was at the [speaker not understood] human rights commission where he monitored and evaluated compliance with protecting the public interest in equality to [speaker not understood] the city government [speaker not understood]. he began his school year at paralegal services of california where he he provided free legal services for low-income clients. thank you for your outstanding services and dedicated leadership in helping the small local-owned business. and my name is supida. [speaker not understood]. [laughter] (applause) >> first of all, we want to make sure the cameras are rolling because we need all the good publicity. [laughter] >> that we can get. so, we want to get this on

facebook, instagram, everything that can get, a youtube, we want to get this video rolling right away so we can use all the good publicity that we can get. so, keep that rolling. [laughter] >> anyway, so, i'm very happy to be here, very honored to be here. some of you know my work at the city. some of you are meeting me the first time. we're really honored to be here to get the recognition. we have a lot going on at bart so i'd love to talk to you guys afterwards about it. but we have a lot of different programs. as mentioned we have a nondiscrimination program, our dbe program, small business program, micro small business program, we have our small business entity program. we have a lot. everybody is welcome to contract on bart construction and professional services contracts. we have a lot of support in our office for what we do, and you'll hear about some of that in the future as well. so, just really happy to be here. i've been at bart about a year

and a half. and we had a paradigm shift. that includes having women and minority businesses included on the contracts. so i just look forward to working with all you guys. happy to be here. started my career at the city so really a fortunate [speaker not understood] to yell at me. [laughter] >> curse at -- cut the camera for that part. >> that's because his jokes are not funny. >> yeah, right. [laughter] >> but it made me a stronger person obviously, so, here i am now. again, just very honored to be here. looking forward to working with you guys. bart counsel four county soon to be five county. a lot of work going on in construction and professional services. so, i look forward to working with you guys and networking with you guys in the future. thanks. (applause)

>> hi, there. i'm victoria sanchez of yaza communications and we wish to express our gratitude for marta yanas. is marta here? (applause) >> for her continued support for small local women business. thank you. and marta, thank you for your support, education and training with the business development program and encouraging the cmp. thank you. (applause) >> thank you. i wasn't expecting to speak. i'm surprised to see this, some of the other folk here in the office. i think that when we got the call about this program, our director was [speaker not

understood] the opportunity. while we are not necessarily a contracting department because we have a very small discretionary budget, we were invited to participate as a resource for women that would participate in the program. and, so, you can always feel free to come back to our office, call us any time with any questions of multiple city program you need to be aware of as you continue to develop [speaker not understood]. so, thank you so much to maria and the rest of her team. for allowing us to participate in this program. thank you. (applause) >> patty? >> hello, i'm patty jo rutland with patty jo rutland consulting. i first want to say thank you to zula for allowing me to be part of the cmd program. it has been very, very helpful.

and what i think is key to success is information. and rene martin with the port of san francisco has been part of that success for so many people as the public relations and community outreach. she gives us the information we he need to be successful and i'm so pleased to be able to present her with an award. thank you, rene. (applause) >> [speaker not understood] for her support, education and training to the business development program and encoloneling us as cmd certified firms. thank you. (applause) >> thank you, patty jo.

wow, what an honor. i am so very pleased to receive this award. prestigious award, i should say, from my peers. and as they say, it takes a village. the port is one of the smaller departments throughout the city, but we really make an effort to outreach to lbes, minorities, and small -- the small business community. i want to say that -- i'm just deeply honored to receive this and i want to say that i have two very strong women that inspire me and encourage me in my job, and it makes it easy on my part because they set the tone for how we communicate and how we reach out to the lbes and the minority community. that would be monique moyer who

is our port director. she's been at the helm for ten years. and monique is always encouraging us to do our best to not only meet our goals, lbe goals, but also to exceed them. the other person is our port commissioner, kimberly brandon, whom you'll problem hear more about later today. kimberly has been on the port commission 16 years. day in and day out, she encourages all to work with the local community to make sure that we are up lifting and bringing people along, especially the smaller businesses in san francisco ~. so, these women are already here and they set the tone for how we do business at the he port. and i am dedicated along with all of my colleagues ~ to ensure that we do a good job in whatever opportunities we have available, we are doing that kind of outreach. and i said this on behalf of

