the vital work and contributions of women in our community through a women's history month program, and i would like to invite the commission president. do i see her? where are you? if i could invite you up to the podium. good to see you back. >> thank you. i feel it appropriate that we would be here when we are recognizing people of ireland because the president of ireland is a woman and her previous president was a woman, said it is appropriate that we are following that commendation. i'm grateful to be here today to recognize the women that each of you have chosen. today, we pause to celebrate women's history month and recognize women in our community who are working to improve the lives of all san franciscans. the national team for this is

"our history is our strength" -- the national team. we take a moment to recognize the rich and varied contributions of women into the rich culture of san francisco. i'm honored to be a part of such an important celebration and recognize the efforts of women in our city. congratulations to all men and women who continue working every day to inspire dreams and visions of our youth. thank you in advance for your support of our status of women and continuing to fight the issues and needs of women in san francisco. thank you. [applause] supervisor chiu: colleagues, what i would like to propose today is obviously, each of us will be making presentations to some of our amazing women leaders in the community. we usually start with different orders by which we do the introduction, and today, i would like to propose that we go in

reverse alphabetical order. what that would mean would be that we would start today with supervisor wiener, who often has to go last. supervisor. supervisor wiener: well, i'm -- i'm honored. [laughter] you get trained a certain way from childhood, and it is nice to do it in reverse. president chiu, colleagues, i am honored today to be able to recognize one of our great district 8 community leaders of our district a woman of the year, deborah neiman. dead -- deb, do you want to come on up? i will talk first. [laughter] see, she is tough.

she became a community activist in 1998 after leaving the private sector and deciding to dedicate herself to improving our community. her progression as a neighborhood activist and leader has been just tremendous. she became a passionate advocate for remodeling the library. she in typical fashion convinced the branch library improvement program to hire an architectural preservationists and really make sure that we respected the historic integrity of that beautiful building. she was elected president of the local neighborhood association in 2001. she then took on the mammoth task of moving nearly valley towards having a community benefit district. for those of you have community

benefit districts in your district, you will understand the importance of our cbd's de neighborhood improvement, pedestrian safety, to making our neighborhood as vibrant as possible. from -- under her dynamic leadership, residents and merchants came together to convince the property owners to raise their property taxes. she then stepped in to be the executive director of the association, which she has led for six years. through her leadership and tenacity and grit -- those are words that are frequently used to describe deb -- the association develop a long-term plan for 24th street, which was created by the community, by the merchants, by the residents, and continues to be the blueprint for the future of the neighborhood. under her leadership, the

association has received awards and grants for major improvements on the right of way on 24th street, ranging from planting to street trees to park lifts to all sorts of improvements to make 24 st. a more walkable and livable and shuffle -- shopable area. she was responsible for the crosswalk at 24th and caster, which is an innovative kind of crosswalk. very prominent and very visible and a model for other crosswalks in the city in terms of enhance pedestrian safety. it really was an example of her willingness and the association's willingness to be innovative and to try new things, even if they might be a little controversial. deb is never one to shy away

from controversy is that controversy is going to lead to improvement in the neighborhood. as we know in san francisco, very rarely do you improve anything without there being controversy. it is important to have readers who are not always just going to take the easy way out. deb has in a lot of ways been a mentor to me in terms of teaching me what it means to get things done in the neighborhood, and i'm just so proud to know you, to call you a friend and to honor you as the district a woman of the year. so congratulations. [applause] -- district 8 woman of the year. >> ok. all right. did i win the miss america contest here? [laughter]

all right. wow. [applause] thank you for this award and recognition of our accomplishments and the rest of my work to build community. democracy starts with a park bench. it starts with a flower basket, and it starts with the simple basic things that allow and encourage people to slow down and talk to each other on the street. i believe in democracy, and i really like people. it has been an honor and privilege to bring those interests to help the community in san francisco. we have done quite a lot. scott talked about the crosswalks at 24th street, but you can really see the relief in the faces of the elderly who no

longer have to raise their came to try to signify that they want to cross the street, or the new moms with strollers. when the cherry trees are in bloom, people's faces light up. during our street festivals, you can join people listening to all girl rock bands or watching live dancers. everyday, you see the joy in the faces of kids doing our work at the park with we just installed, but none of this would have been possible without the help of many people over the past six years. i like first to thank the property owners. yes, the property owners, his generosity and civic minded this made the cbd possible. was the property owners and merchants who voted to pay more taxes, even though some of them at first had doubts about what they would get in return. i want to thank you for your support and trust in this endeavor. i also want to thank everyone his leadership on the association board provided crucial guidance. their willingness to roll up

