families over the years and provide this incredible opportunity. thank you for your consistency, your activity, and everything you do to ensure that future generations will be able to continue to enjoy san francisco's most treasured farmer's market. >> thank you so much for this award. it means a lot to me. it has been a blessing to work for the city for over 30 years. throughout this journey, i have met amazing people, and i thank each one of them for sharing their knowledge, their strength, their support, especially the hardworking farmers who work. they have no rest.

so i really do appreciate this award, and from the bottom of my heart, i cannot thank you enough. >> thank you. [applause]

>> all right. it's only been three people, and already i'm feeling the amazingness of all of these incredible women. next up, supervisor kim. >> supervisor kim: i will bring up ms. connie moye to the podium. [applaus [applause] >> supervisor kim: connie is one of our residents in the tenderloin neighborhood. she was born in 1930 and immigrated to the united states from hong kong right after the world war, world war ii in 1947. because at the time the u.s. had a law that mandated that gis could only marry and sponsor wives from outside the united states who were at least 19 years old, connie was, quote/unquote, 19 when she

entered our country and married her first husband. this was an arranges marriage. she had six children with her husband. after 12 years, connie divorced her husband and met and fell in love with her second and last husband in reno, nevada, who she had her seventh child with, a daughter named lavita. connie has lived all over the united states. she was a black jack dealer in reno, nevada for over 30 years. [laughter] >> supervisor kim: she eventually came to san francisco where she made the city her home. she's the president of the tenderloin chinese organization twice. the membership has grown from 45 members to over 200 residents in the tenderloin neighborhood.

and her organizer is with her today. at 87 years old, she goes to every single real i will, meeting event. we see her here often in board chambers as well there. southeast many stories about connie and her advocacy for her community, but i will tell you one story i love so much. in 2002, when i was a youth organize at the development center, maria manner, as well as a group of other single occupancy hotels in the tenderloin were in the process of being purchased by an investor in los angeles. they plan was to demolish all of these buildings, leaving at least 129 seniors and individuals with disabilities without a home. connie rallied her neighborhoods who were depressed and saddened to hear the news. she said we cannot give up now. we have to fight back. she organized hearings until

willie brown could not ignore her. she invited her and her residents to a meeting with him. she worked with him every day for six straight weeks. this group of seniors led by connie would wait for hours at times, often only told by the mayor's office to come back another day when the mayor would see them. they kept coming back and coming back again. they were finally able to work with mayor brown to stop the sale of these buildings. the city facilitated financing to the tenderloin organization who bought the single occupancy hotels, including connie's home, where she's lived for the last 20 years. and the hotels surrounding it were saved and established as permanent affordable housing for our residents since. connie, thank you for all of your work, not just fighting for the senior, disabled men and women who were able to stay in their home because of your efforts, but also your work to

preserve affordable housing and your continued work to bring gardens, corner stores, pedestrian safety, the list is endless. thank you so much for being a role model to so many younger women and showing what we can do in a lifetime of committed service. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. thank you so much, everyone. special thank you, ms. kim. we asked ms. kim to come to our meeting. she's always there. sometimes we ask and have a little talk with my neighbors or a small meeting, and ms. kim, she always there and try to help

us, the tenderloin area to move to the much better way. and i thank you so much, ms. kim. and thank you so much, everyone. thank you. [applause]

>> congratulations again, connie, and thank you so much for your service. thank you so much. >> may i say couple more minutes? almost 88 years old, i've been -- [ off microphone ] >> they want to cut off the

coffee hour because the company they want over 100 senior and disabled, they come down every morning, 6:00 a.m. so we give the coffee and donuts. when they changed it to the new company, they want to cut it off. i want to keep the program. i will take care of that 7:00 a.m. i make coffee for 80 people and give out everybody a donut. when the senior and disabled people come down and meet with the neighbors. i continue to do that since 2001. >> thank you. [applause] >> okay. next up, supervisor peskin can't be here today and supervisor kim will be presenting on his beh f

behalf. >> so i'm really lucky to be able to honor to amazing women today. the next woman i want to bring up is anna handleman. [applause] >> many of you may already know anna of sodini's green valley of north beach. this is supervisor peskin's nominee today. aaron told me to tell you he completely and totally adores you, not just when you give him a free drink. anna is a fifth generation north beach native whose ancestors immigrated from genoa, italy. she had a painter father and a mother who ran the spaghetti factory. they married in 1961. her mom and pop still live near coit tower. one of her grandmother graces

