to restore that money at about 150,000 for both programs. on behalf of the a.p.i. council, and i'm probably the last speaker, please support the programs of this council. it is a working coalition that is providing services at a greater rate and less cost than the city itself could provide, and we do a lot more together than we do independently, which is why we hope you value the services we provide to the underserved in our community. thank you. >> good afternoon, supervisors. thank you for this opportunity to speak in support of the spotlight on the arts internship program. my name is malia jenkins, and i'm 17 years old and will be attending university of san francisco in the fall, majoring in arts and sciences. i've always wanted to pursue graphic design, so art focus internship programs in san francisco are surprisingly small in number. at school, i felt over shadowed by this focus on development in stem careers and trug willed to

find a program that educated in the arts like spotlight does. i gained experience in my field by working with clients in the organizations. but spotlight wasn't just about the internship, alongside the professional development workshops allows me to network and build further skills. without spotlight, i would have been completely unprepared to pursue college. i have found very few programs that provide arts education for youth, particularly people of color and youth who are lgbt in the city. built changed my life, and i wish -- spotlight changed my life, and i only hope that other students will have the wonderful opportunities it -- >> supervisor cohen: next speaker, please. >> thank you, supervisors. we're here on behalf of la para trans latina. we're here in support for the $1.2 million increase towards

the seven agencies that fund specific transgender services. we're asking for the 1.2 million because it's only -- it's only 0.0109% of the city budget, and these funds would really help us with the output of services we can give to some of the most marginalized folks, including folks that are looking for political asylum. thank you very much. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is rachel, and i'm the housing program manager at homeless prenatal program. every day in my work, i hear stories of people in shelter that are experiencing homelessness that need affordable housing immediately and affordable rent in san francisco. i'm here today to advocate for the hspa budget proposal and for more subsidy that are similar to the shared subsidy program that strives to keep low-income families housed as well as families of color housed in san francisco. with the allotment of $900208

over the next two years, it will allow us to help 208 families and help them out of homelessness. >> hello, supervisors. i'm a resident in district six, and i'm a children and family social worker and speaking in support of the coalition on homelessness. in 2017, they found 7,409 homeless individuals in san francisco. 31% were chronically homeless and 71% lacked shelter, however it costs more not to address this. each chronically homeless person who isn't in supportive housing costs taxpayers $81,000 each year. if these individuals were in supportive housing it would only cost 20,000 perperson peryear. this proves it is more ethically and financially responsible to commit them to housing. there's a strong causal relationship between

homelessness, drug use and traumatic childhood experiences. i would also like to advocate for more prechbstive measures, such as family and child services, foster and family support services. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> hi. my name is francis colins, and i want to reiterate what the last speaker says. it costs more not to address the homelessness issue. it costs taxpayers 80,000 a year for every chronically homeless person in jail expenses and other band-aid solutions. it's ethically and physically more responsible to go towards supportive housing, which would only cost 20,000 a person. i remember the 80's, when ronald reagan refused to fund the mentally ill and turned them out on the street, and

this issue is still with us. thanks. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. >> good afternoon, i'm karen fleshman, cofounder san franciscans for police accountability. i want to thank you for the two new police commissioners who are awesome. the board of supervisors convened a hearing on sfpd in 2016 when judge cordell spoke about 80 years of sfpd thwarting every reform attempt, and unfortunately i believe we are reliving that history. i urge all of you to withheld ensuring sfpd's budget and demand accountability. supervisor yee, you passed a resolution calling for a citizen commission to conduct a study of what sfpd needs to be, what size sfpd needs to be. this commission is urgently needed. there's a fundamental miss match between what our community needs and what sfpd does that results in police

murder. we have high rates of homeless people, intoxicated people and mentally ill people. we all agree sfpd is the wrong interface. we need a team of mental health -- >> supervisor cohen: thank you. thank you, karen. next speaker. >> i'm jackie barshak with san franciscans for police accountability. i want to talk about the taser budget, which is $3 million, and i'm asking the supervisors to revisit that budget based on several factors. the -- there are two open seats now on the police commission. let those seats be filled, and then bring the entire vote to be revoted on for appropriations for tasers. also, the sunshine task force

