[laughter] >> absolutely, great. we are addressing two issues. on the one hand, there is an ever-increasing amount of waste that is generated. as the drift toward 9 billion people in 2014, we are generating waste in landfills, manufacturing waste, agricultural residue, etc. is there a wayon the other handa court feedstock with almost everything we use, whether it is plastics, detergents, obviously fuel. how can we address a sustainable source of oil? we have bridged the gap. we have developed an innovative technology. a two-step process that taste -- takes a variety of ways to carbon resources and converts them into oil through a biological process. we do it at a lower cost and

sustainably, and it has a benefit for not only industry but the planet. >> i will go get my checkbook. a round of applause for our panel. [applause] according to carl, we have five more minutes. so you get to clap again in five more minutes. [laughter] you have all talked a little bit about the culture here. how important is it that the environment here succeeds in continuing to draw people and draw talent and investment? the example we heard in your introduction was you went to school add mit. you came here to start your business. there is another guy on facebook who has said if he had it all to do over again, he would have stayed in boston. how important is that culture

and environment? >> it is critical. it is critical to have minds that have been educated, interdisciplinary people coming to the table, different perspectives, that energy and enthusiasm around thinking differently, and around paradigm shifts, around developing breakthrough technologies, and to be able to attract those people to this area is crucial. i think that that is something that has been a benefit of being here, that a lot of people are attracted to silicon valley. that is crucial to any company starting in taking their technology to the next level. >> can you talk about the incubator? >> yes. >> the qb3? >> yes, mission bay, everybody knows. uc san francisco has conduct encourage it with research. some of the larger companies that research labs in mission bay as well.

bayer and others. they are even innovating about their laboratories, because it is so expensive to build your own laboratory. so they are trying to bring some of these pharmaceutical answers to the market faster. they have an incredible spirit of innovation in those laboratories. and they are inviting other companies, not just from the bay area air even our country, they're inviting international. we had our first canadian incubator that was established just a couple months ago. they are excited to be kind of cross-referencing their research and ideas. >> why are they coming here? >> they are coming here because there is really ongoing levels of conversation and sharing of experiences that are part of, kind of, thinking outside of the box and thinking in different ways, turning things upside down, hacking your way through

some of these ideas and not being afraid. and trying to find applicability for them. that is the spirit of the valley, the spirit of san francisco. we have always been edgy when it comes to openness. we're taking advantage of that. we want to embrace different cultures to impact that as well. what people see here might be different from how they see it in india and some of the other countries that are emerging here, trying to apply it in ways which would have a great benefit, or just thinking very differently about it. i think the spirit of innovation is an attractive thing for talent. obviously, education is behind it as well. there's a lot of confidence about being able to risk in being a little more risk-taking. that is part of, kind of, my leadership. i did not apply to be the mayor of san francisco. i took that risk with a very good knowledge that -- sure, i may not be a supreme politician,

but i wanted to build a different relationships with people. we have done that. we have invited a lot more different kinds of talent to come in and use that free spirit in innovating. >> michael, last word. >> yes, knowledge gets created with the people who think about the problems. and what must be sustained here is that focus on getting feet into the problem. with understanding the problems comes the ideas. this is an idea-generating place. like no other. i spent three years living in beijing, and i watched what they are trying to do over there. fundamentally different. here, it is inherently and opened, bottom-up idea meritocracy. it is a good way for this place to be. >> i want to follow up on that. because there are so many other places in the world that want to

replicate what we have here. is that possible? >> what is the appropriate answer? anything is possible. i think there is a bunch of things that come together here. education is a big part of it. as much as we have talked about the challenges we have in educating our youth, it is still the case that education here is as much about the journey as about the end result. my personal belief is that as long as we keep that focus on the inquiry as opposed to the yes/no result, we will do fine. when you look at other parts in the world, my view is you can gauge how innovative a populace

you're going to generate by the way they educate their people. >> you know, i would say that he has a great point there. i think it in fights collaborative approaches to problem-solving as well -- it invites a calendar to the approaches to problem-solving. we are having a great conversation in san francisco about this shared economy, a collaborative thing. it began to me by car-sharing. i was a big fan of car-sharing and the electric vehicles to see if we could get less emissions. now we're looking at companies, including smaller innovative companies, looking at shared space and how to complement our environmental goals here with new economies that are merging out. i think that is challenging the way our tax structure has been and the way we look at certain industries, but inviting a collaborative spirit of new ideas that would create literally new jobs and new

economies. it is exciting. when you allow collaborative approaches to be focused on. >> i promised the last word on the panel. >> great. the one thing i will add to that is that, speaking to michael's point earlier, one thing you have here, a lot of people who have done it, that started companies. they succeeded, failed, succeeded. they had invested. they have done all of the things that we at start-ups are trying to do and are navigating through. having both those that are being educated coming up with the bright ideas and the desire to start something new in those who have done it, it creates a great a the system. >> now a round of applause for our panel. [applause] >> panelists, what an outstanding discussion on regional innovation. james, as always, it is a delight to partner with you. lisa said one thing we have here

