June 22, 2011

COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
5:00 PM
City Hall, Room 408
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Members Present Staff Present
President Kay Gulbengay Executive Director Emily Murase
Vice President Julie Soo Senior Gender Policy Analyst Anu Menon
Commissioner Alicia Gamez Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez
Commissioner Nancy Kirshner- PAAWBAC Intern Helen Lei
Rodriguez UC Berkeley Intern Stephanie Taube
Commissioner Rebecca Prowda
Commissioner Stephanie Simmons
Commissioner Andrea Shorter


I. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES
President Gulbengay called the meeting to order at 5:03 pm and requested to amend the agenda to move the consent items up in the agenda.
Action: To approve the amended meeting agenda.
m/s/c (Simmons/Gamez/Unanimous)
No public comment.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Gulbengay asked Commissioners to review the minutes from May 22, 2011.
Action: Approve minutes from May 22, 2011.
m/s/c (Soo/Simmons/Unanimous)
No public comment.

III. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

A. Executive Director's Report
Dr. Murase directed Commissioners to her written report. She reported that the 5th UN World Conference on Women Steering Committee met that afternoon to develop a mission statement: “A UN/NGO worldwide women’s conference in San Francisco, birthplace of the UN, to set the agenda for human sustainability in the 21st century by connecting experiences, ideas, and best practices in order to ignite global action.”

Dr. Murase announced that the Friends of the Commission will be hosting a reception for past CEDAW Awardees and perspective sponsors on July 13th at the Canadian Consulate as a preview to the October CEDAW Awards Luncheon and encouraged Commissioners to attend. The Friends of the Commission will be hosting the CEDAW Awards Luncheon on Monday, October 17 at the Julia Morgan Ballroom.
Dr. Murase reported that the on June 2, the Family Violence Council made a presentation before the Board of Supervisors Public Safety Committee on the 2010 Report on Family Violence that documents 3 years of data on child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse. Various members of the Council, including tri-chairs Kathy Baxter of the Child Abuse Prevention Fund, Beverly Upton of the Domestic Violence Consortium, and Mary Twomey of the UC Irvine Center of Excellent on Elder Abuse testified, as did other City department representatives including Child Support Services Director Karen Roye, Assistant District Attorney Jean Roland, Probation Officer Cristel Tullock, and several community-based organizations. Supervisor David Campos expressed his concern about San Francisco being out of compliance with state mandated requirements to offer child abuse intervention programs for convicted child abusers.

Dr. Murase, Senior Gender Policy Analyst Anu Menon, and members of the Council later met with Department of Public Health Director Barbara Garcia and Adult Probation Chief Wendy Still to discuss recommendations from the Council. Specifically the group discussed bringing the City into compliance by implementing the Child Abuse Intervention Program proposal that the Council approved. The committee members appreciated the presentation and asked for follow-up on the proposal for a 52-week child abuse intervention program and the impact of the “Secure Communities” program on immigrant communities. Department intern Katherine Ray will research the “Secure Communities” program.

Dr. Murase reported that the Department would be moving to the 2nd floor of 25 Van Ness, to a larger office the week before the July Commission meeting and the staff would not have access to the office the day before the Commission meeting. Dr. Murase requested the Commission to cancel the July meeting. Commissioners agreed to cancel the July meeting.

B. Social Media Strategy
Helen Lei, PAAWBAC Intern, and Stephanie Taube, UC Berkeley Graduate Intern, presented the Department’s Social Media plan to expand the marketing efforts of the Commission and the Department. The Department/Commission has started a Facebook page, a Twitter account and will soon have a Linked In account. These marketing efforts are fast, cost-efficient, easily accessible, interactive, can reach a large audience, and can expand the network of the Department/Commission. Commissioners and community members were encouraged to join the Department/Commission’s networks. The Department/Commission is following in the steps of the Mayor and other City Departments.

Commissioners were pleased to see the great efforts being made to publicize the great work that we are doing. Commissioner Kirshner-Rodriguez hoped that the social media outlets were accessible in other languages. Commissioner Simmons explained that the social media outlets help in getting the word out on the work that we do and makes the work actionable. Senior Policy Analyst Anu Menon explained that a cohesive strategy on social media allows us to broaden the scope of what we do and helps market the work that we do.

IV. CONSENT AGENDA
All matters listed hereunder constitute a Consent Agenda and are considered to be routine by the Commission on the Status of Women. They will be acted upon by a single roll call vote of the Commission. There will be no separate discussion of these items unless a member of the Commission so requests, in which event the matter shall be removed from the Consent Agenda and considered as a separate item. Members of the public may speak on each item listed on the Consent Agenda.


A. Resolution Recognizing Claudine Cheng on the Occasion of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
B. Resolution Recognizing Shelley Bradford Bell
C. Resolution Recognizing Vanessa Flores
D. Resolution Recognizing Helen Karr in honor of World Elder Abuse Awareness Day
E. Resolution Recognizing the 20th Anniversary of Leadership California

Claudine Cheng thanked the Commission and expressed her great honor to receive this proclamation from the women’s community. Ms. Cheng hoped to continue to work together to improve the status of women. Dr. Murase expressed her appreciation for Ms. Cheng and all of her hard work in the community, specifically her organization of the annual Asian American Heritage Month celebration.

Shelley Bradford-Bell, commended the work of Ms. Cheng, a long time colleague and friend. Ms. Bradford-Bell coordinated this year’s International Women’s Day Summit which she hopes will continue and flourish each year. She would like to make San Francisco “the destination” to celebrate International Women’s Day in the future. There will be follow-up meeting to discuss next year’s summit on July 27 with the location to be determined.