voted last week that -- came to the conclusion that the brown act had been violated in the police commission's vote for tasers, so i would like to factor that in to your reconsideration of the taser vote. and lastly, the measure h, the police officer's association measure on the last ballot was voted -- >> good afternoon. first of all, thank you, supervisors for listening to us. my name is alejandra, and i'm with hospitality house, and i'm here to ask you for the support of the hspa budget of $14.8 million to reduce the police budget, and increase money to protect our most vulnerable population, specifically the homeless and immigrants. please restore the 250 k for

two years of the mental health service budget and provide the necessary support for our youth, homeless and family adults. furthermore i urge you to restore the 280 k for two years for workforce and employment services. this funding is crucial to get homeless folks jobs and back on their feet. work helps people become self-sufficient, and it is more cost efficient to invest in self-sufficiency than tasers, so please stop the hypocrisy and make san francisco a city that is accessible for all, and not just the wealthy. we have a responsibility to help our homeless population. thank you for listening. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is bij reyes.

[inaudible] >> -- with social services. i can tell you without a doubt that i am most proud of my work with the bayview opera house. their a dream with the children's opera house -- [inaudible] >> -- a couple programs that come to mind. in these times of turmoil and negativity it's important to be the cornerstone that connected all the different programs in the city. the city's funding will enable us to be the cultural point of bayview. thank you for your time. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> supervisors, tony robles, senior and disability action. seniors and people with disabilities are really hit hard in this city. there hasn't been an increase

in the cost of living or cola in -- in social security in the last three years. our organization is senior and disability action. seniors and people with disabilities are in need of housing subsidies, and we'd like you to make this a priority and fund the $3 million for subsidies. we do support the hspa ask. i know seniors who are personally paying their rent. the subsidy can allow them a cushion, which is a security in situations that are precarious with individuals who can barely afford food and other necessities. these subsidies will provide housing stab housing sta housing stablity, and one-third of the housing in san francisco are seniors. and we need to provide for that. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> my name is jessie johnson. we recognize that many of the

people who live in the streets ago were just our neighbors, people who have been thrown out of their houses by landlords eager to make a profit off of the housing crisis. tonight, people in the tenderloin will sleep on the bare friends of their friend's s.r.o. rooms, they'll sleep in bathtubs, they'll sleep in closets. i've seen people in the tonederloin lend their best shirts for a job interview, i've seen them lend their last cigarette. please give us back the 14.8 in budget cuts. fund something positive. fund employment services for homeless people, fund transgender services. forget tasers. tasers only mean heartache and death. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you very much. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is tess davis. i'm here today to urge you to fully fund the hspa budget ask

of $14.8 million, including $280,000 over two years to restore cuts to the employment services and another 240,000 for low threshold adult services. as a former case worker working with this population, i find the budget unacceptable. in a city that prides itself on being socially conscious, how can we justify this? san francisco is having its largest housing shortage, a constantly growing number of individuals on the streets, and completely unacceptable and life threatening housing and shelter wait lists. it is a moral obligation. no more death on the streets. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> hello, supervisors. my name is moses thompson with hospitality house. san francisco's budget is $11 million, and less than 3% is spent on solutions to homelessness. we urge the board of supervisors to fully fund the

hspa budget ask of 14.8 million. a budget is a moral document. restore and expand funding for mental health services for transitional aged youth, families, and low threshold services for homeless people in neighborhoods like the tenderloin. help vulnerable san franciscans get the support they need, mental health services, save money, and save lives. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name is alan sampson minello. i'm the development director at hospital ill house, and i stand before you on my 23rd wedding anniversary on behalf of me and my wife with because we feel the issues are very important. i am urging you to please fully

fund the hspa budget of 14.8 million. please restore the funding for mental health services for transitional families and in high need neighborhoods like the tenderloin that is 250,000 over the course of two years. also, i'm asking if you can please restore the cuts to workforce and employment services for the vulnerable folks of our neighborhoods. that's 280,000 over two years. remember, budgets tell a story, and let -- let the story of our city resonate, that we still believe in our shared humanity. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, supervisors. my name's emily davis, and i'm reading this on behalf of an artist at the hospitality house, community program. in our country, we treat our cats and dogs better than we treat our people.