the towers inside the wall. her great-great-grandparent's business is still in north beach across from the transamerica pyramid tower. she feels most at home there surrounded by loud conversations, delicious home cooked food and a deep community love. i have watched anna in action. you can find her behind the bar almost on any given night wearing her trademark hoop earrings, which she's wearing today, and the 100-watt grin, cracking jokes with locals, soothing cranky regulars, and catering to first-time tourists. she's been serving the community for 21 years and has a very loyal following. so watch out when you go in there. she's seen the neighborhood change and has born witnesses to

marriages, divorces, bar fights, all vibrant north beach life. i want to recognize people like anna who do back-breaking work in the service industry, working long hours, getting home after 2:00 a.m. it's not just their physical work, it's that they also provide an anchor for the communities that they serve as a part of. anna is not just a server. she's your trusted advisor and confidant. she's a shoulder to cry on and an open ear to listen to. she's deeply committed to the north beach community. her significant cocktail, the liz taylor was recently featured two years ago. it's a cosmopolitan with a little -- i can't pronounce it. >> thanks.

>> which adds romance, according to anna. when i first met anna, one of the first thing i knew that i related to her was the love for food. it's something that brings us together across culture and ethnic lines. if you're like me, it's a way to express love and gratitude. what she's done has expressed love the old school way. she takes you where you are, warts and all, and celebrates the grit and soul and mess of life. growing up, she wanted to be a housewife and mother because that's what women of her generation were told to do. she's part of the community and north beach won't ever let her go. i want to extend our highest honor to you on women's history month. thank you for always giving back. >> thank you. [applause] [ cheering ]

>> i would like to thank you, jane kim, and the board of supervisors. i'm very happy to meet some of you. first time here. i don't have much to say, but i do want to say that my great-grandmother was the first woman to be on the planning commission. that was, i don't know what year. a lot of our history kind of faded away. a lot of documents were burned in the 1906 fire/earthquake. i can't go anywhere without seeing someone i know. it's nice. i try to be welcoming in my neighborhood when new people move in with their children and the children, they stay and go to college. i say, if the children need anything, tell them to come on by. i will give them food and money if you can't get there. working one place so long, it's like, wow. but thank you for this honor. i don't feel i'm the caliber of

-- you know, the schoolteacher, the lady from tl, but it's very nice. >> thank you. >> we love you. [applause] >> congratulations again, anna. you're the caliber. thank you. all right. next up is supervisor sheehshee.

>> i would like to call rohana ramirez to the podium, please. [applause] >> today i am proud to recognize johana martinez for her courage in surviving domestic violence and becoming an activist for the protection of all women. the systemic violence violates the lives of all women, be they transgender, indigenous, migrant, immigrant. beginning in 2004, she was the executive director for the organization for tran queens of the night, which worked to advocate and empower transgender

women whether or not they did sex work in cat mall -- cat -- guatema guatemala. regardless of sex, age, race, gender identity, or social economic status. as a member, she saw the reality of systematic violence against women. she was active in the lgbtqia in the caribbean where she facilitated workshops. in 2016, her proposal to protect

the health of the trans community was included by the guatemala's ministry of public health and the administration for trans people. however, at the same time, she was suffering from extreme domestic violence from her partner and threats of assassination. she migrated to the united states for her safety, and she continues her extraordinary work in san francisco through organizatio organizations. it's with great pride, and i'm humbled by your work. it's truly courageous. i'm honored to present our board's highest commendation to ms. ramirez. [applaus

[applaus [speaking spanish] >> interpreter: i would like to thank everyone in here. it's really important for me to be recognized as a woman being that in my country of origin, i am not recognized as such. i am thankful to all my female ancestors who have opened the path to this very solid fight.

and i think that that's places where we recognize what women do are very important spaces to stimulate and inspire our young women and young girls who want to engage in the political activism. today we have so many young girls pregnant around the world and so many girls being victims

of domestic violence, but that is just an inspiration for us to continue the fight a fight that will only bring us equity of gender and happiness. i would like to close with a phrase that i think is all about optimism and all about us women raising our voice, and this is what the quote says. they killed the women, but

they're alive in us. they were silenced, but we are their voices. thank you to everyone and each one of you supervisors for such a beautiful afternoon. [applause]

