>> and i know that the director may be back -- all right, he's back. >> it's a good day for rec and parks. >> yes, it is. so robert is a san francisco native from the ingleside district. and he grew up attending laughton elementary and lincoln high school in the sunset. and his stomping grounds were oce oceanview and sunset rec centers and he was known to always have a basketball on hand to play a game of pickup whenever the mood struck. and he always thought as a young boy how awesome would it be to one day work at one of the rec centers and playing with the kids all day. and little did he know that one day he would be doing that. he would be working at both oceanview and sunset rec centers as a park services manager. robert manages park service area 4 which lies mostly within the sunset district and also some neighborhoods as far south as ingleside and merced heights. and a lot of the

responsibilities under robert include stern grove, lake merced, lower great highway and he leads a field stop of 30% in the delivery of landscape and custodial services to the area. we first met robert back in 2016 when he began his current control in psa 4. i had asked director ginsburg here about great highway and the pathway, and it started getting taken over by all the ice plants so that only kind of like 1% of time could walk through. and here was robert. and i think the person who preceded you was also named robert. so we've always had great roberts working for our district. and just was so proactive in trying to address the landscaping the area, working with a lot of neighbors who wanted to volunteer and just make the whole stretch a lovelier place through landscaping. and i personally believe that landscaping is, you know, so much more than just aesthetics. it really brings a community together. and robert was just a huge part of that, that work.

so over the last year and a half, robert and his team have totally transformed the greenway of the lower great highway removing weeds and replacing them with drought-tolerant native species. and robert actually began his career working for a landscaping company that was one of the first eco-friendly companies in the city. rather than using harmful chemical pesticides, they were among the first to use soaps and horticultural oils. and after his first experience as a landscaper, robert knew that he loved working in horticulture. and so when a job opened up as a gardener for the recreation and parks department, he decided to apply. and today i'm very excited to hear that one of his -- or his son is actually an apprentice gardener over at the public works. so welcome and thank you. i see it runs in the family. so robert has risen through the ranks of the department as a gardener parks section super and currently as acting manager. and he has such a broad range of

experiences and, in fact, helped to establish the golf course over at harding park before it opened to the public after renovation in 2004 when the pga tour was hosted here in the city. and after that experience, i know that robert began to see just how rewarding his profession was, taking care of our parks, interacting with our community, and so forth. and in 2012, he was promoted to the parks section supervisor for the western addition. and in 2016, as we mentioned, he was given his assignment to manage park service area 4. robert has a strong background in turf management due to his long tenure as a gardener at harding park. and he has helped to manage some of the most difficult areas including 14 ball diamonds, 22 soccer pitches and 2 sports complexes. and other -- in other -- i know that we are all hearing about how wonderful robert is in his job at recreation and parks department, but i also was very touched to hear about what he and his wife did, actually. they have been married for 23

years. so congratulations. [ applause ] so in the late '90s, robert and his wife were living in a four-bedroom home but didn't need to use all of the rooms. and so for more than a year, they decided to open their home to homeless and pregnant teenage women who did not have shelter. and in fact, they keep regular contact with some of these women who have since grown up to get married and have wonderful lives, and they still call her and robert mom and dad. i can't think of anyone more shelfless than that. [ applause ] so robert, i want to thank you. i want to thank your family, everything that you've done for rec park, for our community at large. thank you, all the colleagues and friends who have taken time out of the day to come here, and director ginsburg, and i think director ginsburg may have a few words to say as well. before we bring robert back up. >> a pretty tough act to follow,

supervisor. thank you for honoring robert. we have five values in our organization. we call them the five "rs." and robert leads with respect. he fosters relationships. he is responsive. he is resilient and he delivers results. and this is an amazing, very, very well-deserved honor, and i am humbled to be able to observe this. thank you. [ applause ] >> robert, it's your turn. >> thank you, supervisor tang, for this honor. it is indeed a pleasure to serve the city that i was born and raised in. i guess i've come full circle to be able to go back to the neighborhood, my old stomping grounds. and actually help beautify and maintain and keep them safe and clean, the parks. i'd like to acknowledge my lovely, beautiful wife who i

would not be standing here if it wasn't for her. [ applause ] javaughn mohammed, my hardworking son, mohammed, and my beautiful daughter, nala mohammed. they all keep me focused, grounded, and strong so that i can get up every morning and do the things that i do. thank you so much for this honor. [ applause ] oh. and i'm sorry. and i'd also like to recognize lauren. is lauren here? there she is. come here. this is the reason why the great highway has transformed so drastically and so fast. lauren has been such a great help, and it's been nothing but an honor and a pleasure to work with her. so i'd like to recognize you. thank you. [ applause ]

