September 19, 2012

COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES
Wednesday, September 19, 2012
4:00 PM
City Hall, Room 421
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Street
San Francisco, CA 94102

Members Present Staff Present
President Julie Soo Executive Director Emily M. Murase, PhD
Vice President Nancy Kirshner- Media & Community Affairs Director Aimee Allison
Rodriguez Outreach and Development Manager Stacey Hoang
Commissioner Alicia Gamez Policy Director Ann Lehman
Commissioner Kay Gulbengay Grants Administrator Carol Sacco
Commissioner Andrea Shorter Commission Secretary Cynthia Vasquez
Department Fellow Nawz Zahir

Excused: Commissioner Becca Prowda

I. Welcome
President Julie Soo called the meeting to order at 4:10 pm. President Soo requested amending the agenda to have the Consent Agenda following the agenda approval.
Action: Approve amended agenda.
m/s/c (Gulbengay/Kirshner-Rodriguez/Unanimous)

II. 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.
Action: Approve consent agenda.
m/s/c (Kirshner-Rodriguez/Gamez/Unanimous)

A. Resolution Recognizing the Contributions of Deloitte on the Occassion of its Centennial
B. Resolution Recognizing Delia Ginorio in honor of Demestic Violence Awareness Month
C. Resolution Recognizing Commissioner Stephanie Simmons
D. Resolution Recognizing Wu Yee Children’s Services 35th Anniversary
E. Resolution Recognizing the 35th Anniversary of the Chicana Latina Foundation

Brian Maxwell with Deloitte expressed his appreciation on behalf of Deloitte for being recognized by the Department. Ms. Maxwell explained that it has been a great pleasure to partner with the Department on the Gender Equalities Principles Initiative and the great work that has been accomplished. Commissioners praised Deloitte and Mr. Maxwell and partners for their great work and support.

Dr. Emily Murase introduced Delia Ginorio and thanked her for her great work with the Sheriff’s Survivor Restoration Project. Dr. Murase expressed how great it was to see so many supporters from the Sheriff’s Office in attendance to support Ms. Ginorio. Ms. Ginorio recognized the Sheriff’s Department and staff for their support over the last 15 years since she joined the Department.

Acting Sheriff Vicky Hennessy praised Ms. Ginorio for her great work and expressed how impressed she has been with Ms. Ginorio. Sunny Schwartz expressed how thrilled she was to learn of the Commission recognizing the great work and efforts of Ms. Ginorio.

Commissioner Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez explained that she has had the pleasure of working with Ms. Ginorio and seeing firsthand how she supports other community agencies and specifically with working with the San Francisco Domestic Violence Consortium. Commissioner Kirshner-Rodriguez expressed how great it is to see so many women in leadership roles to improve the lives of others. Commissioner Kay Gulbengay expressed how impressed she is by the work of Ms. Ginorio and recommended looking at the program for other counties. Commissioner Andrea Shorter expressed her appreciation to Ms. Ginorio and the Sheriff’s Office for their great work and innovative thinking.

Dr. Murase introduced Julia Hall, Communications and Grant Writer for Wu Yee Children Services. Ms. Hall explained that Wu Yee began providing services in Chinatown over 35 years ago and annually serves 21,000 clients. Wu Yee continues to grow and now has 5 different locations. Ms. Hall accepted the resolution on behalf of the hard working staff and hopes to continue to partner with the Department/Commission. Ms. Hall recognized Dr. Murase as one of the agency’s long term supporters.

Commissioners expressed praise to Wu Yee for the great services the agency provides to families in San Francisco.

III. APPROVAL OF MINUTES
Action: Approve amended minutes from August 22, 2012.
Commissioner provided a number of edits to the minutes.

Action: Motion to approve amended minutes.
m/s/c (Shorter/Gamez/Unanimous)
No public comment.