you'll see strays getting shelter and medical attention, and other care. i live on market street, and every day i see people bundled in blankets with a smattering of their approximapossessions. we can put a few more resources to getting people off the street is and getting people working again. we are people, not the homeless. thank you. >> good afternoon. i'm wendy click. i'm from hospitality house. i want to just ask for funding in restoring the mental health services. this is an assess to the program that i work for at hospitality house. each week when i see an individual come in for individual or group wellness groups, they come out lighter on their feet. those that are in our community receive the same case managers for various support, and with those case managers there's

over 100 maintained housing once they're off the street. we have one community members who was homeless for three years, and he had a approach the bench staying in, but confidence his wellness and community managers that have supported him, he has may i approa approach -- maintained housing for a year. so i'm asking you to fund the housing and community support services. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speakers. >> hi. my name is becky, and i'm here to support and ask for funding for our youth organizing. purchase our youth are here. one of them spoke. we have currently summer youth programs where our youth get to understand the issues that are affecting them are systemic, and this really empowers them to do their information. they're able to do, you know, inform and then pass this onto,

like, their neighbors and such, and really, we know that -- we often talk about youth being the future, but they are now, they are experiencing what we are experiencing. they are part of this community, and we know that it's really important to work together, so we are working with others asking for $300,000 for youth funding, particularly or specifically 100,000 for casa de just cause. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> my name is marie job for the community living campaign. i'm here to talk employment, particularly employment of seniors and people are -- with disabilities. 61% of the people in san francisco lack basic economic security. the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is five times the rate for others, so among the employment asks, there were two of particular interest to us. one is the s.f. reserve program, which was 317,000, and the other was for the senior

community employment services program, which was 250,000, both providing subsidized employment for nonprofits. we want to be part of the solution to issues you heard today, so please put us to work. when you go back to your office, you'll find a flock of worker ducks have left more about this message in your office. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> good afternoon, board of supervisors. my name is judy young. i'm the executive director at the vietnamese youth support center. we're asking to support a mental health program supporting vulnerable vietnamese youth and families who are experiencing depression and trauma that go untreated, and when they ask to see a therapist, they have to wait two to three months to see a culturally competent therapist.

so with the grant, we would be able to serve youth at our community site with an on-site therapist. and the second ask is a $160,000 facilities renovation. this will allow us to serve over 500 youth in our community with bathrooms and a.d.a. compliant. we currently only have one bathroom, so we hope you'll consider this request as part of your budget appropriation. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> thank you. how you doing. hi, supervisors? we're all nonprofit. i just need help -- we're going to walk the streets in the bayview, we're working with parents, single parents, mentors, we're going to mess with kids with behavior problems, we're going with y.g.c. i ain't on calendar, i just want walking through it. i wanted to put you on notice, and we are a 501(c)3.

we'll be working the bayview district, mission district, chinatown. we need to address the kids that don't have food, not having breakfast in the morning. you know, we need to get in their face and kill them with literature. we should be up and running real soon, so we need you all support. you'll see me again. and you all doing a great job, and you all look nice in here. nice staff. take care. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker. >> hi, supervisors. debbie lerman from the human services network. first i want to thank the mayor's office for supporting our nonprofits by doing a cost of doing business increase in each year, and renewing our nonprofit displacement founding. we ask the board to do what you can to grow the pot and to

prioritize the budget justice coalition ask and will assist our vulnerable and low-income communities who have been left out of the city's wealth explosion. i want to touch on the process. we want to ensure that this body achieves its goals of transparency and community engagement. i w i am concerned about the limit of public comment time to one minute which limits speakers to broad generalized comments without time to discuss policy. we ask that you also do not delay any of the add backs, make your add backs as specific as possible because it takes a lot of time to r.f.p. and contract things, get the money out to the community as quickly as possible. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. thank you. next speaker. >> hello. my name is deanna. i'm here to ask you to please consider parents for public schools and keeping them in the budget.

they do an incredible service for the community, particularly for marginalized parents, mostly parents of color and immigrant parents in bridging the gap of understanding from maybe the public education systems that they're used to and being able to choose the school appropriate for their child and also in facilitating that intimidating process of make even not knowing the language and parents for public schools does a great job of empowering parents to want to become increasingly engaged in their students' education, and also to bring community with fellow parents of their parents schools and to be able to make a positive impact on the educational futures, and as we all know, the overall out comes of that child. is that telling me -- >> supervisor cohen: yes, it is. next speaker.

