March 23, 2011

COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
5:00 PM
City Hall, Room 408
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102
Members Present:

 President Kay Gulbengay

Vice President Julie Soo

 Commissioner Rebecca Prowda

Commissioner Andrea Shorter

    Commissioner Stephanie Simmons

I. CALL TO ORDER/ AGENDA CHANGES
President Gulbengay called the meeting to order at 5:08 pm and gave welcoming remarks.
Action: To approve the meeting agenda.
m/s/c (Soo/Prowda/Unanimous)
No public comment.

II. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
President Gulbengay asked Commissioners to review the minutes from February 23, 2011.
Action: Approve minutes from February 23, 2011.
m/s/c (Soo/Prowda/Unanimous)
No public comment.

III. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

A. Executive Director's Report
Dr. Murase directed Commissioners to her written report. Dr. Murase stated that Policy Director Ann Lehman and Senior Gender Policy Analyst Anu Menon’s trip to Eugene, Oregon was highly successful. They conducted 3 trainings of city officials, Commissioners, and Department heads to help the city government determine how to implement Eugene’s new human rights legislation.

Dr. Murase reported that right before the Commission meeting, the Department held a press conference in partnership with the Police Chief and community advocates to announce 3 key policy reforms: 1) a formal protocol on issuing U-Visas to undocumented domestic violence victims so that they can stay in this country, 2) a formal protocol on the handling of stalking cases, and 3) additional police codes to identify categories of assault including child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse.

Dr. Murase reported and thanked Commissioners, staff and members of the Friends Board who joined with the Members of the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor to celebrate Women’s History Month that honored women throughout the City who are making a positive impact. Many thanks to President Kay Gulbengay, Vice President Julie Soo, Commissioners Katherine Munter and Andrea Shorter for their participation in this signature event.




B. Special Recognition of Kathryn Johnson, San Francisco State University
Dr. Murase presented a departmental recognition to Kathryn Johnson, Special Assistant to the Dean of the College of Behavioral and Social Sciences, San Francisco State University. Ms. Johnson has been a long-time organizer of Women’s History Month events at San Francisco State. Ms. Johnson thanked the Department for the acknowledgement and thanked her family and friends who were in the audience to support her. Ms. Johnson asserted that women’s issues are human rights issues and should be widely recognized as such. Her work has been to "make the invisible visible."

C. Report from Eugene, Oregon .
Policy Director Ann Lehman and Senior Policy Analyst Anu Menon reported on the human rights training conducted in Eugene, Oregon. The training was provided to Commissioners, community leaders, the city’s Leadership Academy, city managers, and department heads. The training focused on conducting gender analysis since San Francisco is a model for other cities. Commissioners suggested providing human rights trainings for City employees.

D. Report from the UN Women Empowerment Principles Conference
Ms. Ann Lehman reported on her presentation at the UN Global Compact meeting held in New York. Ms. Lehman explained that the Gender Equality Principles (GEP) Initiative that the Department recently launched have 3 identical Principles that the UN has adopted, explaining that we are moving in the same direction. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon explained that there are currently 167 companies signed on to the UN Women’s Principles and he hopes to get 1,000 companies to join. Ms. Lehman asserted that although many places prohibit hiring quotas here in the United States, it would be wonderful if companies could have a succession plan or mentor women to help them move up the corporate ladder.

E. Report from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women
Dr. Murase provided a report on the trainings she conducted in New York at the UN Parallel Sessions, and introduced the proposal the host the UN 5th World Conference on Women 2015 in San Francisco. Dr. Jean Shinoda-Bolen, a long-time proponent of the 5th World Conference on Women and a distinguished speaker at the UN Parallel Sessions on the topic, provided additional background. Dr. Shinoda-Bolen expressed her appreciation and gratitude to the Commission for taking the first step in approving this resolution. This document can now be taken to local representatives to request their support in bringing this historic conference to San Francisco, historic not just for San Francisco but for women everywhere.

Shelley Bradford Bell thanked the Commission and Department for their support at the March 8th International Women’s Day Summit. Ms. Bell expressed how powerful the action is to bring the Conference on Women to San Francisco which will bring women from all over the world to San Francisco for this historic event.

Marilyn Fowler, President of the Women’s Intercultural Network (WIN), expressed how excited it is to know that the Commission is taking the first step to bring the Women’s Conference to San Francisco. Ms. Fowler explained that WIN representatives were at the most recent UN Women's World Conference in Beijing and now we are coming full circle in bringing the conference to San Francisco.

Action: To approve a resolution on hosting the UN 5th World Conference on Women 2015 in San Francisco.
m/s/c (Shorter/Prowda/Unanimous)
No public comment.

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 Laura Marshall
B. Resolution Recognizing Katie Albright for Child Abuse Prevention Month
C. Resolution Recognizing Captain Sylvia Harper, San Francisco Police Department
D. Resolution Recognizing Vicki Hennessey, Director of the Department of Emergency Management

Dr. Murase thanked former staff member Laura Marshall for all of her work at the Department. Ms. Murase explained that Ms. Marshall was instrumental to many of the projects and accomplishments by the Department during her tenure. Ms. Marshall thanked the Commission/Department for the opportunity to work on various projects. She was gratified to be able to see policy changes that will have a lasting and positive impact on enhancing the public safety of women and their children. Commissioners thanked Ms. Marshall for her work and support over the years.