IV. EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT

A. Executive Director's Report
Dr. Murase highlighted key parts of the Executive Director's report. Dr. Murase reported that the Department announced that Stephanie Block with Spark and a volunteer with the Department has joined the Friends of the Commission on the Status of Women Board. Ms. Block explained that she is a TechWomen Cultural Mentor this year, and introduced Lisa Sarian who is a professor of graphic design in Yemen. Ms. Sarian thanked the Commission for the warm welcome and expressed how exciting it is to learn about the many policy areas that the Commission/Department is working on.

Dr. Murase reported that Policy Director Ann Lehman continues to work with Kat Gordon, CEO of Maternal Instinct (a woman-focused marketing firm) to convene the next GEP Roundtable, “Genderize Your Marketing: What You Don’t Know Could Cost You,” within the program of the 3% Conference. Organized by Ms. Gordon, this conference will bring together, for the first time, female Creative Directors from across the country to discuss gender and marketing. The roundtable is scheduled for 2:30 – 4:30 pm on Thursday, September 27, at the One L, 344 Pine Street. Dr. Murase also announced that Ms. Lehman met with a representative of Deloitte to consider developing a marketing plan for the GEP on a pro bono basis.

Dr. Murase recognized Grants Administrator Carol Sacco for her continued work with the Healthy Mother’s Task Force.

Dr. Murase introduced Department Fellows Nawz Zahir, a recent graduate from Columbia University with a master’s in public health; Christine Lee, a third year law student at the University of San Francisco; and Lina Molova, a undergraduate intern from San Francisco State University.

Dr. Murase reminded Commissioners of the 5th Annual Cell Phone Drive for City departments and employees during the month of October in recognition of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, Again partnering with the Department of the Environment. When cell phones and accessories are in good working order, they may be refurbished and donated back to local non-profits and distributed to women escaping domestic violence.

Dr. Murase also reminded Commissioners of the start of San Francisco’s annual Heart of the City Combined Charities Campaign that runs through the month of October. The Heart of the City “Building Community Through Giving!” campaign will raise money for non-profit organizations working in our communities – from clean environments to domestic violence services to medical research to educational/scholarship opportunities. The goal this year is to have 100% staff and Commission participation.

Dr. Murase reminded everyone of the annual CEDAW Luncheon that will take place on Monday, September 17 at the Merchants Exchange Building in the Julia Morgan Ball Room at 11:30 am.

V. NEW BUSINESS
A. Department on the Status of Women Annual Report
Dr. Emily Murase provided an overview of the Annual Report. The Department has reached a turning point and is working on global issues, anti-violence issues, workplace issues, and CEDAW. Globally, we have worked and held monthly meeting collaborating efforts to hold a 5th United Nations World Conference on Women. We have met with the Mayor and State Department meetings, held UN workshops, and were successful in having the UN make a statement on the 5WCW.

Dr. Murase explained that, in the last 10 years, there has been a 80% decline in domestic violence homicides in San Francisco. The Department allocates approximately $3 million in Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention Grants services to Partner Agencies. This year, Agencies were awarded an additional $250,000 for programs.

In the workplace, the Department continues to work on the Gender Equality Principles Initiative (GEP), holding a variety of roundtable discussions, shortening the GEP assessment tool to be more user friendly, and convening GEP Advisory working group meetings. This year, the Department was awarded the International WorkLife Balance Award by the Italian government.

The Department continues to provide a gender analysis report of Commissions and Boards bi-annually and this year updated the Girls Report of San Francisco.

Dr. Murase reported that the Department continues to update our website and aims to have a stronger social media presence (Twitter and Facebook). We have now been in our new location for a year and have been able to expand the events hosted at the office with our larger office space. Moving forward, we have the following events scheduled:

• September 24: CEDAW Women’s Human Rights Awards Luncheon
• Month of October: Cell phone drive to benefit domestic violence survivors
• November 2: Commission Retreat
• January: Human Trafficking Awareness Poster Contest
• February: UN Commission on the Status of Women
• March: Women’s History Month Celebration, City Hall

Commissioners recognized the Department staff for the large amount of work accomplished with limited resources. Commissioners requested having the Annual Report disseminated among all City Departments and Community Partners to recognize the great work being done. Commissioners further suggested having it disseminated to all of our local representative as much of our work can be used as a blue print for others to reference.