>> congratulations again, ms. ramirez. [applause] >> next up, supervisor cohen. >> supervisor cohen: thank you very much. in today's fashion, we are celebrating women, and i want to again acknowledge and uplift the commission on the status of women and thank my friend for bringing this special accommodation and celebration forward. i am honoring a woman that many of us know or maybe don't

personally know but have come to see in the hallways. one of those things i like to do is i like to try to recognize and uplift people, not only those i see when i'm looking forward but pay attention to the man that stand in the background, women that make it possible for us to be on the board of supervisors, make it possible for us to work in this incredible building. for those of you who don't know, i want to introduce you to clau claudeine. she's served as a custodian in this building for over 20 years. over 20 years. and has been heard singing in the custodial close it next to room 279. she's a born jamaican. she moved when she was 16 and

attended john adams high school. she's lived between the bay area and texas for most of her adult life. she's the mother of three children. tisha, shondra, and sade. she's known for her quick wit and her love for food. she's got an amazing green thumb. she's brought back to life many plants. she's given a huge amount to our city hall community from judging the holiday bake-off to finding and watering office plants. some of you do not even know this, but she's going into your office and sharing life. you know what? she's also offering doctor referrals. she gives me fashion advice, particularly when she thinks my skirts are too short. she is that loving spirit you

run into in the hallway. she has criticisms and critiques abound. some of them are solicited, but most of them are not. she's like that auntie that will pull your skirt and will check you when you need to be checked. she's got something to say about everything, ladies and gentlemen. that is what makes her so special. sometimes we can overlook people like claudine, but we shouldn't. today, i want to recognize this incredible woman in the stays she occupies. she's making history. she's leading a life of purpose, and her energy and laughter brightens our days. if you haven't seen her, stop and say hello. you may not recognize her tomorrow. she looks really good today. trust me, she knows your business and everyone else's business in this building. join me in uplifting our

colleague, ms. claudine bingham. [applause] claudine, the floor is yours. [laughter] >> oh, man. this is so funny. you are so funny, ms. cohen. thank you, supervisors. with god, all things are possible. i want to thank him, you know. >> yes. this is a rare moment, ladies and gentlemen. she's never at a loss of words. very rare. [laughter] >> i just want to say, you know, why i'm in this building is because i love people. i love people. that's why i'm here. i just want to tell you guys i love you guys.

thank you, supervisor cohen. thank you for this award. you make me give a speech, but i just want to say thank you. thank you. thank each and every one of you. if i hurt anything wrong, say anything wrong to anyone, i'm sorry, but i just want to say i love you guys. thank you. >> thank you, claudine. we love you too. [applause] >> i've got to say something. my co-workers, i just want to say thanks to all my co-workers arou around. quite a few of them around here. i haven't seen here, but they're

somewhere around. i want to say, you know, my co-workers, ron, victor, all my co-workers, i want to say thank you. i love you guys. [applause] >> congratulations. >> congratulations again, claudine. you look amazing today. all right. next up, supervisor fewer. >> supervisor fewer: thank you very much, president. i would like to call up kathy burep. it is my absolute pleasure to present an accommodation today to a dear friend and district

resident. she's a long-time dance instructor, activist and union leader who has been teaching dance, modern and tap dance, as well as yoga at city college for over 30 years. she's taught dancing movement for 30 years at the university of san francisco. kathy came to san francisco in 1973 from a smalltown ohio where she grew up. at city college, which was free at the time, she discovered she could study dance and has been at it ever since. the first woman in her family to have a bachelor's and master's degree shechlt degree. she's said, i've been lucky to benefit from education in california. i know what it's like to be in these classes. most can't afford to be there. city college is one place you can go where you don't have to go into debt, where you can get

a first, second, and third chance. kathy, that was definitely true for myself and my husband. well known to her commitment of social justice, kathy has long dedicated herself to anti-war and anti-militarization causes and is known for bringing joy and, of course, dance, to her political work. her tireless enthusiasm a positivity shows up during door knocks, union organizations, and political actions. from first-hand experience, i can honestly say her energy is galvanizing. a leader in american federation of teacher's 2121. she's known for bold and creative tactics for the issues she cares about. furious at the marines for using sponsorship of a city college basketball tournament to do recruitment. she set up a counter recruitment effort right next to them. she has led yoga sessions during civil disobedience actions, as well as afterwards while they

sat in cells. kathy and her students coordinated a tax the rich flash mob in support of prop 30 in 2012. at rallies for free city college and during the accreditation fight, she dusted off her tails and came and led the crowd in song and dance. she has, herself, made thousands of phone calls to save city college. while they're door knocking, she's even been known to howl at the moon, as told to us by her friend connie ford. i can say, that's my kind of gal. so big hearted and hilarious, kathy is also a leader and is not particularly comfortable in the spotlight. in fact, it took some convincing for her to accept today's commendation. the truth is she's nurtured the leadership of other women with unabashed joy making history every single day. there's so many women doing incredible and often invisible work who we don't see in the

