COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES 

Wednesday, March 23, 2022 

5:00 pm 

Members Present: 

President Breanna Zwart.                                     

Commissioner Sophia Andary                              Commissioner Sharon Chung 

Commissioner Daisy Prado                                  Commissioner Raveena Rihal  

 

1. CALL TO ORDER  

President Zwart called the meeting to order at 5:06pm. President Zwart reviewed the ground rules. Ms. Battung conducted Roll Call and read the Ramaytush Ohlone Land Acknowledge. Vice President Shakooh Miry and Commissioner Dr. Anne Moses were excused from this meeting.   

2. FINDINGS TO ALLOW TELECONFERENCED MEETINGS UNDER CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54953(e).      
    
   Motion to adopt in-person meetings with members to participate remotely.  

No Commissioner Comment.  

No public comment  

(Roll Call Vote) Andary/ Chung,  5 ayes, 0 nays – Unanimous 

3. AGENDA CHANGES              
    
   No changes to the agenda.  

No public comment.  

Motion to approve meeting agenda:  

(Roll Call Vote) Prado/ Rihal,  5 ayes, 0 nays – Unanimous 

4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES FOR FEBRUARY 23, 2022 MEETING  

No changes to the minutes. 

No public comment. 

Motion to approve minutes for February 23, 2022 meeting:  

(Roll Call Vote)  Andary/ Chung  5 ayes, 0 nays – Unanimous 

5. DIRECTOR’S REPORT     
    
   Dir. Ellis discussed the highlights from the report including: 

• Department selected by CA COSW for Women’s Recovery response grant program - selected out 623 applications, 62 million programs, spoke at Equal Pay Day to support guaranteed income program to Native American Survivors of DV, Single pregnant, justice involved homeless women. 

• The Department is launching Campaign to Political Empowerment and Civic Engagement  

• Welcome to Daisy Prado, Program Manager for Health & Safety. Prior – public safety officer from planned parenthood.  

• The Department is finalizing allocation of the add-back dollars, grantees will be informed by early April.  

• Department stands in solidary against Anti-Asian hate after the recent Atlanta shooting.  

No public comment.  

Andary: Excited about CA COSW grants and going to income programs, glad it is going to our native communities and pregnant homeless woman. Congratulating Daisy Prado for her new job, sad she is leaving the commission but excited for her new role. 

Zwart: Huge congratulations to the entire staff and amazing news on the grant. Echos commissioner Andary comments on Daisy Prado and is looking forward to our continued work.  

6. NEW BUSINESS  

1. Presentation on the 2021 Gender Analysis Report  
    
   Director Ellis Reported: 
    
   - The gender Analysis Report is done every odd year and will be published in the next couple weeks. High-level overview of the data and info from the survey: Representation of Women, POC, LGBTQIA+, Veterans, Religious affiliation  
   - Intended to guide the Mayor, BOS, and other appointed officers as they select members of these policy bodies 

-  97 policy bodies responded 
-  Key findings from the data include representation of women, POC, trending upwards compared to the 2019 study 
-  Mayoral appointments more diverse by gender and race than supervisorial appointments 
-  Black men – 68% more than the SF population 
-  1 in 4 identify LGBTQ+ 
-  Key findings chart shows at or close to parity with respect to WOC 
-  Above parity with respect with Women, Veterans, LGBTQ+ Commission with largest budgets – above parity 
-  Underrepresented – Asian community, Latinx, Women, WOC, and POC in commission with large budgets 
-  Data collection performed virtually, collected volunteer basis, data presented in aggregate format for anonymity 
-  Recommendation: implement citywide training on gender analysis data collection to maximize participation   
 
No public comment. 
 
Commissioner Comments: 
 
Prado: Help encourage WOC/POC to be a part of these tables, initiative from the City to help fill these seats. Looking at different ways and lower barriers for more participation from these groups  
 
Andary: Is age a factor and is anything done broader level e.g age, socioeconomic status? 
Do we know what districts commissioners come from? Good job connecting with community members on who should sit at these tables so thanks to the mayor’s office for that. 
 
Rihal: How long have they been in those positions, looking at term limits? 
 
Chung: Thank you for the report.  

2. Competitive Solicitation Requirement Waiver Requests 

 
Dept seeks commission approval for a grant waiver to engage with Ignite and She the People on developing Department’s Political Empowerment & Civic Engagement program.  
 
IGNITE: 
 
Org dedicated to recruiting, training and empowering on the next generation of women leaders with a focus of women of color.  
 
Department would like to focus of the political empowerment of young women especially those who are voting for the first time. Data on high schools and partnering with ignite, youth focused organizations on the importance of voting and civic engagement  
Ignite the Vote – registration, turn out to vote  
 
Motion to approve Ignite Resolution:  
 
(Roll Call Vote)  Andary/Chung  5 ayes, 0 nays – Unanimous 
 
No Public Comment. 
 
Commissioner Comments:  
 
Andary : Love ignite, thank you for picking them for a grant! 
Chung : Ignite is an incredible organization, love the focus on high school and would love to be involved.  
 
SHE THE PEOPLE: 
 
Org will ensure women are knowledge of and engaged in what goes on in City civic life. 
 
We want to make sure women and women of color are actively engaging in the civic process. Changing the narrative on the critical role that women play in elections. Interesting in working with She The People to do voter engagement and tell stories about WOC leaders who have blazed the trail, creates a narrative especially WOC into the conversation. 
 
Motion to approve She the People Resolution:  
 
(Roll Call Vote)  Rihal/Andary  5 ayes, 0 nays – Unanimous 
 
No public comment. 
 
Commissioner Comments: 
 
Andary: Met Aimee Allison from the beginning through the Women’s March, best feeling attending the conference, applaud Dir. Ellis and the Department for choosing them.  
 
Rihal: Excited modern approach for outreach, suggest they profile Dir. Ellis and 
Meet them where they at in terms of outreach. 
 

7. GENERAL PUBLIC COMMENT  
    
   Emberly Cross - Success story : 2021 – 3 separate requests for restraining orders, unsuccessful, 2022 – helped to appear virtually, the judge granted her restraining orders for 5 years and sole custody of children. Thank you for your support. 
    
   Mary Martinez- Women Inc: survivors of DV throughout the Bay and country. Crisis line program and Latinx program – numbers from the first 2 quarters 5700 folks, 92%, 121 survivors in counseling and support groups – thank you to the dept and commissioners for your continued support. 
    
   Bev Upton – DV Consortium: historic Women’s History Month, support from this department, and after 2 years shelters are still open, crisis lines are still available. Thank you. 
    

8. ADJOURNMENT 
                
   Motion to adjourn: 

(Roll Call Vote)  Prado/Chung 5 ayes, 0 nays – Unanimous   

Meeting adjourned at 6:24pm