their sleeves allowed us to accomplish so much more than we otherwise could. thanks to scott wiener and his terrific staff. jillian is legendary in her greening engaging of community and knowledge of public policy. and although scott has only been in office three months, he walked 24 street and the neighborhood weekly for two years prior issue his election. his tenacity is legendary, and i'm grateful for his acknowledgment today. i also want to give a special thanks to lisa and the staff at oewd for their unflagging support for, which was no small feat. getting people to increase their taxes is very difficult, but oewd and lisa did a terrific job and continued to do so. too busy train us in the art of

street maintenance and place making to the community challenge grant program. we all know that ed and mohammad a great job, but i would like to give a shout out to carlos for helping us plan 135 new trees on tv will blocks, and to nick, who gives new meaning to public rights of way. and many other city department heads and staff, too many to name them all, who helped mobilize to make great things happen on 24th street. finally, to my husband and daughter, whose love and support kept me sane in the most difficult moments. my husband's advice and coaching ranging from fund raising to handling difficult political situations was invaluable. my daughter's patients with my evening meetings and other commitments made it all possible. i love what i do, and although it is said that in public life,

and you all know this very well, no good deed goes unpunished, i'm pleased to have had this opportunity to contribute to my community and work with many of you here today. thanks for this opportunity. i look forward to making our great city even better. [applause] supervisor chiu: our next lottery will be celebrated by our supervisor from district 1, eric mar. supervisor mar: 90. it is my honor to recognize a truly inspiring woman activist, parent, and community leader, leticia alcanzar. letty has been a tremendous activist, giving a lifelong contribution to social and

economic and environmental justice. not just in the richmond district, but throughout our country. i have known you for 20 years. i first met her in the early 1990's when we were both part of the emerging environmental justice movement. i was very active in the chinese progressive association, and she and others in the mission district and the south east neighborhood formed people organizing for environmental rights. letty was born in st. luke's hospital, the second child of mexican immigrant parents. she and her sister yolanda grow in the neighborhood of 14th and mission street, and later, the move to the excelsior district. she attended st. charles go in the mission, noted a high school, san francisco state university, and the university of san francisco law school. she co-founded and served as board president of people organizing for environmental groups, a grass-roots organization based in the mission district, in powering residents around a variety of

environmental and economic justice issues. their first campaign led to the successful implementation of the childhood lead poisoning information act in 1991. she represented low-income communities of color disproportionately affected by toxic waste and advocated on behalf of low-income communities in the areas of health and environmental justice. she has got a tremendous record in the nonprofit social justice field as well. she was a senior program officer. she developed and managed various funding initiatives that led to millions of grand dollars being channelled towards youth development and organizing an empowerment, environmental and economic and racial justice initiatives, especially in poor neighborhoods, including and developing and providing

funding. it is always a pleasure to see her in the neighborhood around 12th avenue, right near golden gate park with virgil, her partner, and retail we'll young sons. she is a tremendous person in the richmond district, but she represents so much more about empowerment and social justice, not just in our neighborhood, but throughout the country. it is my honor to choose letty for the district one woman of the month, thank you. [applause]

>> i want to first thank you, eric, and your staff or bestowing this honor upon me. as i thought about coming here today, i reflected on what motivated me to work towards social justice. i realized that at first, i was motivated by anger. a lot of injustice is in my community. as time went on, i learned that in order to have long-lasting change, i needed to be motivated by love. not the sap the kind of love we see in movies, but love with meaning. in the words of dr. martin luther king, how were without love is reckless and abusive, and love without power is sentimental and anemic. power at its best is love and lamenting the demands of justice. i want to thank my husband, virgil, and my sons, who love me

unconditionally every single day. and many thanks to my sister, yolanda, and to all my other sisters here who love encourage me to move towards this work, and lastly, to my parents who taught me all about love. thank you. [applause] supervisor chiu: now, continuing in alphabetical reverse order, i would like to acknowledge our supervisor from district 6, jane kim. supervisor kim: thank you. i'm also presenting on behalf of behalfmirka -- on behalf of supervisor mirkarimi, who could not be here today because he is

in washington, d.c. i will present his first. it is a brilliant honor to present this. she's worked as executive director of the women's community clinic since its inception in 1999. under her leadership, the clinic has focused on providing personalized service to women, by women they trust. the clinic relies heavily on volunteer clinicians and laypeople, which allow the clinic to provide free care and i should financial sustainability, and the costs are constantly rising. she is an outstanding leader because her ability to foster cultural ability, and helping young girls have a say in the clinic as well as give them time to explore their talent. a model mentor for young women, she constantly reminds them to

