>> ok. good afternoon. welcome to our special rules committee meeting for march 29, 2012. today, we're joined by supervisor farrell and supervisor weiner. we want to recognize the staff at sfgtv. >> please make sure to silence all cell phones and electronic

devices. items will appear on the april 8 board of supervisors agenda. item #one -- hearing to consider appointing four members, terms ending february 19, 2013 and february 19, 2014, to the workforce investment community advisory committee. >> thank you. we did contact all the applicants to date and i believe they are all here. i want to call you up in the order you are listed on the agenda. if you could just speak briefly as to your experience and why he would lead to serve on this committee, and take a few minutes to do that. first, we have dion-jay brookter. >> good afternoon, supervisors.

i wanted to take the stand today to introduce myself. my name as dion-jay brookter, born and raised in fresno, california. from grammar school to high school, i distinguish myself academically and athletically. eventually, this dedication paid off in 2001 when i earned a full athletic scholarship to play football in utah. while attending the utah state university, i distinguish myself on the field, in the classroom, and within the community. upon commencing from utah state university, my interest was sparked in joining corporate america. i worked for major corporations,

world savings, which is now wells fargo. i realized my true calling for service of others, leaving the corporate world behind, in 2007. it was one of my many off-campus experiences. i served as a hurricane katrina a volunteer. returning to fresno, the career development institute gave me my first nonprofit opportunity. assisting the previously incarcerated population with a reentry back into our communities. while working full-time, i pursued obtaining my master's degree in business administration in order to better serve and understand the needs of the employers. in 2009, i received a phone call from one of my mentors. he spoke about a city full diversity and a city with communities in need.

i had a decision to make. leaving behind my position as a workshop facilitator in a city -- are relocated to northern california. i currently hold the position as director of operations in the southeast sector of san francisco. i currently of receipt seven programs and a staff of 30. it is hard to serve dislocated workers and at risk use, but we have been able to participate 51% of our participants. it has helped me make this possible. as you can see, i've worked in a variety of roles and positions in the non-profit and corporate arenas. i have a well-rounded and the understanding of the market place.

i have worked with and for nonprofits, small-business is, and charter schools. i've also worked with and for large fortune 500 corporations. it would be my honor to serve on the advisory committee, alongside my colleagues. thank you for your time. supervisor kim: thank you. thank you for applying. i'd just wanted to ask you, i noticed your position is director of operation any managed the ongoing seven nonprofit. >> absolutely. supervisor kim: you don't actually provide direct training, it so if you could speak as to why you think he would be a good adviser on our work force investment group. >> i do not involved in the actual day-to-day training, i am

the one on the back and that puts together the entire program. sitting down with a participant, sitting with their needs are, looking out our curriculum, i've been able to instill in my staff that these are the needs of the participants. this is how we run the program. they are able to go forth and kind of employment that. i definitely think that shows my leadership skills. and also the empowerment that i give my staff as well as the rest of my colleagues when taking on projects. supervisor kim: have you ever resided in san francisco? >> i have not. supervisor kim: are there any other questions? supervisor wiener: we frequently have multiple good candidates than we have positions. this issue comes up a lot in terms of requiring a residency waiver. if you have a good san francisco

residence, the question of why it should go to a non resident, most of us are pretty flexible. there are times when it is appropriate. can you speak to that a little bit in terms of why you think not living in san francisco you would merit a seat more than someone who lives here? >> when i look at my colleagues, i knew they are all well qualified. when i came to san francisco, my lens was a little bit different. i was an outsider looking at an amazing city. that was one of the questions when i came to san francisco. would in my background, especially with schooling, it allows me to listen. i do not -- i have listened to the participants, the community, i am able to do that with no judgment outside of

wanting to develop and design and help make the best work force system here in the city. i would love to move to san francisco eventually. when i moved to the bay area, i was not able to afford it. i think that is why i would be well qualified. supervisor kim: i would like to call up liz jackson-simpson. after liz, matthew poland. >> good afternoon. thank you for this opportunity. -liz jackson-simpson and i am the -- my name is liz jackson- simpson. i has been in the social justice field for over 30 years. i have been blessed to lead a

number of citywide national initiatives to support use development and workforce activities. -- youth development and workforce activities. those are some handouts for a number of initiatives i have been able to serve. many of them exist today. one of those initiatives is what is called jobs for youth. it was a large city-wide private sector-public sector initiative that helped place over 1500 young people in private-sector employment opportunities and courted over 60 community-based organizations. city college, private industry council, and the top 30 corporations in the city all contributed to it.