okay. >>. [speaking spanish] [voice of interpreter] >> my name is guadalupe, and i live in bayview. and i want to please -- oh . and i want to please ask you to support p.t.s., which is through parents for public schools in your budget because they really help us develop our engagement as parents and our knowledge of -- so that we can better help our child's educational future. they give us information about everything we don't know, and they help us better support our

children, and we need to have parents for public schools. we're all latino parents because we don't necessarily understand everything that the district provides us with, language gaps. and they really help us with that support. thank you. [end of translation] >> supervisor cohen: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good afternoon. thank you for this opportunity. my name's daisy hernandez, i am latino outreach coordinator. i am working in bayview area and mission and visitacion area, too, and i would like please include p.p.s. in your budget because we really do great support for the family, and if this is not happen, the family is going to be affected.

please remember p.p.s. i think we're doing great job. thank you. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. are there any other members of the public -- please come up. >> jean adams, lifelong san franciscan, long time member from the days of old son mary's housing community, there's a new wave of homelessness coming to san francisco. there are only grandmas raising grand kids, reference mayor london breed raised by grandma, reference mayor willie brown raised by grandma, but for how long can grandma continue raising grand kids? there's been no cola raise in three years, and yet the cola

increased imposed on rent stablized apartments year offer year. that means rents going up and will soon exceed income for these old people. ten cities will soon become wheelchair cities -- [inaudible] >> supervisor cohen: miss adams, thank you for your document. your time -- you've exceeded your time. is there any other member of the public that would like to speak in public comment? okay. seeing none, public comment is closed. thank you very much. thank you to the men and women that came to public comment. we heard and took copious note oz wh s on what we heard. what i'd like to do is continue items 1 and 2 to the june 21 meeting. do i have a second? seconded by supervisor stefani,

and madam clerk, do we have any other business? >> clerk: that concludes our business. >> supervisor cohen: thank you. we're adjourned. >> san francisco is a global city. i sit out and look out from my

office over our magnificent skyline and i see it. we are at the crossroads of technology and trade, finance and philanthropy, education and medicine. the world literally beats at the path to our door with our world-class airport, incredible universities, newly renovated and modern convention centres, and probably, most importantly, the ecosystem. our ecosystem that encourages global business activity. however, as you learned a few years ago during the great recession which we all can remember, we cannot take that ecosystem for granted. it doesn't just happen. even here in san francisco. if we want to remain a global city, we need to embrace and encourage and energize all those important ties that link our city to the rest of the world. so we remain competitive. we need the city's economic workforce development. that is why several months ago, a few brave souls who are in

this room decided not just to continue the great work of these international programs, but to build a robust new platform. a new organization that will take the activities that we've already done to a new level. and be prepared to add on new ones, and new geographies over time. i am the director of global strategies and i am delighted to welcome you to the launch of the global s.f. [applause] i am honoured to serve as cochair of the organization along with my cochair and are incredibly great secretary. we are lucky we have darlene to be our executive director's clause there is nobody in san francisco, nobody in california, nobody in america, or even in the whole world, including

china, that is better suited to lead this organization. we are very lucky to have you, darlene. [applause] we have a really exciting program for you this morning, including a lot more discussion about global cities. you know, we are in city hall. it's important to reflect on the fact that our first program, china s.f., what you are mostly familiar with, was from rounded by then mayor answered to be governor gavin newsom. it was expanded to include latin s.f. and s.f. asia under mayor lee and we are starting a new chapter, a new organization with mayor mark farrell and mayor elect london breach. to start us off, is a real privilege to introduce a true son of san francisco who stepped in at a time of tragedy for the city to become the 44th mayor of san francisco. mark farrell as mayor and previously supervisor, has worked tirelessly to improve our city and maintain a vibrant internationally connected economy, keeping san francisco a

true global city. mayor farrell? [applause] >> mayor farrell: thanks for having me here today. i want to congratulate everyone on the launch of global s.f. pretty cool science here as well. you know, as was mentioned, building on what mayor newsom and mayor lee did in terms of our programs, we continue to attract businesses to the city of san francisco. san francisco has always been a leader on the international stage. and this is just a continued commitment to that. i want to say i very much believe in this. as mayor, as a resident of san francisco, our city government needs to continue to reach out and continue to be a role player internationally as well. i just came back, last week, from a ten day trip to ireland and germany. i've been on many trips internationally as well as a supervisor and now as mayor. i believe it is something we

need to be doing. we need to push the pedal forward as a city. and especially as we think about today. think about, as a country, as a city, when we have our president, our federal administration building walls, building tariffs, doing everything we can that really stymies what we are trying to do here in san francisco. we need to push ahead. that is why i am proud of what we are doing as a city. this continues the legacy, but it is so important in today's world and what we face out of washington d.c., but quite frankly also around the world. it is quite amazing travelling internationally right now i do what people are saying about our country and our leadership, that we continue to push forward to. this is an awesome initiative. this will yield benefits for years and years to come. whether i'm the mayor or whether i am a private citizen once again pretty soon, i will be a huge supporter. thank you for having me here today. [applause] >> ok.

