Perspective(s) Podcast, Co-Producer of Art in Motion Podcast, and is currently working on several film and documentary projects.
Ellina has served as a Knight Emerging City Champion, Multicultural Arts Leader, New Leaders Council fellow, and City Commissioner. She has presented her work to members of Congress, federal agencies, several organizations and various city and state agencies and commissions. Her work has been featured in the San José Mercury News, NBC Bay Area, San José Spotlight, Spartan Daily, Content Magazine and other news outlets.