believe in themselves and their abilities. she has developed a successful western addition hauling young african-american woman from the neighborhood to build skills while increasing the amount out reach the clinic provides to western addition residence. she is a leader not only in the field of health care but also in the larger community. she served on the executive committee of women's health advisory committee, department of public health and currently serves on the executive committee of women's working groups on universal health care. she is a graduate of women's foundation, of california women's policy institute, but this leadership circles, and in 2007, she was voted down executive director of the year by young nun from professionals that work. she is a woman who has not only set a good example for many young women but also made in half of halfimpact -- impactful

changes in our community. it is my honor to introduce district 5's woman of the year. [applause] >> greetings, supervisors. thank you so much to a muchmi -- so much to supervisor mirkarim i for this honor appeared in my first years at the clinic, i served as a volunteer. the clinic is still a volunteer- driven organization to this day. we have over 100 women who bring health care to uninsured women and girls alongside 26 dedicated staff. these women are my heroes, and i accept this honor hand-in-hand with them. our over 5000 clients per year

rely on them to provide respectful quality care regardless of their ability to pay. i also accept this honor with our clients in mind. the single working moms, working students, the activists, restaurant workers, and all those who do not always received appreciation for their own daily heroism. this week, our clinic moves to its new location. this is one of the crowder moments of my career, not just because it is a new, improved location, but for the expansion of services that it will allow for. we move from 3000 square feet of space to 6000, and we will be offering more appointments as well as new services, including prenatal care and enhanced behavioral health services. i want to thank the board for your support over the years. i grew up in san francisco and a proud of what we do to provide care for those who need it most. i also want to ask for your

support of the clinic and its partners throughout this budget process because it would not be a supervisors' meeting without asking. we are growing our capacity and seeing a dramatic increase in need since the closure of golden gate community health care services. we are a vital access point now more than ever. thank you again for this incredible on appear in my commitment to women in need and accessible health care is unwavering, and this serves to inspire me in that endeavor. thank you. [applause] supervisor kim: i also have the

honor of recognizing this amazing woman in district 6, nella manuel. [applause] for over 10 years, she has been an active community volunteer, advocate, leader in the tenderloin neighborhood. she is a founding member of the tenderloin filipino community association, which began on july 27, 2010, and has been at the forefront of all of our organizing efforts to address issues confronting the filipino community, senior community in the tenderloin as well as affordable housing issues. she was recently elected as a tenderloin filipino association secretary and chairperson of health care and healthy food committees. she is a public housing resident as well as the garden coordinator at tenderloin people's garden, which many of you see on the corner of mcalester and walked in, which is bringing access to fresh and healthy food into our

neighborhood where we do not have a grocery store. she is also responsible for organizing and coordinating many volunteer efforts among tenderloin resident and as someone that many of us admire and respect because of dedication and the amount of hours that she puts in into the community. she has done an amazing job in maintaining the garden and also leading the monthly harvest days. she also volunteered and serves lunch every day for seniors and homeless at the senior center, a true community service and advocate for filipino american senior community as well as our affordable housing community. our office is honored to honor this amazing role model for young women and all members of our community today. thank you so much. [applause]

>> good afternoon to everyone. i humbly accept this award, and i would like to thank the lord above, my mom, my children, and my two grandchildren, and my boyfriend. thank you, also, to my favorite

and number one supervisor for her trust in me. i would like to share this award with my community, especially my very kindhearted boss at the department of the pmdc 10 neighborhood development corporation. -- tenderloin neighborhood development corporation. now, i have to call these people. these are my community people. and the vice-president of the pmca and my professor of the senior action networked.

and then, the greatest volunteer of the senior action network also. i invited them here. then, the secretary of the senior center advisory board. and my co-workers. and then, the staff of the tenderloin housing clinic. i share this award with them because if not for them, i would not have this.

they are the community workers. also, i thank the staff of this department, the status of women. i, you, and everybody -- it is the history and the strength. i have a garden. we started this garden about 2010, and this was granted by the city and county to the tenderloin neighborhood development corp., and i was just hired last november, 2010, and i did not know. being a senior, you know. i am already 62. i will be the coordinator. being a senior already, it is hard to be a gardener.

every day, i come here for to the wheel of hours. monday, when it is the first day, 10:00 to 12:00, and tuesday and thursday, 3:00 to 5:00. it is not a joke. but, you know, i find gold every day. i find people passing by. they always appreciate the garden. this makes my heart bigger, you know? every day. i see people admiring what i'm doing. they always tell me my garden -- they always say, "your garden is beautiful like you." that makes me stronger every day. every day, these people coming by, the poor, the homeless -- they always appreciate the garden.

i give them some of the greens. it is just like -- i tell them the recipe. and this gives them food for them. with this garden, i'm trying to tell everyone here in this room, it is on mcalester and lichen. you come by, everybody is welcome there. try to get in touch with me, and i will give you greens. [laughter] that is, salad. as long as it is there, i can give you. thank you so much, and good evening to everyone. [applause] [applause]