>> next we will hear from supervisor yee. supervisor yee. >> supervisor yee: thank you. today i am pleased to honor community leader and advocate for aging adults, evernice cook. come on up, evernice. she's a resident of midtown terrace in district 7 since 1979 where she raised her son. she now has two granddaughters. i have two grandkids, too. and has remained and continues to be an active force in her community, especially when it comes to aging adults. she's joined by many of her friends today including willard harris who, believe it or not, i

didn't believe it, she's 98 years old. she's here. there she is. [ applause ] district 7 is a little bit different. we really deal our community through activism within our neighborhoods and community. and ms. cook really exemplifies what it is to be a district 7 resident that's building communities in district 7. so i'm really honored to have you be my honoree. my office first began working with her last year when i secured funding to start senior fitness programs in midtown terraces, a neighborhood that has had a lack of senior programming despite the large number of elderly living in that area. evernice stepped up as a leader to work with community living campaign, st. john's armenian church and her neighbors to make

it always active, evidence-based weekly exercise programs available to the aging community in midtown terraces. once classes began this spring, i am excited to see all the seniors who will benefit from this programming, stay socially connected to their neighbors, and stay healthy both physically and mentally. despite the many meetings, that her and her neighbors have spent on coronating to her fellow seniors, evernice has continued to work with proactive and positive attitude, never giving up. with our office and various stake holders. her neighbors all spoke in support of her saying there's a touchstone and beacon for the community, and that's what she is. she has served the midtown terrace homeowners association for more than a decade as president and secretary. evernice is viewed in the neighborhood as a person of

trust, class and integrity. current president of the hoa, rick johnson, said evernice has stepped up to the place whenever there has been a need, and she certainly serves as a mentor and an inspiration to rick himself. beyond advocating for her fellow aging adults, evernice's passion is selflessly serving others. in her capacity, she volunteers weekly at the hospital. she volunteers monthly at the grove street extended facility. she visits church members who are physically unable to attend services. this includes a senior neighbor who delights in their shared experiences. she also serves as a mentor, adviser and encourager to younger women who are starting their careers and building their own households. she does all this while she

continues to seek out ways and opportunities to serve her neighbors in other own district. before she moved to san francisco and first settled in hayes valley, she was born on a farm in oakwood, texas, to parents joe and mary alexander. she graduated from st. paul silo high school and attended prairie view a&m college. before relocating to san francisco in 1963. now, upon her arrival to san francisco, she became an active member of her neighborhood baptist church. she has served tirelessly in many capacities and today continues to be active in church ministries and the community. she enjoys spending time with her granddaughters, annalise and azaya, sharing her love and knowledge of cooking and gard gardening that she learned while

growing up on the farm. evernice loves nature and currently has a garden where she grows fruits, herbs and vegetables. mmm. can i have some? evernice enjoys san francisco many public spaces, civic activities and events. she actually, during her family annual trips to camp mather, met her husband there. oh, my goodness. what happens at camp mather stays in camp mather. [ laughter ] okay. and her husband is here also today, eugene cook. and they both continue to participate in this tradition. and so i want to end this by saying congratulations, evernice, and in honor of black history month, and thank you again for your continued leadership and advocacy on behalf of all the seniors in your community. thank you very much, evernice. [ applause ]

>> i want to say thank you to supervisor yee for recognizing the work that i do in the community. and, you know, it's part of me. i had loving parents who were always giving to others. so it's something i learned from my parents that i continue today. and working in my church. i was always told, it is better to give than saereceive. so i'm always trying to find a way to give to others because i know if i give, i will receive. so thank you so much. [ applause ]