Policy Director Ann Lehman reported that she made a presentation to the Alameda Commission on the Status of Women on the GEP as that Commission is considering doing a GEP initiative.

Commissioner Shorter stated that the Department should look for grants to supporting the technical assistance we are providing to other cities and counties on our great work.

VI. Reports
Commissioners reported on activities related to the work of the Commission.

A. Justice & Courage
Dr. Murase reported that the next meeting of the Justice and Courage Oversight Panel will be held on November 7 at City Hall in Room 408 at 9 am.

B. Family Violence Council
Dr. Murase reported that they Family Violence Council will meet on November 28 where the Council is slated to adopt the 2011 Family Violence Council Report.

Beverly Upton, Executive Director of the Domestic Violence Consortium, explained that working on the Family Violence Council Report was a great opportunity for agencies to provide feedback and input.

C. Health & Safety
President Julie Soo reported that she plans to attend the next Healthy San Francisco meeting slated for October 19. Ms. Soo recognized Grants Administrator Carol Sacco for her continued work and support with the Healthy Mother’s Taskforce which is reviewing the existing laws and employer policies around leaves and lactation accommodations for working mothers with infants.

Commissioner Soo is also looking into safety on public transportation, since we are City that highly promotes our public transportation services.

Commissioner Soo also expressed her concern about tracking arrest data by race. It would be great to work with the Police Department to get more accurate data.

D. Gender Equality Principles Initiative
Brian Maxwell of Deloitte and the GEP Advisory Board reported that the Board will be holding a strategy session in August to review the assessment tool to make it more user friendly. Deloitte has taken the assessment.

E. Association of California Commissions for Women
Commissioner Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez reported that the National Association for Commissions for Women will be holding its 2013 conference in San Jose and is looking to partner with the San Francisco Commission during the planning process. Conference Organizers hope to hold a session of the conference here in San Francisco.

F. Violence Against Women Prevention and Intervention Programs
Grants Administrator Carol Sacco reported that contract amendments are in place and are good for the next year. An additional 10% was awarded across the board to reflect increases by the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors.

G. 5th World Conference on Women
Commissioner Nancy Kirshner-Rodriguez reported that the Steering Group continues to meet and some members will be traveling to New York in the next few weeks to meet with advocates and stakeholders.

The Women’s Intercultural Network is in the process of approving a public position on the 5WCW.

VII. PUBLIC COMMENT
Clarisa Sanchez of Catholic Charities expressed her concern with the reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA), a grave concern shared by agencies who provide legal services including U-Visas, since changes to this law may change the ability for U-Visa recipients to adjust their immigration status. Since the bills have yet to be consolidated, there is time to advocate for the positive proposed changes and against the negative ones.

Ms. Sanchez explained that the House and Senate have passed differing versions of VAWA and have not yet worked through the differences between the bills in order to move the legislation forward. Specifically, regarding the U-Visa, the House passed version H.R. 4970 which contains immigration provisions that would rollback current protections for U-Visa applicants. A U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops summary of H.R. 4970’s immigration provisions is available. The Senate passed version contains several positive provisions and also contains changes that would make a third drunk driving offense an aggravated felony. It should be noted that the underlying law for the U-Visa program is NOT expiring. The VAWA Reauthorization Act affects funding for VAWA-related programs. However, some legislators have used this as an attempt to change the underlying law governing the U-Visa program itself. If the VAWA Reauthorization Act were to not pass, the U-Visa process would still be in place. Ms. Sanchez hopes to work closely with the Commission to advocate for the reauthorization without negative provisions.

VIII. ADJOURNMENT
Meeting was adjourned in memory of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens at 5:55 pm.
m/s/c (Soo/Gulbengay/Unanimous)
No public comment.

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