AC Transit Board Director Violated Gender-Based Harassment Policy, Investigation Finds
AC Transit announced this week that Board Director Joel Young violated the district’s gender-based harassment policy in an incident with a female colleague, according to a recent investigation.
On Monday, Alameda County’s Democratic Party announced that they would endorse Young’s opponent, Adriana Valencia, for his seat. The statement came after four women emailed the investigation findings to the committee on Saturday. One of the women, fellow board member Sarah Syed, alleges that Young inappropriately touched her.
“This is a matter of public record, and we raised it because it matters in public service,” Syed said.
In 2025, AC Transit received an anonymous complaint about an incident that occurred in September, which alleged that Young inappropriately touched Syed at a board meeting.
AC Transit hired an independent third party, Oakland-based law firm Meyer Nave, to investigate. The Oaklandside reported that in December, Meyer Nave concluded two of the allegations against Young were substantiated and that he did violate the district’s gender-based harassment policy.
In a video that AC Transit released Tuesday, Young can be seen coming up to Syed from behind and wrapping his arms around her neck right before all the board members posed for a group photo.
“I felt overpowered,” Syed said. “He’s a lot taller than me, and I felt dominated.”
“Every woman knows the difference between a hug and a squeeze of her neck,” Syed added.
Young said his physical gesture was intended to offer support and comfort.
“Unfortunately, one colleague experienced my gesture differently,” Young said in a written statement. “I respect that her experience was different from my intent.”
AC Transit wrote in a statement: “We respect the concerns that were raised. We respect the independent investigation that followed. And we respect its findings.”
Syed told KQED that, regarding further disciplinary actions for Young, she is asking the board to take the matter up in an open session. But AC Transit wrote that the board has not planned any such meetings in the near future.
Young emphasized meanwhile: “There is not now, nor has there ever been, a requirement that I undergo sexual harassment training as a result of these allegations. “Nor did I do any training regarding sexual harassment.
“Any statement suggesting otherwise is false,” he continued. “It misrepresents both the findings and what has actually occurred.”
An earlier version of this article incorrectly referred to the AC Transit district as the Alameda County Transit District. It also stated that the incident took place at a meeting held to acknowledge the passing of Christian Peeples. It has been updated to reflect that the meeting was a regular board session.