>> congratulations. next we will hear from president london breed. >> president breed: thank you, supervisor cohen. it is my honor today to recognize trina johnson. come on up, trina. [ applause ] you know, what's so amazing about trina is she is the go-to for everything in the community. if i need flyers delivered door to door to make sure that the community is made aware of anything that's going on in the neighborhood, i call trina. if we want to pass out turkeys and make sure all the families who need turkeys during the

holiday season gets their turkeys, trina will actually go to the door and demand that they come to the center to get a turkey because she knows that they need them. she takes money out of her own pocket to make sure that dinners are made, hot food is made available to the residents of her community. she helps to organize the toy drive. she helps to do all of these incredible things not because it is her job but because she has so much love in her heart. so much love. trina has worked and still works in the shelter system but works at the community center when we had a shelter there and currently works at next-door shelters. and what's so interesting about trina, trina calls me a lot or texts me a lot. and in every instance, it's always about what she's trying to do for somebody else. i need to take care of this for

miss such and such. and i need to take care of this, and i need food for this person, and i need to do what i need to do to make sure that this person doesn't get kicked out of their home. and just the food bank volunteering to hold on to the food bank in the community, all the things that you try to do for the seniors and the food deliveries that you do to the senior community, taking care of your mom, taking care of your community, raising two kids as a single mom and taking care of your granddaughter, on top of all the volunteer work that you have done to make our community a better and a more safe place for so many people. trina, we are so blessed. we are so blessed to know you. we're so blessed to have you a part of the community. i mean, even when, sadly, we lose lives in our community, the first person there to help with prayer and with miss maddy scott

and the healing circle, the first person to help get your sister la taun ya and others to help serve food at that funeral service, you were the first person there organizing people to take care of families. you were the first person helping to organize healing circles. you are the first person to making sure the resources are brought to the community. and you do it, as i said, because you love your community, and our community has suffered so much. we have been through so many challenges over the years growing up in the neighborhood. you on a personal level, you've been through so many challenges. but here you stand strong. here you stand as a beacon of hope for the whole community. the work you do, the way you take care of everyone, the way you push people around because you want them to do the right thing -- [ laughter ] -- that is what makes you so effective. you don't mess around. it's all about the community. it's all about the kids. it's all about the seniors.

and the fact that you spend so much of your personal time and your personal money to actually do what you've done over the years for the community is deserving of this commendation and so much more. so on behalf of the city and county of san francisco, trina, it is my honor to recognize you for all that you have done to make san francisco such an amazing place for so many people. congratulations. [ applause ] >> thank you. first of all, i want to say thank you, london breed. wow, my heart is heavy right now. this started a long time ago, y'all, because i'm past 50. with my mom. my mom used to always -- she started off first taking care of kids. then i can remember one day this lady was going in recovery.

and she asked my mom, could you take my kids while i go get clean and sober? and my mom did that. and it's, like, they wasn't even her own kids. and she used to feed everybody. and she always told us, you treat people like you want to be treated and respect everyone. and if somebody ever needs you, you'll be there for them. and i just want to say thank you for ellie hill hutch. i started getting into working with the homeless population over 15 years. and my first job was with them. and that really opened up my heart to realize that there's so many people out there that need housing or just need somebody to talk to, just to hear their mouth. and i'm one of them people. i love talking to people. i love just to be there and to support them, and ellie hill hutch gave me the opportunity to

go into these shelter do what i needed to do as well as london breed when she was at the african culture center, when i was doing cooking. i used to cook for the homeless. my sister used to cook, my mom, my auntie, my daughter. we'd bring in the food for the homeless people where i work at all the holidays and made them feel that it is somebody that care because i'm one of them. because i am also a recovering addict with 21 years clean and sober. [ applause ] so today i just want to say thank you, london, so much for hearing me out, for being there for me. when i did the katrina foundation, i want to say thank you, maddy, for opening up your doors to me, adrian, owen. i want to say thank you, james, wherever you are, all these people that understood that what we did in our community, they're there for us. and i'm going to keep on doing it because we need a lot of work done up in there.

and we've just got to learn how to love one another and take care of one another and just hear somebody out today because you might be saving their life. and thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you. congratulations. >> thank you. [ applause ] supervisor ronan.