myself, but also my colleagues because it's always a team effort and i look forward to working with all of you in the future. and i wanted to acknowledge megan stevenson also who is on port staff. so, thank you very much for this award. (applause) >> thank you, zula and thank you, maria. appreciate it. >> thank you. this part of the program is going to be taken over by our elected official, supervisor. >> thank you. hey, everyone, good morning. how are you? (applause) >> today i'm actually pretty excited because i get to present an award to an amazing woman who has been an outstanding public servant for many years. ms. maura rosales, are you around? come on down. clap cap >> this is exciting because i goat up lift not only a smart

incredible city attorney who has given a lot to the city ~, but i just want to go over a few of her extensive and impressive experiences in government and law and the airport law as well as public policy. so, mara served 10 years at the san francisco international airport for general counsel and also, okay, we have an airport fan over here. [laughter] >> yes, and also chief in-house counsel for the airport. also naomi whispered to me that she was mayor ed lee, when he was the administrator -- i'm sorry, he was the director of the human rights commission, she was his counsel. so, i mean, this woman is absolutely outstanding. but she's also currently serving sfo's deputy director for regulatory and legislative affairs. she also served nine years as the san francisco deputy city attorney in the government law division where she developed a specialized expertise in civil rights issues, municipal law,

and public contracting. she's worked on affirmative action and public contracting at all levels in government, city, state as well as in federal. she was a league offense council on prop 209. you remember 209, okay. it's still sitting fresh with me, too, okay. so, shes what the lead defense counsel for prop 209 litigation which you may recall challenged the disadvantaged business enterprise program. mara has given so much to women owned businesses as well as the larger lbe community serving as co-chair of the advocate group for lbes known as the [speaker not understood]. it gives her a very broad perspective. she understands why it is important to include women in the process and has honestly a tireless advocate. she is an inspiring leader and i'm honored to present the lbe public official award and i'm

also honor to be working on more legislation with her in the future. thank you. (applause) >> so, ladies and gentlemen, please help me welcome mara rosales as the lbe public official advocate of the year. congratulations to you. (applause) >> a small token from me. >> wow, i certainly wasn't expecting to say a lot, but thank you so much, supervisor cohen, maria, naomi, everyone in the room, city and county of san francisco. i just -- the only thing i can really say is after hearing so many people come before me is, after so many years, zula talked about she knew sandra 30, 40 years ago. i think sandra and zula were my first clients. my boy was nine months old and he is going to turn 31 this year. wow. >> so, for me it's a little bit like, yeah.

>> no, i was a baby. >> 10 years old, okay. [laughter] >> everybody's like, maybe 12,ing? like that. but anyway, so, for me it's a little bit like -- the reason i bring up my son is because the local business program was my first assignment. i'm in many ways the mother of the lbe program. later the wbe program and the mbe program when it was challenged in the courts and, you know, i did everything that needed to do to defend it and we won on every ground. but the lbe program was my first child when i was myself a child in my 20s. and to hear that this baby has grown up and done so well and impacted so many lives, i've got to tell you, it's very humbling and very gratifying, especially to be recognized by my peers so i have to thank you from the bottom of my heart. thank you. (applause) >> and i want to share this with my commission, the commission on community investment and infrastructure, tiffany, our executive

director, [speaker not understood] bridges, our tireless staff who hopefully be more than a staff of one, i want to say thank you on behalf of the commission. thank you. (applause) >> i'm going to call city add more naomi kelly up to the stage. maria cordero. pat jai ~ patty jo rutland. the person that we're getting ready to honor is one of our own, and i say our own, from my community, the african-american community. kimberly brandon is an outstanding, strong woman who has advocated even against odds when it come to local business

development and contract opportunities for those businesses. she has sat at the port of san francisco in the meetings and had required staff to report to her and how the participation is going. she e-mails me. she communicates with me about what is going on at the port, what is her intent and how she's going to make it better for local business. i agree with her. and she's a fearless fighter. i personally want to thank commissioner brandon for all her work, her dedication, her support, her love for the local business community. she's our champion. she has been there more than 16 years. seemed like -- yeah. [laughter] >> but she's been working that

hard and there's been a major change at the port. the attitude, the open inclusion, inviting of local business, sitting down with them, working with them, and i attribute that to her strength, her leadership and dedication. i want kim brandon to come up and i want naomi and [speaker not understood]. (applause) >> be part of this. it's not the academy award, okay? [laughter] >> can i just say a few things? let me just add down at the he port, not just with commissioner brandon, but director moyer [speaker not understood], you all, everything from local bynesses to the hiring of employees down on the port to like actively doing what's right in the southern section of the port whether it's more minority contractors, more minority residents, i really appreciate the leadership of all of you

