San Francisco Youth Commission
Executive Committee
Minutes
Wednesday, April 2, 2014
6:45-8:00 PM
City Hall, Room 345
1. Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Pl.
San Francisco, CA 94102

There will be public comment on each item.

Members: Michelle Kong, Joshua Cardenas, DeAsia Landrum, Angel VanStark, Nicholas Persky

1. Call to Order and Roll Call

The meeting was called to order at 6:59 p.m. Commissioners present: Kong, Cardenas, Landrum, Persky. Commissioner absent: VanStark. Staff present: Truong. There was quorum.

2. Approval of Agenda (Action Item)

There was no public comment. Commissioner Persky, seconded by Commissioner Cardenas moved to approve the agenda. The motion was approved by acclamation.

3. Approval of Minutes (Action Item)

A. March 12, 2014
(Document A)

There was no public comment. Commissioner Landrum, seconded by Commissioner Cardenas made a motion to approve the minutes. The motion was approved by acclamation.

4. Public Comment on Items not on Agenda (Discussion Only)

There were none.

5. Business (All Items to Follow Discussion and Possible Action)

B. Executive officer updates and committee reports

This item was called out of order as the presenters were not available yet. Each commissioners then provided a detailed report on what they’ve been working on. Commissioner Cardenas gave a thorough update on BOS legislation that he has been reviewing for the commission’s referral, and provided update on the CAHRO conference commissioners are planning. Commissioner Kong shared that she attended a 12N workgroup meeting with staff and stated it was not as productive as she would like it to be as she was the only youth in the meeting. However, she was excited about the youth survey they are planning for youth at meal nights at the LGBT center. Commissioner Kong also attended a meeting a meeting about the Schlage Factory in District 10 and was interested in learning more about it. Commissioner Persky shared that he and several commissioners had participated in Youth Advocacy Day on March 19th and that it was a very successful event. He also attended a Youth MOJO led workshop on City College of SF, and provided a presentation to USF Graduate students on the free MUNI for youth campaign.

There was no public comment.

A. Presentation on bSafe, mobile safety app and how to collaborate with youth
Presenters: Silje Vallestad and Niklas Jonsson, bSafe representatives

Joshua Zukerman, a former Youth Commissioner, now intern with the bSafe company came and introduced himself to commissioners. His colleagues at bSafe were not able to present to the commissioners, so he was presenting on their behalf. Mr. Zukerman then provided a general overview of bSafe, a mobile safety app. The app allows users to designate friends as their “guardians” who are then able to receive emergency messages of their specific location on a map and an audio recording of what is going on in their surroundings via an SOS button. These features along with others are meant to provide a safety mechanism for users.

Commissioners asked several questions about the use of the application. Commissioner Persky also asked how the commission would be able to help. Mr. Zukerman explained that the commission can choose to support in whatever ways they would like. He believes the application is a useful safety tool that would benefit youth in San Francisco. Commissioner Persky urged Mr. Zukerman to reach out to the Student Advisory Council as they are well connected to the school district, and have worked on anti-bullying issues in the past.

There was no public comment.

C. Overview of and begin preparation for YC Budget and Policy Priorities and Annual Report
Presenter: Staff and Commissioner Kong

Ms. Truong provided a detailed overview of the commission’s budget and policy priorities. In the past, there has been varying uses of the budget and policy priorities and the annual report. Now that the Youth Commission office is fully staffed and commissioners are doing more work than ever, staff would like to have a combined annual report and budget, policy priorities in one document. Ms. Truong also explained the timeline and work that goes into creating the document. Commissioners would have to be staying late in the office, and come in on the weekends if needed to work on various parts of the report. Committees would be working on prioritizing the issues they have worked on the most this term, and writing out status updates. Executive committee members have to be dedicated to help lead and facilitate the process, with the Vice Chair working closely with commissioners and staff to ensure that everyone is on track. The document is then presented to the Board of Supervisor’s Budget and Finance committee by committee chairs and some members of the Executive committee. Commissioners must be ready and prepared to answer questions, as well as represent their committee’s work. The annual report and budget and policy priorities document is the single most important document in a commissioner’s term. It shows the efficacy and the work of the commission. As unpaid commissioners, it is the single packet that the office can share with city departments, officials, schools, and the community to represent all of the long and hard hours each commissioner gave to the commission.

Commissioner Persky also provided a brief overview of what it was like to present before the board’s committee. Commissioners Landrum and Cardenas had several questions about the process of the document. Commissioners agreed to have a first and second reading and presentation of the document in May. This would allow the commission exactly one month to work on and finalize the document. Commissioners agreed to be dedicated and commit to coming in to work on the document.

There were no further questions, and no public comment.

D. Approve agenda for April 7, 2014 meeting

Commissioners reviewed the many requests and items for the upcoming meeting of April 7th, 2014. Commissioner Landrum shared that she would be working on a motion to sponsor a Civics Day event hosted by Generation Citizens, and would like that to be added to the agenda on Monday. After much discussion, commissioners agreed to the following items for the meeting of April 7th, 2014: legislation referred, a presentation by New ERA youth leaders campaign, a presentation by Glenn Eagleson on the Policy Priorities for Transitional Age Youth; a second reading on Commissioners Eric Wu and Michelle Kong’s resolution on recommended policies and priorities for the Children’s Fund; Commissioner Bae’s motion to sponsor Summer Learning Day 2014; a motion to support SFCIPP’s letter of support for DGO 7.0; and a motion to sponsor Generation Citizen’s Civics Day.

There was no public comment. Commissioner Landrum, seconded by Commissioner Cardenas, motioned to approve the agenda for April 7, 2014. The motion was approved by acclamation.

6. Staff Report (Discussion Only)

Ms. Truong provided the following updates and reminders: the Taking a Stand SF event was happening on Saturday, April 5th, 2014 from 4-9 p.m., there will be another MTA budget meeting on April 15th where youth commissioners and free muni for youth coalition members will come out to speak in support of making the program permanent; there will also be an outreach opportunity at the next Peer Resources youth leadership meeting on April 9th, at 5:45 p.m.; and the YC application will be out until the deadline of April 18th, 2014. Commissioner Landrum volunteered to attend the next Peer Resources meeting. Commissioners Persky and Cardenas confirmed their attendance to the next Police Commission meeting of April 9th. There were no further questions. There was no public comment.

7. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 8:33 p.m.