>> supervisor ronen: thank you so much. if i could call up the amazing gina dickus to the diet. you've got a fan club here from the bernal heights neighborhood center. [ laughter ] gina, i am so incredibly happy to be honoring and recognizing you today, one of the most dedicated and skilled leaders that we have in district 9. gina is the executive director of the bernal heights neighborhood center. and this year marks the center's 40th anniversary. the organization's mission has remained true for all of these years, which is preserving the ethnic, cultural and economic diversity of bernal heights and the surrounding neighborhoods. through profound demographic change, bernal heights has been able to retain some measure of

diversity, much to the credit of the bernal heights neighborhood center. with our city's african-american population being devastated by displacement, bernal heights neighborhood centers work to preserve public housing developments in bernal and develop new affordable housing, combine public safety with community leadership, and provide services for seniors and youth creates a safety net to keep communities of color in san francisco. bernal heights neighborhood center remains deeply grass-roots led and focused and serves as an anchor institution in the neighborhood. for this and more, the bernal heights community owes a deep, deep debt of gratitude to gina dickus. since gina started at bernal heights neighborhood center, she has quickly assumed increasingly challenging roles most recently stepping up in a time of transition and quite frankly in a time of crisis to lead as the executive director. i'm going to be as bold to say, gina, sa ythat you saved the

organization at a very, very risky time in its history. and for that, i will have unending gratitude to you forever. under your leadership, you've stabilized the board of directors. you've untangled -- and i know you spent so much time doing this -- the complexity of the organization, and you've significantly grown the staffing. you have been overseeing the successful rehabilitation of holly course and ongoing work at the alimeni housing and started back much to the love of the neighborhood fiesta on the hill, which before your leadership had shut down for a couple years. gina, you truly exemplify the technical skills, the strategic approach, the unwavering determination and compassionate heart that combine to make you the great, incredible leader that you are. you are a superwoman. and on top of your role at bernal heights neighborhood

center, you're also -- i don't know how you have time -- an ordained pastor, a community volunteer, and a devoted grandmother. i cannot thank you enough for all of your work. you are amazing, and we love you, gina. thank you so much. [ cheers and applause ] >> oh, my gosh. thank you so much. supervisor ronan as well as the board of supervisors collectively. i am honored. i'm privileged. i'm thankful. i'm overwhelmed by this moment. you know, you think you plan your life, and it always takes different turns. but one of the things that i can accredit this to is a neighborhood center. a neighborhood center in 1978 was built in my neighborhood in richmond, california, and allowed me to come to san francisco to be able to explore, to be able to learn different

avenues, and i'm back here again. and i did not do it alone. i have the most amazing team. my board has been so supportive, even with all of my crazy ideas and things that i challenge them with. the staff stepped in, and they partnered with me, and willingness became our new currency. and i am just so grateful for even the rols, our leadership team. we have bobby back here. we have just -- this is a neighborhood -- we believe in a whole community approach, and we believe it takes stakeholders like business owners and homeowners and people that live in public housing and renters and people that come to our programs to have a healthy community. and we've done it. we're doing it. we're entering into our 40th year, and we're preparing for the next generation to stand on our shoulders, and we are

thankful to you all for your support. thank you. [ cheers and applause ] >> congratulations. [ cheers and applause ] congratulations to you. supervisor safai. >> supervisor safai: thank you. what a wonderful list of people

to follow today. i think there's been a consistent theme. we'll wait for all the excitement. that was a rowdy group. [ laughter ] the consistent theme that i've heard today is one of people that have dedicated themselves to their community, dedicated themselves to their family, dedicated themselves to making their neighborhoods safer. i think that one of the histories unfortunately that we are experiencing in this city is one, particularly in the african-american community, is one that has been victims of a disproportionate level of violence and crime for a long time. and the person that i'm honoring today has dedicated almost his -- almost more time in his life than i've been alive on this earth. as supervisor peskin was saying. [ applause ]

he moved to the lakeview neighborhood in 1974, 44 years ago. and i can't imagine -- i know everyone jokes about me being able to focus and ants in my pants and all this stuff on this board, but being able to focus on one neighborhood and one community for 44 years. al harris is the example of dedicati dedication. and as everyone knows, you can't mention al without mentioning his wonderful wife, mary, because they are a team. you never say al harris. you always say mary and al harris. [ applause ] >> that's right. >> supervisor safai: sorry, al, it's always mary first, but it's mary and al harris. and those of you that know them know that they are the dynamic duo. so al is not from san francisco like many of us, but he was born