Vanessa Flores expressed her gratitude to the Commission for acknowledging her work with the Asian Women’s Shelter. Ms. Flores thanked Grants Administrator Carol Sacco, her colleagues, and the community partners for collaborating to protect survivors of violence.

Helen Karr expressed how honored and humbled she was to receive recognition from the Commission for her valued work. Ms. Karr thanked friends, family members, and colleagues who attended to support her in being recognized. Ms. Karr acknowledged District Attorney George Gascon for continuing to prioritize elder abuse. Dr. Murase explained that Ms. Karr has been a tremendous force when it comes to fighting elder abuse and was successful in getting state legislation passed on financial elder abuse.

Ms. Alicia, an attorney who has worked closely with Ms. Karr, explained how inspirational and supportive Ms. Karr has been and continues to be. Bart Sullivan, Ms. Karr’s son, thanked the Commission for recognizing the work of his mother and explained how proud he was of her. Dr. Erica Falk with the Institute on Aging expressed what an incredible mentor Ms. Karr has been and continues to be. Ms. Christina from the State Bar of California expressed what an amazing woman Ms. Karr is, and what a champion in the community she has been.

Action: To approve the Consent Agenda.
m/s/c (Simmons/Gamez/Unanimous).

V. NEW BUSINESS

A. Institute on Aging (IOA) – New Senior Center
Dr. Erika Falk provided information on the newly opened Senior Center located at 3575 Geary Boulevard in San Francisco, which serves as the main location for IOA's comprehensive health and social support services for seniors. There, 150 apartments offering independent living for low-income seniors are located. The grand opening was held in March at the new location at 3575 Geary and Arguello. IOA’s services include:
• Memory Assessment & Care
• Geriatric Health Needs Assessment
• In Home Care & Assistance
• Adult Day Programs & Health Services
• Social & Life Quality Enrichment
• Counseling & Spiritual Support
• Caregiver Resources

Ms. Falk explained that IOA serves over 20,000 clients through 18 different programs. Dr. Murase explained that, in the Department’s last needs assessment, the critical need for services for older women was highlighted and that is how the Department came to fund these important services.

Commissioner Soo wanted to know what happens when older adults who have no familes are released from the hospital. Ms. Falk explained that IOA works with discharge planners to inform patients on the variety of services that are available in the community.

B. United Way by the Bay
Shani Ahearn provided an overview of the United Way of the Bay’s Women’s Leadership Network which has been convened as part of a new poverty alleviation initiative. This is a local initiative covering 7 Bay Area counties. The Women's Leadership Council (WLC) was created to inspire, educate, and engage women in philanthropy, community service, advocacy, and mentoring in order to positively impact the lives and our community. The goals of the WLC are:
• To inspire women to address and support community challenges identified by United Way of the Greater Triangle
• To connect women leaders who support United Way of the Greater Triangle's mission of providing a community safety net
• To mentor women to become philanthropists and to take an active leadership role in the community
• To celebrate the contributions of women who make a significant, positive difference in the community and to learn from their efforts
• To advocate for more women in leadership roles within United Way of the Greater Triangle
• To increase the number of women Leadership Level donors.

The United Way has recently moved from being a grant-driven organization to a community collective focused on impact. They have set an ambitious goal of cutting the poverty rate in half by 2020. In March 2011, a group of 65 women from government agencies, community members, entrepreneurs convened to connect and share their goals to develop an overall goal for the group.

A major aspect of this work is creating United Way’s SparkPoint Centers. These centers will help families create step-by-step plans to tackle their unique needs, and connect them to services to address each one. The centers work with each family for up to 3 years to achieve their goals. The centers are one-stop locations for a full-range of services including personalized financial coaching, as well as programs that help families move up the career ladder, build assets, and manage their credit. Across the Bay Area, they hope to serve 12,500 families over the next 5 years. Some of the services being provided are:
• Credit Counseling/Repair
• Job Placement/Training
• Career Development
• Higher Education
• Entrepreneurship Training
• Business Development
• Benefit Screenings
• Individual Development Accounts
• Home Ownership
• Tax Preparation
Our very own Senior Gender Policy Analyst Anu Menon will be on the Steering Committee which will meet on July 19.

VI. OLD BUSINESS

A. Election of Officers
Commissioner Kay Gulbengay and Commissioner Julie Soo were nominated for President and Vice President, respectively. The Commission elected a President and Vice President for FY11-12 for a one-year term beginning July 1, 2010.

Action: To reelect Kay Gulbengay as President of the Commission for FY11-12.
Action: To reelect Julie Soo as Vice President of the Commission for FY11-12.
m/s/c (Kirshner/Rodriguez/Unanimous).

VII. PUBLIC COMMENT
Ms. Upton stated that the Commissioners, department staff and community members worked well together this budget season, advocating for funding for the vital services being provided. The Community hopes to continue to work together. Ms. Upton offered to have a Facebook link to the Deparment’s Facebook to drive Partner Agencies to connect to the Deparment/Commission. Ms. Upton also thanked Vanessa Flores for her great work and advocacy on behalf of domestic violence victims.

Commissioner Andrea Shorter thanked everyone for the well wishes and reminded everyone that Pride week is in full effect and to join in on the festivities.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn in honor of Shirley Fong Torres.
m/s/c (Soo/Gulbengay/Unanimous)
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 pm



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