Special Advisor to Executive Director of Minority Television Project, Inc.
Head of Real Estate and Economic Development for the Oakland (CA) City Attorney’s Office
Oakland, CA
Dianne provides strategic planning advice to the Executive Director of Minority Television Project, Inc., licensee of San Francisco Bay Area public television station KMTP. She advises senior management on using the company’s recently awarded multimillion dollar FCC digital spectrum auction proceeds to implement new digital media/STEM initiatives focused on educating underrepresented students, including African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, Eastern Europeans, Southeast Asians, women, and people with disabilities.
Until she retired in October 2017, Dianne supervised the real estate and economic development units of the Oakland (CA) City Attorney’s office. As Oakland experienced an unprecedented development renaissance, Ms. Millner’s units provided legal advice for a multitude of economic development projects ranging from small neighborhood rehabilitations, large market-rate and affordable housing developments, hotel development, and multimillion dollar projects, including redevelopment of the former Oakland Army Base. Dianne also advised the City regarding issues related to the City’s sports teams: the Golden State Warriors, the Oakland A’s, and the Oakland Raiders.
Ms. Millner has been recognized as a legal trailblazer for co-founding, in 1980, what would become the then- largest minority-owned law firm in the Western U.S. (and one of very few minority women law firm owners at that time). Dianne previously served as a Governor Jerry Brown appointee to a disability advocacy organization. She also served as both Chairperson and President of the Board of Directors of Disability Rights California and currently mentors underrepresented students at the East Bay College Fund.
Dianne received her undergraduate degree (Phi Beta Kappa) from the University of California at Berkeley, and her law degree from Stanford Law School. She remains active in Stanford University affairs, including as a Stanford Law School Public Interest Alumni Mentor and a member of the Stanford National Black Alumni Association.
Profile of Impact: Doing Small Things in Great Ways