in wisconsin and moved to san bernardino and then fell in love with san francisco and fell in love with his wonderful wife who i've mentioned. and he was originally on the u.s. interpreter as a fireman stationed at treasure island. and it's that time where he fell in love with our city and dedicated himself. as i said, they've lived in here now for 44 years. and during that time, they've had a whole host of issues that they've had to confront. the crack epidemic in the '80s. their parks and recreation facilities being overrun and run down and neglected. their libraries being nonexistent. and so al harris dedicated himself to first dealing with violence in the community out there, working with the police station and the ingleside police station and being part of the task force that was involved with coming up with strategies

to suppress crime. they opened up a substation out there in the '80s that was the first beacon of hope for many in the community. and he never once let go. he never once stopped, even when people were dying, even when people were being pushed out. and one of the wonderful things about the lakeview, those of you know, it has one of the highest rates of african-american homeowners in san francisco along with bayview. and i think that's a great thing. and that has added to the stability of that community. and so because of that stability, mary and al not only dedicated themselves to your honor itting around one of the worst violent crime corridors in our city, the broad randolph corridor, but they then turned their sights over to the rec and park facility that now is named after two other people that dedicated and dedicated their entire lives to turning around that community, minnie and lovie ward. so i know mary and al carry on

the torch of minnie and lovie, and that same tradition of giving back and investing in facilities that they know will be a great beacon of hope and places that people in the community can turn. i know al dedicates himself almost year round to the food pantry that feeds hundreds of people in the minimnie and lovi ward rec center. and they dedicate themselves to the annual toy giveaway which gives away hundreds of toys each and every year to families in need. and i've heard our president breed time and time again say if it weren't for those toy giveaways, she might not have had the opportunity to have wonderful presents. and i know i've heard al say the same thing. the ability to give a child a toy at christmastime can turn lives around and turn hope around. and al has done that for year after year after year. so the theme of crime

suppression and upliftment along with dedicating themselves to facilities like the minnie and lovie ward rec center, al was involved every step of the way raising funds, dedicating every day of his life to seeing that turn around. and in 2008, we cut the ribbon in the honor of that family. and it was because of the dedication of mary and al and the work that they did. i'll just end by saying i've had the great fortunes not someone that i just came to learn and know while i've been elected into this office. i've known al harris for 14 years. and al is one, if you know him, he constantly has a smile on his face. he constantly is upbeat, he's constantly telling jokes. but when the time is right, al gets real serious and cuts down to it. and so it wasn't until october of 2016, one month before the election, that i finally won over mary and al, but just because it's al today, and once i knew i got that endorsement, i

knew i was going to win. and so to them, i say thank you for that endorsement because that was the final touchy ne i needed to be standing in front of you here today. i'll just end by saying -- just list out a few of the things that al has served on. he was a former library commissioner, police station community police advisory board member. he's a board member of the excelsior action group. he's a board member of the geneva car barn which we just last week authorized $15 million for -- that's another dedicated effort. [ cheers and applause ] he sits on the ymca urban services oversight committee. and this past year mary and al were honored by their neighbors, friends and the mayor's office of housing and community development with the neighborhood empowerment lifetime achievement award. they were one of the first people to do that. so it is my great honor to recognize someone that i think of as a friend and someone that i've watched with great pride lead his community, al harris. [ cheers and applause ]

>> thank you, supervisor safai. it's a funny thing because if you try to get an award, you can't get it. [ laughter ] no matter how hard you try. and he's right. minnie and lovie were just so dedicated to the community that mary, my lovely wife, decided that she really liked the name minnie. she thought it was a joke at first. she says, nobody's name minnie, is it? and lovie? really? so the torch was passed from minnie to mary, and the torch was passed from lovie to me. and so he always supported minnie, and i support my wife. and she's the one that does all the work, and i'm just her assistant. [ laughter ] so thank you very much.