down this. this is a well deserving award for you. ~ (applause) >> and i want to add, the energy that this woman has, and not at the port, but everywhere. she is the pulse of what's going on in this city and i am so thankful to know her as a friend. where are you? there you are. (applause) >> i met commissioner brandon 1997. [laughter] >> and she is tireless. she orchestrated a new resolution for local truckers at the port of san francisco. it's not easy, and the participation of 60% lbe truckers for the lessee, which is not under the 14 b program. (applause) >> so, thank you, commissioner. you are awesome. thank you very much. >> we also have a certificate

of honor from supervisor london breed. shoe sorry she's not able to be here, but she wants to make sure that you are recognized and honored on international women's day ~. she was thrilled and sorry she couldn't be here. so, i want to present you the certificate of honor from supervisor breed. >> thank you. (applause) >> it says contract monitoring division of the city administrator's office, the lbe public official advocate of the ward of the year, kimberly brandon, standard service and dedicated leadership for san francisco local byness he. thank you, commissioner. [cheering and applauding] >> i am totally at a loss for words. i am overwhelmed right now. and as many of you know me, you

know, i'm the one in the background. i'm not the one in the limelight trying to make a difference. i'm the one behind the scenes who just sets the goal and try to accomplish it to the best of my ability. so, i really want to thank all of you. i want to thank city administrator naomi kelly, supervisors london breed and cohen who are just exemplary models of women leadership for the city and county of san francisco. (applause) >> i want to thank maria and zula for hosting this wonderful event. as someone said earlier, shouldn't just be during the month of march, it should be year round. so, thank you so much. (applause) >> patty jo, my dear friend for many, many years representing the lbe community, thank you so much for your kind words. thank you. (applause)

>> as rene said earlier, when i was appointed to the port commission 16 years ago, when i was just a baby -- [laughter] >> along from being responsible for setting policy and direction for 7-1/2 miles of the most valuable waterfront in the world, i made a personal commitment to attempt to make it a fair and level playing field for all californiaians, but supervisor john avalos san franciscans. and with that, it has -- as zula said, there have been some struggle. sometimes it's an uphill battle, but i am extremely happy to report that my fellow colleagues on the commission are 100% supportive of this program and all of you. three of our five members of the commission are women. (applause) >> our executive director is a

woman. our commission president is a woman. so, i'm not trying to imply that women rule. [laughter] >> i'm just stating the facts. so, we have done -- we have made huge accomplishments. and as zula said, we have a lot of progress going on in the next 5 to 10 to 15 years. everything is happening on the waterfront and we want to make sure that all of you participate in the activity. and i really have to say a special thank you to director moyer because with her leadership, she has tasked herself to come up with innovative and new ideas to do outreach and opportunities for women, minorities, lbes. so, within the next few months, you will see an rfp go out for a retail location on the northern waterfront near the

cruise terminal, near fisherman's wharf for an lbe firm. (applause) >> it's a great opportunity. one person can go for it or two or three, but the site is big enough to have at least three different groups in the site. so, this is just a major accomplishment, and thank you, monique. (applause) >> you will also see an rfp for a parking operator. and with that rfp, it will not be one, but three parking lots in the northern waterfront that will create lots of great revenue for the port. and along with that -- whoever responds to it has to have an lbe partner or otherwise they will be be qualified to participate and operate in though lots. andrew

so, that's another accomplishment staff has come up. with. (applause) ~ >> >> under rene's leadership we're working with all minorities, asian, african-american, you name it, we are hosting events quarterly to make sure we are communicating, that they know what's going on at the port and how we can help them do business with the port in a better meaningful way. so, i just want to thank all of you on behalf of my colleagues on the commission, executive director moyer, and the staff. it just makes the port a wonderful place to be right now. thank you. (applause) >> we're trying to run through the program. thank you for your patience. and as soon as city

administrator naomi kelly, fearless woman leader who is taking a picture. [laughter] >> she's going to come forward. and say a few words to us. >> i'll make it quick because i know he many of you who are in high heels and if you're standing in the same place as i am, you need to start rocking back and forth to save your joints. i can't believe it's been a year since we've been here today. happy international women's day. last year, a year ago we launched the cmd business program where we targeted our outreach to women. and today it's just the epitome of all the awardees who we just awarded today, the commitment to lbes, the fact that as commissioner brandon just talked about, breaking up the contracts so that multiple lbes can participate. making sure that with this program, i think someone said we shouldn't celebrate just one day, but this program went