spotlight but who make it possible to accomplish big victories for women, working class people, low-income people, people of color. kathy is one of those women. kathy always shows up. she infire -- inspires and motivates women. she inspires other organizers. she may not always recognize her own power, but we do. today, it is my pleasure to present kathy with this commendation. we thought that instead of flower, we would present you with a gift card from one of our favorite legacies, green apple books, to show appreciation for all you do. thank you, kathy. [applause] >> thank you. you make me sound pretty good. honestly, like, everything in me said no to this at first because i don't do anything exceptional.

a few of my friends said, well, you do some things, like so many women that are essential in supporting the women who are brave enough to step up and lead with passion to meet human needs and defend human rights. some of them are behind me like lisa messer behind me and connie ford from the labor council. they know how to coordinate, connect the dots, build coalitions of strong allies in community and labor and even here at city hall that made city college free again, which has been one of my dreams for the kids -- kids. young people. everybody is kids now. you've really shown that compassion really belongs in public policy and it deeply affects individual lives. i can't tell you how happy that makes me.

in d-1, we're seeing how we want to see compassion and inclusivity manifested. it makes me really happy. it's down right inspiring. we're ready to do outrageous things like knocking on doors, phone banking, gathering signatures, rallying, marching, even singing and dancing for things that have heart and meaning. thanks for recognizing our passion for a world with more compassion. because it makes me nervous when everybody sits still, because i'm a dance teacher, i want to invite everyone, including the gentlemen, to be honorary members of the loud lady's foot patrol for the next 30 seconds. live ladies is a group organized of women, my dear friend martha hawthorne. we sing chants in unreasonable venu venues. we've stylized one for this

event. if you're able, will you stand up. you know, rhythm in unifyingened -- unifying is powerful. so we're just going to sway this way and that way. it's okay if you bump shoulders. usually you don't clap in city hall, so we're going to snap. see, i'm following all the rules. all the rules. if you want to get fancy, you can go high, and high, and then low, and low. and then high, and high. ♪ i want to say for all the women who work every day ♪ ♪ to make our world a much better place ♪ ♪ in so many different ways ♪ here is a chant that we all can say ♪ ♪ it goes ♪ we are unstoppable ♪ another world is possible ♪ have you got it? are you ready? let me hear you now.

♪ we are unstoppable ♪ another world is possible ♪ yes, we, are unstoppable like you mean it. ♪ another world is wobble one more time. ♪ we are unstoppable ♪ another world is possible >> thank you, kathy buryk. [applause]

>> thank you, kathy for that break. we really enjoy that little bit of exercise that we were able to get for just a few moments. congratulations and thank you for all you do. [laughter] >> with that, i would like to recognize supervisor yee. >> supervisor yee: thank you. [laughter] >> supervisor yee: thank you. >> supervisor yee had a little bit of rhythm. i saw. >> supervisor yee: i thought drums were going to come in. okay. this is serious. today i'm going to be honoring no stranger to this chamber. candice wong, a woman who has an unwavering in her dedication in fighting and advocating for

women, children, and vulnerable communities for over 30 years. of course i've known her for each one of those 30 years. candice, thanks for stepping up. it's hard to choose career and volunteer highlights for someone who really has contributed and made an impact on more than a generation of women and families in san francisco. in fact, she has impacted the most important field that impacts women the most, early education. candice has over 20 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, directing programs for family that include child care, parent education, and support services and programs for immigrant families and english language learners. candice has been the director of the california child development programs for the low income

investment fund, also known as lif, since 2010. candice oversees the child care facilities fund, which is a national award-winning program that not only provides child care facilities development grants and loans but also business capacity building programs and supports. these are projects that have high social value and impact to a community but also these individuals cannot access services offered by traditional financial institutions. it is critical to recognize that the majority of these businesses are not only women owned. they're employees are vastly women and women of color. by supporting child care facility development, they're supporting a woman's ability to go back to work or school. you know, prior to working for

lif, candice, to me, is what i consider very few people, a jill of all trades. did you catch that? not a jack. jill. okay. [laughter] >> supervisor yee: so she worked at women and children services for many years. during that time, it's really unusual to have somebody play the different roles that she played. usually people that can count, finances, accounting, that's candice. usually people that are compassionate and work with people and help them, that's candice. usually somebody that wants to work with people but don't really want to direct people because it's really hard to manage, but that's candice. she was a family center director for six years. she served as my fiscal director