is a lot of people who have done it. michael said ibm's first product was a cheese slicer. we do not make those anymore. we keep in a bidding. and mayor lee, start-ups at long-term views. they're not looking for instant gratification. the key is long-term innovation with networking. it makes this region unique, doesn't it? i hope you enjoyed this panel as much as i did. i want to shine the spotlight just another moment on lisa dyson. you heard a little bit about her background. i hope you will bing or google her, whatever your preferences, and learn more about our company. the silicon valley leadership group did a soft launch in january of something we call start-up silicon valley. it is for innovation economy, ceo's in this region to join at

the leadership group basically for free. because we want to capture in the them to the dna that david packard, our founder had, which was a balance of running, brilliance, dynamic companies while, at the same time, being deeply engaged in your communities and in the quality of life of your employees. that is the scale that we want to raise up in these incredibly innovative young entrepreneurs. we have about 20 of them here in the audience today. i want to just mention three of them and embarrass them. they do not know i am going to do this. all of these at this in common. they have less than 40 employees currently. their business has been around for less than four years. and, like me, they are younger than 40 years old. [laughter] why are you laughing? [laughter]

let me introduce the ceo of snoozie. stand. [applause] the ceo of good joe. [applause] and the ceo of sylvantex. [applause] a lot of these start-ups doing incredible innovation. some will succeed. others will not. these people, however, will succeed no matter what they do. and that is why we're so excited about this new initiative. we want you to mentor and get to know and meet them. with that, we're going to go ahead and thank this panel a final time with -- again, we do not whine in silicon valley, but we do enjoy fine wine -- w-i-n-

e. we have a wonderful pinot noir for each of our three panelists. >> thank you. [applause] >> welcome to "culturewire."

today we are at recology. they are celebrate 20 years of one of the most incredibly unique artist residency programs. we are here to learn more from one of the resident artists. welcome to the show, deborah. tell us how this program began 20 years ago. >> the program began 20 years ago. our founder was an environmentalist and an activist and an artist in the 1970's. she started these street sweeping campaigns in the city. she started with kids. they had an exhibition at city hall. city officials heard about her efforts and they invited her to this facility. we thought it would coincide with our efforts to get folks to recycle, it is a great educational tool. since then, we have had 95

professional artists come through. >> how has the program changed over the years? how has the program -- what can the public has an artist engage with? >> for the most part, we worked with metal and wood, what you would expect from a program like ours. over the years, we tried to include artists and all types of mediums. conceptual artists, at installation, photographers, videographers. >> that has really expanded the program out. it is becoming so dynamic right now with your vision of interesting artists in gauging here. why would an artist when to come here? >> mainly, access to the materials. we also give them a lot of support. when they start, it is an empty studio. they go out to the public area and -- we call it the big store. they go out shopping, take the

materials that, and get to work. it is kind of like a reprieve, so they can really focus on their body of work. >> when you are talking about recology, do you have the only sculpture garden at the top? >> it is based on work that was done many years ago in new york. it is the only kind of structured, artist program. weit is beautiful. a lot of the plants you see were pulled out of the garbage, and we use our compost to transplant them. the pathway is lined with rubble from the earthquake from the freeways we tour about 5000 people a year to our facility, adults and children. we talk about recycling and conservation.

they can meet the artists. >> fantastic. let's go meet some of your current artists. here we are with lauren. can you tell us how long have been here so far and what you're working on? >> we started our residency on june 1, so we came into the studio then and spent most of the first couple weeks just digging around in the trash. i am continuing my body of work, kind of making these hand- embroidered objects from our day-to-day life. >> can you describe some of the things you have been making here? this is amazing. >> i think i started a lot of my work about the qualities of light is in the weight. i have been thinking a lot about things floating through the air. it is also very windy down here. there is a piece of sheet music up there that i have embroidered third. there is a pamphlet about

hearing dea -- nearing death. this is a dead rabbit. this is what i am working on now. this is a greeting card that i found, making it embroidered. it is for a very special friend. >> while we were looking at this, i glanced down and this is amazing, and it is on top of a book, it is ridiculous and amazing. >> i am interested in the serendipity of these still life compositions. when he got to the garbage and to see the arrangement of objects that is completely spontaneous. it is probably one of the least thought of compositions. people are getting rid of this stuff. it holds no real value to them, because they're disposing of it. >> we're here in another recology studio with abel. what attracted you to apply for

this special program? >> who would not want to come to the dump? but is the first question. for me, being in a situation that you're not comfortable in has always been the best. >> what materials were you immediately attracted to when you started and so what was available here? >> there are a lot of books. that is one of the thing that hits me the most. books are good for understanding, language, and art in general. also being a graphic designer, going straight to the magazines and seeing all this printed material being discarded has also been part of my work. of course, always wood or any kind of plastic form or anything like that. >> job mr. some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. -- taught me through some of the pieces you have made while you have been here. >> the first thing that attracted me to this was the printed surface. it was actually a poster. it was a silk screen watercolor, about 8 feet long.