throughout the year and it was helping women-opened businesses, lbe businesses tailor their bids so that they can submit a bid that the city services and products that the city needs versus, hey, i have this product and may not need it, but i want to sell this to you. helping them be more competitive so that they can win rfps, win invitations to bid, growing their business, starting off with small contracts and then eventually growing, and not just in how to submit a bid, but just with the financial capacity, the bonding capacity with our fearless leader ingrid helping out with these different lbes. it is wonderful this program is moving forward. i'm hearing more and more success stories from all of you. and i am very proud of zula and maria for launching this program and keeping it going. it is amazing that more and

more women are going into their own businesses and i think it's wonderful because as a mother who -- most women are primary caregivers, if not for their small kids, it's for their parents and we are very efficient throughout the day because we have to, we have to multi-task. that's exactly right. and we are women -- i always think are the backbone of our economy. so, it's great it see all of you here today and i guess we have to get back to work. [laughter] (applause) >> thank you, naomi. i am just so pleased to be here today to give recognition to some wonderful people. they're the wind beneath my wings. they're the ones who help me out with all the problems and the barriers that i encounter. these are local business --

small local business themselves and they help me to help you. and i want to call on them now. ingrid meriwether, meriwether insurance and company. (applause) >> olivia chen, olivia chen engineering. (applause) >> i don't see dwayne jones. dwayne, are you here? and kim forgot to introduce her had you band and her dad. dad, raise your hand. husband, raise your hand. so, we do have a lot of men in the audience. you just can't see them. they are supporters. (applause) >> okay, back to this. i don't see dwayne. but these three people, among others, are the ones that i call on -- [laughter] >> to help me. i don't care what the question

or the task too big. they just say, yes, i'll do it. and no, you should go this way. yes, we should handle this way. okay, we would do it this way. they both were meet the expert in the industry. they facilitated a class with the women owned business group and they were amazing, absolutely amazing. the things that they said, some of the things i had said, they reinforced them, but they went one step further. they told them tips and techniques how to avoid the pitfalls in government, which are quite a few. and olivia has been an engineer, starting with the program chapter 12 d a long time ago, and she grew so she sold the byness and started a new one. and, so, i'm just thankful to -- it's just such an honor for me to be able to in front of

you talk about these people. again, my mother always told me when you do something good, you should be honored. so, i hober these women and a man, dwayne jones is not here today. and i want you to see their faces and know that this is your backbone. they are back there helping you. ingrid runs the insurance company -- the surety bond program. she and i have worked for 15 years together. she created this baby and she built it. she he brought it to the city and she made it work ~. and it works. it works, what they call in the industry, the risky business. the business that they don't want to deal with. she persuaded a fund, companies and brokers, the banks and the city. she removed this barrier. we can do it. and for 15 years we've been doing it and i look forward to 15 more.

(applause) >> thank you, ingrid. >> well, just real briefly, you know, this is kind of profound for me because next month is 17 years in business and our first public entity client was the city and county of san francisco. and as zula mentioned, we run a program that helps other minority and small businesses overcome the barrier of bonding and it started first here. and it started first because -- here because of the advocacy of really a small handful of people who acknowledged a barrier and said we need to put the resource he behind it. i want to acknowledge a few of those people because the program wouldn't be where it is, i wouldn't be standing here, our business wouldn't be where it is. the program started in san francisco and it's now spread throughout the state of california. we have eight other public entity clients who have replicated san francisco's program and that really is

because of the advocacy and the warriorism of a handful of people, people like sandra. we started at the airport really back in 1995. that's where the program first got underway. it expanded city-wide under the leadership of virginia harmon, and someone who is not here and i make sure is absolutely acknowledged is johnny robinson. she was a behind the scenes warrior for women minority and small businesses he around removing the barriers. zula, clearly she and i have been to battle together. i have the scars to prove it. [laughter] >> you know, but i am really grateful for the challenges that we had to come through because it really steeled me for, you know, growing up, being a grown up entrepreneur. and as they say, swimming with the sharks. so, some of the challenges that we've come through, no matter how tough at the time, they really were like