for five years. all these things did overlap during the same years, she'll say, but they were different years. i've spoken to her about her professional career, but she's also volunteer on top of everything she's done for many organizations, including the child care planning and advisory council, known as cpac. it strengthens policies for children. she's been a volunteer without pause since 2001. she's served as the vice chair and the chair as well throughout her tenure and active member of many of the communities. this is not a light commitment. it's very time consuming, but she's been able to do it for 17

dedicated years. for most people, this would be enough, but not candice. her commitment to women and children does not stop there. candice was the principal and co-author of the 2015 proposition c campaign for our children and families fund, which now ensures funding for the children youth fund through 2041. candice has impacted more than a generation of women and families, and her work on the 2014 proposition c, and this one assured a generation of support. for seven years, candice was appointed also to the first five commission for the preschool for all board. for six years sat on a joint advisory committee for child care. now, i want to back up just a teeny bit back into her career a little bit and tell you a few

stories.

i want to give her a hand for that. [ applause ] the second story, i really -- again, this is just about what she is.

she was already running her department and so forth. a bunch of us in the city at the time, we approached them and advocated. nothing has changed a lot since then, but at the time, most of the people in the field were making very little money, mostly minimum wage. these are professional teachers in our programs. so we approached her and said we need help here. slow and behold, we were able to have them understand the needs and some funding was actually appropriated in the tune of i think -- it was a really small amount, a little over a million. but what happened was, it was appropriated by february or january. if you don't spend the money, you're not going to -- we're going to take it back.

so if anybody's done anything with city money and tried to put a program together in a few months and get the money out, it's almost nearly impossible. but candice, even running her department, pretty much stepped up and said, let's get this done. she was the one that orchestrated the whole program within a month or two months actually. we actually were able to help about 500 to 700 -- i don't remember -- people in the field to give them a stipend so they could remain. thank you very much, candice. [ applause ] so you can see that she's made history in san francisco, and i venture to say she will continue to make history in her career. so please join me once again in honoring candice wong. [ applause ] >> thank you for that great

honor. it's actually only been 20-something years, not quite 30. just want to clarify that. thank you so much for this honor. i think, you know, it really means a lot. i think you remember a lot more than i do in terms of all this work. i think supervisor yee and i in his former life have done a lot of great work together. this honor means especially a lot just because it comes from you, my mentor and my hero in serving the families of our city. so thank you. i also want to say, you know, thank you to all our civic leaders in this room because none of this work is possible without all of your and dedication to the children in the city. all of our colleagues, cpac, liif, and colleagues in the city, it takes all of us to do this important work. i think there's no greater privilege than to serve our young children, families in the

city. thank you. [ applause ] >> congratulations again, candice, and thank you for your service. [ applause ] with that, i would like to recognize supervisor ronen.

>> thank you so much. before i call my amazing honoree up, i want to thank supervisor cohen for solving a mystery for me. i had a plant in my office that i never watered that lived forever, and i had no idea why. i thought it was magic soil. now i know how it lived. thank you. i am delighted to honor yin sing as our district 9 honoree for women's history month this year. ying sing has dedicated her life to women and families. i have become a fan of yours over the past few years walking you kick ass as the associate director of the wonderful agency. a family resource center in the neighborhood that exists to develop strong healthy family and build thriving communities.

family connection provides over 30 -- i'm doing a little plug for family connections -- programs to support women and their children that include free preschool, health and nutrition programs, grandparent support groups, financial and parenting workshops and much more. the programs are multi lingual and support spanish, english, and vietnamese. she's a critical leader of family connections who makes sure that the low income and immigrant children and families who use the center are receiving high quality programs that are among the best san francisco can offer. you are a role model to your staff, to your clients, and to all of us that care about the community. you have constantly gone above and beyond to ensure that your clients in the broader community get the resources, information, and attention they need and that they deserve. you have been a critical bridge builder in the neighborhood that experiences challenges with regards to communication and

understanding between our diverse residents. you bring people together. you're someone who call community members trust and respect and that's no small feat in our neighborhood. at the same time, you're a diplomatic hardworking fierce and always incredibly loving. she was born in laos. she lived in san francisco over 0 years and -- 30 years and was raised in a studio apartment. before working with the family connections, she directed a residential shelter for homeless families, provided opportunities for incarcerated youth to receive educational services, and served as the associate director of an association promoting the rights of lgbtq families. thank you so much for all that you do for the community. you are one of my heros. i love you. congratulations on this incredible honor for you today. thank you.