in terms of the flatwork, i work with a lot of cloddish. so being able to cut into it come at into it, removed parts, it is part of the process of negotiating the final form. >> how do you jump from the two dimensional work that you create to the three-dimensional? maybe going back from the 3f to 2d. >> everything is in the process of becoming. things are never said or settled. the sculptures are being made while i am doing the collages, and vice versa. it becomes a part of something else. there's always this figuring out of where things belong or where they could parapets something else. at the end goal is to possibly see one of these collage plans be built out and create a structure that reflects back

into the flat work. >> thank you so much for allowing "culturewire" to visit this amazing facility and to learn more about the artists in residence program. is there anything you like our viewers to know? >> we have art exhibitions every four months, and a win by the public to come out. everybody is welcome to come out. we have food. sometimes we have gains and bands. it is great time. from june to september, we accept applications from bay area artists. we encouraged artists from all mediums to apply. we want as many artists from the bay area out here so they can have the same experience. >> how many artists to do your host here? >> 6 artist a year, and we receive about 108 applications. very competitive. >> but everyone should be encouraged to apply. thank you again for hosting us. >> thank you for including us in "culturewire." ♪

çççç>> want to welcome you . of course, we have former mayor willie brown joining us. we have former supervisor sophie maxwell here as well. we have charlotte, a protocol officer. we have all the members of our board of supervisors, our current board. we have naomi's . harlon, kelly, the kids are here. naomi's mom is here bang today. thank you for being here as well. mrs. lee is here. [laughter] >> yeah. >> of all, today has been a very active day of the just wonderful announcements, of decisions being made that really reflected

the values of the city. i have another one that reflects the value of this city, someone that i have spent privileged to work with for so many years, one began her career as a special assistant, worked her way up as the purchaser, director of purchasing. before that, one of the most difficult task, kind of reminds me of my dpw day is, she had a difficult task of being the director of the taxicab administration. [laughter] so she has earned some strides there. going on to director of purchasing and becoming deputy city administrator. most recently, and acting city administrator. and now my nominee for city administrator for the next five years, naomi lelly. -- kellyl.

[cheers and applause] ayman >> to first and foremost to thank her family who have been part of her life. throughout this time, she even raised a family and keep harlon and kelly out of trouble. [laughter] but also, i want to especially thank the whole board of supervisors for just now voting unanimously to confirm her appointment. [ears and applause --years and applause] they have seen in her the leadership, integrity, putting forth that verse communities of san francisco first, all the time, making good decisions, working in our communities to lift up everybody and to find

those rays of hope. she has never been about herself. she has been about everybody else. whether it has been her family or helping several layers of, including me, adopt the right engine thct or keeping is very focused on what we need to do to make sure the city is administered well, she has been in there and she has done that. she is extremely qualified for this job. and she is one that i have interested for some time now to help me get out those jobs for people who are struggling, to find those business opportunities, people who did not have those opportunities, to focus on a community that had raised their voice to ask for help from this city for so many decades. she has been there. she has been there is part of the city family, but she has also been there as our own

advocate, advocating for people to be a part of the city in some anyways. and it has been difficult. it is the one we recognized during the month of february, black history month. it is appropriate at this time. and it is also appropriate that we recognize her appointment as part of a history of new appointments. because it is not lost on us that during the month that we celebrate black history, not only the history, but we celebrate soç much of opportuny that we haveçç in it the cityo join in with everybody else,çç african-american city administrator in the city. çççç[mççççcheersç çç]

÷-c8attorney for joining us as . çu!;ççit is the whole city ft recognizes the ra(ortance of this. ççso,çççç withoutç furthe mu$ey know naomiç get to work right away. çzççwe all [laug&ter] the businessçç done it for everybody. fos0theççç moment,yçççi]ç the requirement of being sworn inç before this is fulfilled,t it is one that i fully enjoy t(ççdoingçç in the presencer willie brown and people who have helped naomi in her first career, her family and friends. it is my privilege to swear in ms. naomi kelly. raise your right hand and repeat after me.

i --is a solemn lease where -- that i support and defend -- the constitution of the united states and the constitution that against allçw3ççfáçççç ea domestic -- u!çthat iççç wir trueçççççç faith and alleo the constitution of theççççd çççstates and the constitutif çççsthte ofç california -- t çççsthisçw3 obalifornia -- t or purpose of evasion -- and that i will well and faithfully discharge --q which i am about to enter -- s i hold the

office of -- ççóçççcity admi for theççç;ççóçç city andn ççç[cheers and applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, history in our city is being made again, welcome the new city administrator, naomi kelly. [applause] >> thank you. w3ççñrççthank you, mr. mayof supervisors, members of the community, colleagues, and friends. i am very pleased to deliver my first remarks as your new city administrator. [applause] t(çççççthis has beenççxd. earlier today,ç i am sure you heard t,

downxdç proposition 8,çç and affirming judgeççç walker's decisiní. [applause] in their ruling, the court started out that proposition 8 served no purpose and had no effect other than to lessen the status of gays and lesbians in çcalifornia. this really does not have come atç a battered time as we celebrate black history month çand the civil rights movement- i]and this cannot have come at a better time. as we celebrate meeting the first african-american city administrator in san francisco. [applause] as many of you know, i hold maya angelou's words to heart. members of the means rich tapestry, and all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value. special thanks to my husband. >> whoa. [laughter] [applause]