[ applause ] >> congratulations. [ cheers and applause ] [ applause ] >> congratulations to you. next we'll hear from supervisor stefani. >> supervisor stefani: thank you, supervisor cohen. what an honor it is to be in this room right now, bearing witness to these incredible people. i'd like to call up nadia sesay. [ applause ]

nadia, i have to say, is a force to be reckoned with at city hall. i first met nadia as a legislative aid to michaela and worked with her more closely for three years as the budget aid to supervisor mark ferrell when he chaired the budget and finance committee. in every meeting i've ever been in with her, i've always left impressed with her grip on financial figures and concepts that would be difficult to comprehend without nadia explaining them so effortlessly. more than the knowledge she imparts in meetings, nadia just has a way about her that makes it a joy to always be around her. she reminds me of that maya angelou quote. i've learned that people will forget what you said. people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel. i walk away from every encounter i have with nadia feeling good. i love that we're neighbors and

run into each other on chestnut street every once in a while. nadia is a leader and example for us all, and i love what supervisor cohen said about black future month. nadia embodies that to me. she is inspiring, and she's a dedicated public servant. her resume is so impressive. she has been the executive director of the office of community investment of infrastructure for the past year. in this role, she is responsible for the economic development of the new transbay, mission bay and hunters point shipyard neighborhoods which collectively provide over 20,000 new housing units including approximately 7,000 affording housing units and 10 million square feet of commercial space and the management of various properties and existing and expired project areas. prior to that, nadia served as the director of the controller's office of public finance since 2005. in this role, ms. sesay

conducted financial analysis for the mayor, board of supervisors, commissioners, and department heads relating to debt financing and oversaw the city's $3.2 billion municipal debt portfolio. without nadia's skills and leadership, i don't know where -- i don't know that we would have have the successful bond and capital investment program that we have today. i certainly couldn't do that. she has worked in the office of public finance for over 19 years, serving as financial administrator and bond associate prior to her appointment as director. nadia also sits on the san francisco community investment board and served as chair of the oversight board of the successor agency to the redevelopment agency of the city and county of san francisco prior to her appointment as interim executive director. in 2015, nadia served on the state treasure's task force on bond accountability. whose final report in december 2015 prompted the state of california to adopt several of

its recommended reforms. nadia was awarded san francisco's public managerial excellence award for exemplary leadership, fiscal ingenuity and vision in 2010. san francisco is truly so lucky to have nadia on our side, looking out for all of us. we commend you, nadia, and thank you for all that you do for all san franciscans. [ applause ] >> i am truly honored for this nomination. supervisor stefani, i've had the opportunity and pleasure of working with most of you throughout my career here. i also happen to be a resident in the last decade, so i've been fortunate and been appreciative of the opportunity of working in the city, loving what i do and being able to make the impact i've been able to do. i've had the pleasure of having

amazing bosses, amazing staff members who are here today. and i'm just thankful to be able to do what i love the most, which is working on complex projects, trying to deliver, trying to make sure that the proje projects improve the quality of life in san francisco, and i'm honored and looking forward to what the next chapter will look like in my new role as executive director of office of community investment and infrastructure because that definitely impacts new development within the city and impacts communities that are most disadvantaged. so i thank you for the honor, all of you, and i look forward to working with you all in the future. so thank you for that. [ applause ] >> congratulations. congratulations. very well deserved.

[ applause ] >> the next supervisor to present will be supervisor kim. >> supervisor kim: so i would like to bring up my district 6 nominee, lashandra breaston. please come up. [ applause ] i thought who better to honor in my last year on the board for black history month than the woman who has been at the forefront of organizing black history month on treasure island every year that i've been on this board. and i just want to recognize lashandra who is a pillar in our treasure island community, supporting all of our families and youth on an island that truly is a working-class family's neighborhood. i also want to mention that lashandra is a mother and has

six children, four of whom are under age 18. and she's a mother and she takes care of the entire community all at the same time. lashandra is the founder and one of the creators for the treasure island parent council. and along with sherry williams and others put together the treasure island family resource guide in 2016. you worked with the treasure island youth and family services plan, working to convince departments like dcyf to invest more in our treasure island residents. and as we speak, you are fighting to get a school, a grocery store, and also keep our county transportation agencies accountable on the island to the transportation plans that they're planning for the future of the growth. i know that there are so many needs on the island, but i just want to say that i've heard you loud and clear. and the need in particular for family resources. not many of us get to visit treasure island as often as we

should. they have beautiful views, by the way. and this is probably a very good week to go on the island because of the weather. but it is really an amazing community. you go there after school at 3:30 or 4:00 p.m., and kids are just running around the neighborhood. you know, without adult supervision. it's just amazing to see that in san francisco, that that kind of community exists here. it's both urban and also just really just small community neighborhood. and everyone knows each other. and we have such a nice community there because of leaders like lashandra who makes sure that she knows all of her neighbors and that all of her neighbors know each other and talk to one another. with the departure of some of our community-based organizations on treasure island, it really is important that we invest in our families on this island. and the data shows that along with mission bay and the bayview, this is where our youth population will be growing the most significantly.