Katie Albright, Executive Director of the Child Abuse Prevention Center, thanked the Commission for the acknowledgement. Ms. Albright thanked her colleague Kathy Baxter who was acknowledged by the Commission last year for her work with the Child Abuse Prevention Council. Ms. Albright explained she is committed to ensuring that the most vulnerable children are safe.

Dr. Murase explained that Captain Sylvia Harper has been instrumental in getting key policy reforms at the Police Department adopted. Ms. Harper thanked her colleagues for their continued support and partnership in making policy changes at the Police Department. Captain Harper shared appreciation to the Commission for the acknowledgement. Commissioner Soo thanked Captain Harper, who will be retiring from the Police Department, for her compassion and years of service.

Action: To approve the Consent Agenda.
m/s/c (Shorter/Soo/Unanimous).

V. NEW BUSINESS

A. Violence Against Women (VAW) Grant Allocations for FY11-14

1. Funding Committee Recommendations
The Department received 43 proposals requesting over $5M in funding. Six Review Panels reviewed the proposals and made recommendations to the Funding Committee which gathered all the feedback to create final recommendations that were presented to the Commission for approval. There were 2 funding scenarios:
• Funding Scenario A accounted for the first required reductions from the Mayor's Budget Office (excluding contingency cuts).
• Funding Scenario B reflected current funding levels.

Dr. Murase recommended that the Commission approve Funding Scenario A for $2,358,993. Should any additional funds become available, or funds restored during the budget process, those programs/agencies recommended for funding will receive additional funds in an across-the-board allocation. The Commission was asked to vote to approve the Funding Committee’s recommendations for the VAW Prevention and Intervention Grants Program for the next three-year cycle. Once the funding decisions were approved, contract negotiations and grant agreements were expected to be concluded for a July 1 start date for services.
Dr. Murase reported that the Commissioners and Department staff have been meeting with members of the Board of Supervisors and the Mayor’s Office staff to provide data demonstrating the effectiveness of the Violence Against Women Prevention & Intervention Grants Program. Commissioner Prowda, who sat on the Funding Committee, expressed how impressed she was with the Department and the review panels for their thorough and balanced evaluations of the submitted proposals.
2. Public Comment
Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Consortium, expressed how she was hopeful that the Partner Agencies would get the same amount of funding as this year, stating the importance of keeping the team of agencies funded because they form a strong collaboration that provides vital services.
Danny David, with Lavender Youth Recreation & Information Center, acknowledged the amazing network of services that the Commission has helped by funding the variety of Partner Agencies. Mr. David explained that for every $1 the Department provides, $3 is leveraged from other sources. Ms. David reported that, this year, 86 LBTQQ young women have gone through prevention and safety training.
Dr. Erica Faulk, with the Institute on Aging, thanked the Commission for funding vital services to older women. Dr. Faulk reported that 85% of dependent women will become a victim of a violent crime and that is why it is so important to keep funding these important services.
Amy Yu, with APA Support Services, acknowledged the Commission for its continued support and funding.
Heidi Li, with Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, thanked the Commission for its support and providing an array of services to the women of San Francisco.
Maria “Chivy” Hernandez, Program Coordinator with Mujeres Unidas y Activas, thanked the Commission for its continued support. MUA has been able to save and transform the lives of many women, girls and families.
Vanessa Flores, with the Asian Women’s Shelter, thanked the Commission for its continued support. Ms. Flores reported that some residents have found that AWS has been the 1st safe and loving home they ever experienced..
Montara Warren with Gum Moon Women’s Shelter, thanked the Commission for its support and expressed how thankful their clients are and how their lives have been changed for the better
Sally Al-Daher, Executive Director of the Arab Cultural and Community Center, explained that the Commission first funded her agency in 2002 and how many woman have been helped by their services. Ms. Al-Daher explained how funding from the Commission has helped the agency leverage funding from other resources.
Imelda Herrera, with the RAICES program explained that their program supports, educates, and mentors youth.
Emberly Cross, with the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic, thanked the Commission for its continued support to the women and girls of San Francisco.
Kathy Black, Executive Director of La Casa de las Madres, thanked the Department and Commission for their support and great work during the RFP process. In particular, Ms. Black thanked Grants Administrator Carol Sacco for her dedication and assistance.
Commissioner Shorter thanked the Partner Agencies and Community for their continued dedication to the work they do, stating that it is also important to thank each other because it is a community partnership that should be a model for other agencies. She concluded that while it was a difficult time when dealing with less funding, it was her hope that, in partnership with the Partner Agencies, we could work together to advocate for no cuts.
Action: To approve the funding allocation of the VAW Grants Program for the 3-year funding cycle FY11-14. m/s/c (Shorter/Prowda/Unanimous)
VI. PUBLIC COMMENT
None.

VII. ADJOURNMENT
Motion to adjourn the meeting in memory of all of the earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.
m/s/c (Shorter/Prowda/Unanimous)
The meeting adjourned at 6:30 pm





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