it was a private sector funded initiatives. today, it is known as match bridge. it has won national acclaim. it led to the next initiative, the youth opportunity grant. this initiative was led by the department of labour. got to infuse -- thought to infuse resources into amenities. there is a flyer there for some of bart outreach materials. it served over 5000 people in all of those communities that lived in disenfranchised communities. we were successful in placing

young people into training programs, supported a number of community-based organizations, placed young people into college and into work force efforts. i have also then the director of the community programs division for the san francisco juvenile probation department. it provided more than just supervision services. i extended my portfolio to provide this sort of justice types of programming to support young people in the wake of employment, education, family support services. i held that position for over six years. i went to work for the ymca of san francisco for a number of years. i manage the urban services. we provided social services.

today, i serve as the executive director of the youth guidance committee. we serve as the intermediary for the juvenile justice system in placing young people in work force. we have four pretty stable staple programs. we have a school, the early morning studies academy. we provide services to young people in detention and in communities. we serve 150 young people engaged in the juvenile justice system, a foster care system, and have been marginalized from the education system. we graduate 80% of all of our constituents. 100% of our young people are enrolled in a community college upon graduation. the new directions employment program serves about 200 young people a year. we place young people in the advanced training, subsidized

employment, a private-sector employment. a candidate for the administration of dpws. we play 65% of our young people. all of those are engaged in the juvenile justice system. we also have a scholarship program with emphasis on state universities and running number of after school programs. some of the alternative schools. i said that because we are very familiar with how to work. i have a very talented staff that is multi-cultural and small darling will. we are familiar with working with individuals who have been ostracized, never worked, and present multiple barriers to employment. and so, lastly, i have been an architect for the summer youth employment program. it places thousands of young

people from various communities with multiple barriers to employment. i believe that experience can be an asset as well to support what it takes to prepare a disenfranchised individuals who work multi barriered. i have had experience with the private sector. supervisor kim: thank you. if i could asking a question. i think it is important to have someone who can speak to youth employment on this committee. one of our areas we have been active in is working with tech companies that are moving into district 6. one interesting how this to employ young people in the summer. do you have any thoughts around how to build those partnerships?

>> there are various ways we can engage young people into employment. i am sure they have a number of entry-level positions that they either vend out, or vendors they work with, or office assistant positions that many of our young people can qualify for. by demonstrating to them the depth of [no audio] there are a number of tax credits. there are many tools out there that we can possibly use. supervisor kim: are there any other questions? thank you so much. matthew poland, and then we have winnie yu. >> my name is matthew poland.

i am thankful to be the current director of match bridge, which is now a program of united way of the bay area and serves young people 16 to 24 in work based learning opportunities such as jobs and internships. i would like to share with you some of the reasons i think i would make a positive addition to the committee. i have over nine years of experience providing employment and workforce development services to youth and adults with disabilities and other barriers to employment. my experience includes both program management and program design. i helped create a program for people with epilepsy and traumatic brain injuries. eight of the nine years of my work force experience has been with working with people with disabilities trade currently, i help with the strategic planning

process for growing the program and we will be growing outside of the city and serving more usyouth in the future. it is a group of nonprofit agencies, government agencies, that meet monthly to share best practices, to network, to benefit from a professional -- to a network. we did that in 2009. i love the membership in outreach and grew the group from seven or eight to about 19 member agencies and 30 or 40 different representatives from the agencies. as part of the coalition, i was the organizer for industries in 2009. the workforce development summit, which was here in san francisco, in 2010. those conferences brought

together nonprofit, government, business for a day of networking, professional development around a work force related and employment related issues. initiatives i am interested in, and this was mentioned a few minutes ago, it is summer youth employment. right now, we are planning a very large summer program, in gauging the private sector and leveraging the private sector relationships. united way had hosted community conversation for the white house council on communities solutions. we are still a lot of business leaders to step up and higher youth for the summer. we are really excited about that. i love to work with other members on the committee of making that a more successful program. another thing i feel i bring to the committee is my experience in working with people for -- but disabilities.

understanding the nameeeds. the kind of accommodations they need. i feel like i can bring that to the table. i currently am enrolled in the master of public administration program at san francisco state university. for my experience, i am highly interested any cross-section of workforce development. i plan to further my education and my career in that direction. i believe it would be a great way for me to leverage that experience. to be able to advocate for the community on and workforce issues. i would appreciate your consideration. supervisor kim: our office is already working with united way. thank you very much. next we have winnie yu. if you are up next, if you could come up to the front, that would be helpful. >> good afternoon.