and before i leave as district 6 supervisor, i just want you to know that we are certainly going to make this a priority in our budgetary process this year. lashandra, you have an amazing story. i don't want to tell it for you, but you have just overcome a ton of diversity before you ended up in treasure island and part of community housing partnership. you have the biggest heart, the biggest, biggest heart. you care. you organize young people to have -- to sing. in fact, you have a singing troop of young people on the island that have performed all around the city. and you yourself performed at the community housing partnership 25th anniversary, which was the first time i ever got to see you sing. and wow! you just totally blew the socks off of everyone's feet. also, i thought i would just end with two stories about lashandra. one, last week at the community housing partnership, you won a prize at the raffle draw.

and instead of keeping it for yourself, you decided to share it with all of the families that came, even the ones that you didn't know. and second, last week, you brought one of our tenderloin groups to see if they could connect additional services to treasure island, knowing that many of our south market and tenderloin organizations can do more to serve our families on the island as well. so i didn't do you justice, but you have done so much for our parents and families, and you are so talented. and our office depends upon you so much to do the work that you do in building communities, providing advocacy and telling us what we need to be doing to hold us accountable to this neighborhood. and so i just want to thank you so much for your leadership, your heart, and caring about everybody and making sure that this is a great city for all of us. thank you. >> thank you. [ cheers and applause ]

thank you, supervisor kim. it's an honor to be recognized on this day with everybody else who was in the room. i don't work in san francisco. i live in san francisco. i don't think i started out as an activist. i started out as a parent who felt stuck and who felt fed up. sometimes i come down and i'll be hollering at y'all. y'all are not the only ones i used to holler at. i've learned a lot. you know, jane, you've been my girl since day one working at the school board, school district when you first ran, and i've always appreciated that about you, how you, you know, it's no pretenses, you know, you're listening, and you give what you can give. you know, you do your best, and i appreciate that. i appreciate the entire board. like i said, i was born and raised in san francisco, grew up in the portello district, got married and raised my family in the bayview, moved out of the city for a little while and i came on back to treasure island,

and i love my city. and, you know, nobody plans to be homeless. nobody plans to be disadvantaged. nobody plans to be unemployed. but these things happen. and it takes for people like myself and my cohorts here, these are -- this is shawnte brown and this is sten stenna. these are some of the parents and just knowing that you are your child's best advocate is why we do what we do. so i just want to say thank you for the honor, thank you for the support, thank you for listening because it's too many times when we feel like our voice isn't heard. so we appreciate this. thank you. [ applause ]

>> congratulations. thank you. and last but not least, we will hear from supervisor sheehy. >> supervisor sheehy: so colleagues, it's my great honor to recognize ginetta johnson, someone whose advocacy and determination is awe-inspiring. she's the director of the transgender, gender variant and intersex project here in the city. they offer support to transgender variant and intersex people who are incarcerated or working on reentry. many of whom are

disproportionately people of color. you know, i read this story about her that i thought was just super cool. as a referral liaison to the tgi justice project, she wrote a letter to a federal judge because the correction officers were consistently and constantly misgendering folks. and it was such a powerful effort that the judge send federal marshals in to excel co the corrections officers to use proper gender identification. ginetta and tgi -- the tgi justice project had been instrumental in advocating and organizing for more protections against the violence that transand gender nonconforming communities of color face on a daily basis. one of the interesting things, too, i thought was, like, the way in which you've advocated