[ applause ] >> i'm going to make everybody do an interpretive dance. it's cheesy, but i always say i'm the luckiest girl in the world because i get to do what i do. i feel like my job is so easy because every day i see grandmas with children strapped to march back. i see nannies and single mothers. i see amazing 3-year-old girls who are teaching me how to be a strong woman. so when your office called, i said it's such an honor to get this award, but more than anything, it's an honor to be around such amazing women, to be in a city that honors women and be around men and women and non binary people who celebrate young girls. so i'm going to take this honor back to the grandmas and the 3-year-olds and we're going to have many more years of ceremony because there are amazing girls out there that are going to rock this world. thank you.

[ applause ] congratulations again, and thank you so much for your service. last but not least, we have supervisor safai. >> thank you, madam president. it's such an honor and privilege today to honor someone that has been a true warrior in our city for almost four decades. dr. he is tell a garcia, the executive director --

[ applause ] a long time resident. people don't know that. very proud to have you as one of my constituents and honoree today for women's history month. i'll share a private story or a personal story of my interactions with dr. garcia, but first, i would like to give a little bit of background of who she is and what she's accomplished. growing up as a daughter of farm workers in the central valley, she learned the persistence from her parents, most notably her mother, francis reyes ramirez for equity and civil rights. her work and life is rooted in self, family, and community. in estella's words, she says my mother raised me and my siblings to believe that all people are equal in the eyes of the creator and it is our obligation to speak truth to the witness when we witness injustice, even if that means we stand alone. that has exemplified

dr. garcia's career. she has continued and always worked to fight discrimination. estella joined the institute in 1984. over the past 34 years, whether the challenge has been to address the lack of services for lgbtq, latee latinos, the impacf violence on latino youth, the displacement of low-income families as our city has aggressively been gentrified and families have been pushed out. the health disparities affecting the indigenous populations of san francisco, or the needs to address the impact of trauma on communities of color. all of these things estella has been a strong advocate, on organizer, and a leader. never forgetting the particular role how women are impacted

disproportionately in all of these categories. a short list of her current efforts to address health disparities include participation in the san francisco health improvement partnership, chicano, latino, indigenous health equity coalition, road map to peace initiative, and providing cultural competency and multicultural training to the broader communities at house of learning. as a result, her leadership as the executive director of the institute has made it one of the most represented organizations in san francisco. in 2009, she was honored for her work. in 2010, dr. garcia received the san francisco latino heritage award n2011, she severed -- received a champion award. this year, through work with my

office, the institute has expanded its brick and mortar services to the heart of district 11 at mission and geneva. she will continue her great legacy of providing services and positive options to our transitional age youth as that was a priority that we both shared. thank you, dr. garcia, for your continued movement of civil rights and your lifelong definition as you are in your life has defined the word persistence. i had such a wonderful opportunity in so many different circumstances to work with dr. garcia, and we've crossed paths in so many different avenues. when i was campaigning for office, i did not know she lived in my district at the time. this was over a decade ago. you have those voter lists. i said wait a minute. estella garcia, anyone she lived in my district. the more you go and find out when you knock on people's doors, you get to share their

personal stories and see where they are and where they've laid their roots. it's an honor to have you here today. it's such an honor to have you as part of this celebration, and thank you for everything that you embody and how you've dedicated your life. please come forward. [ applause ] >> thank you, supervisor. i particularly wanted to acknowledge supervisor safai today because i think it's just a wonderful thing when we have someone in our district who cares so much about all of the families that live in the excelsior and acknowledge all the needs that exist. i want to be part of that solution. that's all i want to do. there is no other ascen a -- ag. it's about doing the right thing. i want to begin with this morning i woke up and i have an

altar to my mother since her passing in 2014. this morning, i just gave her a very special thank you, and she is -- she has been a wonderful, beautiful, first feminist in my life. as supervisor spoke to, i was raised mountain fields of the central valley. those conditions are harsh, very difficult for families. i came from a very poor family. we had a lot of struggles and challenges. my mother was extremely -- a woman of great conviction. she passed on a lot of teachings, one of which i shared today, which really had to do with, in my mind, it's really a resounding message of the right of people to live with dignity and respect. i think that that's been a driving force for me in a major teaching in my life. i'm rnd