thank you for the opportunity to present and introduce myself and my interest in serving on the workforce investment community advisory committee. i was born in china and at the age of seven, emigrated to the states. i am the first person in my family to go to college. in 2004, i received a degree from the university of california berkeley. in 2007, i was awarded a scholarship to attend leadership california. it is a professional leadership development program with exposure to the sectors, demographics, and the employers of california. in 2011, i was selected by the office of economic and workforce development to participate in the work force leaders learning group to explore the gaps, according challenges, best practices, and solutions for workforce programs.

i have long been an advocate. at age 18, i was the youngest member of the board of directors of the women's foundation in san francisco. as an advocate for public education, i was invited to speak on an educational panel the marist summit for women. after graduating from berkeley, i continue my work with marginalized populations. as a community advocate, i worked with the attorneys on issues that affect the community. i am currently the manager of the one-stop career center in san francisco chinatown and oversee and manage a team of seven full-time staff. one stock is a comprehensive and integrated workforce development center, operated by to debut of nonprofit organizations. -- two nonprofit organizations.

both agencies have more than 45 years of combined experience serving job-seekers and people with multiple barriers to obtaining economic sufficiency. we have those organizations with many training programs. it allows us to assess the needs of residents of san francisco and provide services to mitigate those needs with the goal of economic self-sufficiency for residents of san francisco. i am plunge in english and three dialects of chinese. -- i am fluent in english and three dialects of chinese. i believe that my experience operating the one-stop center allows me to provide a voice for immigrants and other job- seekers who have multiple barriers to employment to be

able to fully integrate. supervisor kim: what would be one of your priorities in serving an advisory capacity? >> the priority is to reflect on the debut of years i have been involved in the workforce -- in the two years i've been involved in the workforce system. to love expedite and better -- to help expedite and better match job-seekers to opportunities for earning income or internships with employers. i think we are matchmakers, so i think the closer been able to connect those opportunities to job-seekers would be my priority. supervisor kim: i see no further questions. >> thank you for your time. supervisor kim: doug parrish and then erris edgerly. >> good afternoon, supervisors. thank you for this opportunity.

i wanted to let you know a little bit about the values that can bring to this organization. currently, the president and ceo of an alternative energy company. we provide -- we have a three- prong approach. solar panel installation, a solar panel installation training, and future plans to manufacture solar panels. i am also a member of the m3 organization. the mission of the movement is to help create a healthier and safer community by providing guidance and support to the previously incarcerated and others who are looking to improve their lives. i attended the university of california. i have previous experience of

starting small businesses. i am the president -- of a company that focuses on reducing carbon footprints and educating on the youth on what they can do to reduce their carbon footprints. there are thousands of young men and women who are coming home soon. the majority of them are african-american. our aim is to provide programs to support them, to have been in place prior to them stepping out. we are a solar panel installation training organization. we recently graduated several individuals, 11, and i am proud to say that two of them were released from the system and graduated from our program. we feel like this type of

programming will provide them with a job, the skill sets that lead directly into a job. i think that without programs such as solar installations and other alternative energy programs out there, it is going to be a situation where they will be back in the same scenario. in terms of creating jobs, we are looking at a program to employ the use -- youth to green the churches. we will collaborate with the faith based organizations to focus in on putting solar panels up there, teaching them how to install, and giving them this bill sets to make that happen. -- skill sets to make that happen. the goal is to link brothers and

sisters coming out of the system with the job training skills. we have several former community leaders and that organization that i will consult with to provide ideas from the community. i am very passionate about this organization because i have had family members to have been incarcerated. there are programs that are needed, particularly surrounding family counseling and we need economic opportunity, and a lack of jobs is leading to crime. i feel like my business acumen and my grassroots experience has resonated with the young adults. coming from a sports background for six years will give me the platform to break through with fresh ideas. some of the programs that we have in the mentor of movement,

we have programs that is led by community -- we have committed to programs. the community-based organizations. the lead with paradise baptist church, and it goes on and on. supervisor kim: thank you so much. what team did you used to play for? >> new york jets. supervisor kim: hopefully, there'll be no bias on the committee because of that. you mentioned a lot of different populations. what do you feel like is your area of expertise? what would be your priority as an advisor? >> it would be to focus in on the programs. a lot of the people getting out

are going to be acting loss. if we do not have some employment opportunities, they will be back in the same situation. supervisor kim: thank you very much. erris edgerly and the monique allen. >> my name it is erris edgerly. i represent a different population. i do do some youth work, but i worked the unemployed grown folks, 25 and up. we have to understand that we do have a population that is reentering and we have a population that has already reentered and is still unemployed. one of the things i bring to the board, i do currently have an outreach contract