for mental health services for people as they come out of incarceration because so often incarcerated trans and gender nonconforming people end up in solitary. so often victims of violence and sexual assault, you know, for your own safety, they put you into solitary -- put folks into solitary. but that has incredible -- is incredibly damaging to people's mental health, being put in solitary is actually a form of torture. it's been recognized by the united nations and the geneva convention. and i just think it's so amazing that both you and tgi -- the tgi justice project have really taken on the justice system. and i think that this is one of the biggest challenges that anybody can take on. it's one of the least forgiving, the least open, the least

generous, and the harshest because no one has rights in there except people wearing badges and people who have guns. and i'm just -- like i said, i'm awe-struck. i also think that it's really cool how both you and tgi jp investcreating leadership in the community. that's what we used to do in act up it's so important to create leadership and really direct political education and empowerment so that the community can be organized to fight back against the oppressi oppression that's being experienced. i also wanted to note the accomplishment of passing state bill 310 which removed barriers faced by trans individuals incarcerated in california prisons by making them able to change their name and gender and have that reflected on documents

within the jail. i think the work as part of the broad coalition, trying to fight building a new jail in san francisco, which so far has been successful. it's truly admirable. and i also think with over 28 murders of transgender folks this past year, it's incredibly important. i know that, you know, one of the tragedies of having this new president is that the liberation that people experienced and the freedom people experienced living with barack obama who, you know, was defending trans folks with his justice department and supporting trans folks in the military, that people in states where, you know, it wasn't usually safe to be oneself suddenly felt safe. and now we're in this reality where it's not safe. and it's getting less safe.

and so i just, like i said, your work is amazing. your courage. and it's so important that we all keep going so that we can at least keep san francisco as a haven with all this hate that's growing in the world around us. so again, thank you for your work. it is my absolute honor to present this to you. and thank you. [ applause ] >> thank you. i want to say thank you to the board of supervisors for recognizing my work and the work that tgi pd does for black trans women and our fight for racial equality in the city. i also want to recognize and express appreciation for the board of supervisors that supported our work. jane kim and bobby lopez as

well. most recently hearing to our demands and creating transgender cultural district in the neighborhood that has heard black trans women for liberation and self-determination. i'm happy to see this in history and the ongoing work of being recognized by the city and county. thank you, supervisor jeff shee sheehy. i'm am not doing this work for recognition. however, i am doing this work for sisters and brothers and my ancestors in their struggle for black and trans empowerment. i'm doing this to get my people out of prison and into stable housing and well-paying jobs in supportive communities. we can all agree that supporting our community means investing in our community and people's health and well-being and self-determination.

we know that increased investment in policies, especially in places like compton's district can lead to increased criminalization and trauma, even imprisonment for some of our most marginalized community members. if we are committed to supporting and transforming the compton's district, we have to do it in a way that increases job training, not jail time, especially for formerly incarcerated and trans women coming in or out of prison. and as many of you know, i'm working on a new project, a cafe reentry program that will serve as job training program for formerly incarcerated trans women and community space in the compton's transgender cultural district. and my request -- and i ask that your further investment in creating this cafe management training program that will turn into a sustainable opportunity to better serve trans women

living in the bay area and support the vision of black trans leadership and self-determination. thank you, supervisor sheehy, for recognizing the work of black trans women as part of black history month, and i look forward to continuing to increase and create a world rooted in self-determination, freedom and expression, racial, economic and gender justice and continue to fight for black trans liberation. thank you. >> congratulations! [ applause ] >> and i also wanted to introduce one of my sisters, rajay earl. thank you. [ applause ] >> congratulations to you.

well, colleagues, this concludes our celebration. congratulations to all the awardees, and we recognize you and celebrate you and continue to uplift you. madam president, i turn the meeting back over to you. thank you. >> president breed: thank you, supervisor cohen, and thank you, colleagues. what an amazing way to end our meeting. and as i said before, all business of the board of supervisors is completed. madam clerk, please read the in memori memoriams. >> yes, ma'am. today's meeting will be adjourned in memory of the following beloved individuals. on behalf of supervisor tang for the late mr. orion pitts. and on behalf of supervisor peskin for the late mr. edward carmen prudente sr. >> thank you, madam clerk. colleagues, this brings us to the end of our agenda. madam clerk, is there any

further business before us today? >> that concludes our business for today. >> we are adjourned. thank you, everyone. [ gavel ] >> they tend to come up here and drive right up to the vehicle and in and out of their