good morning. as you all know, i am darlene, the executive director and thank you all again for coming this morning. i think you mayor farrell for your support and your remarks. thank you and i look forward to working with you, as mayor and as a private citizen. thank you. jantje. i am very delighted to be here today and as you all know, we have come a long way. as we mentioned earlier, in 2,008 with the foresight of gavin unit -- gavin newsom and n the brains of michael cohen is not here, china s.f. was created as a public-private partnership in the chamber of commerce. i still remember it when i was chief deputy in the communications office that he announced he would set aside $2.1 million to establish a china desk. being the sceptic on warm, i said i will believe it when i see it. ten years later, 100 companies, and more than 100 jobs created and definitely more than

$5 billion of foreign direct investment, global s.f. is an independent organization. our work will be on economic development. our job will be making san francisco and the bay area at the destination of choice for overseas companies. what we conduct local businesses with the rest of the world. i would like you all to please meet members of the global s.f. team. please raise your hands when i call your name. hannah lee, director of china s.f. [applause] leanne wong, program manager of china s.f. [applause] joe lynn vallejo, director of latin s.f. [applause] laura jenkins, director of partnership. [applause] samba jiggers, director of special projects. [applause]

alex fong, program manager. our youngest manager of the team. [applause] and by the way, i'm still hiring. i'm looking for a new director as s.f. asia. contact me if you want the job description. ok. to better clarify the organized -- organizational structure, because everyone is wondering, are you guys becoming global s.f. right now? what is china s.f. going to equally who are you? what are you going to be equally wanted to clarify the organizational structure. china s.f. and latin s.f. and s.f. asia operate as initiatives focused on their specific regions. reporting up to global s.f. global s.f. will start looking at opportunities outside the targeted regions, whether they be in africa, europe, or the middle east, just to name a few. i would like to thank my founding board members, david kaufman who gave some really nice remarks earlier. he has been with us from the inception of china s.f.

hands the land, might fearless cochair of china s.f. at the time. thank you for being with ass -- with us. and wendy wong who has kept me out of trouble in terms of numbers and finances. thank you. and the transition team for helping my team and i create an identity for our new organization and making today a reality. i would also like to thank the associates for donating their creative work. we have grown up and are ready to stand on our own 2 feet. we are now two blocks away from city hall which is really, really cool. we will be working in the courts space. we will be -- yes, we are. we will be spending time on sectors important to the city and integral to its resiliency efforts. biotech, iot, syntax, food and beverage, real estate and infrastructure investments, to name a few. we want people to know that we are open for business. i look forward to meeting and

working with all the members of the council core. some of you are represented today. economic development organizations representing different countries, in cities and counties throughout the bay area. i know we have representatives today from the peninsula and east bay. thank you for coming. and while we continue to build upon our existing partnerships created over the last few years, over the last ten years, sorry. last but not least, i want to remind everyone we are a nonprofit corporation. we are a bona fide five o one c three. no one is our fiscal agent. we are taking donations anytime. [laughter] >> laura is accepting checks. our biggest sponsor will be this city of san francisco. as a partner in our business through the form of a grant. the initiatives will continue to receive seed money to do the great work they have been doing over the years. we are really proud of that. with that, i will stop talking and i will let the panelists today talk to us and tell us why

san francisco is a global city and show us how diverse our businesses really are. thank you for coming. [applause] >> i would like to now introduce and welcome our panelists. want to call your name please come and take a seat up front. susan person, is a research director of northern california at jl l. we next paragraph sophie o'kelly the chief operating officer at decathlon. if you have not been to the shop, you have to go on market street right next to the four seasons. they have the best products and are really good prices. and last but not least, kristin durham, a really good old friend of mine. she's deftly the pro in our space but she is the director and office to the c.e.o. please welcome them. thank you. [applause]

>> good morning, ladies pick first to balk back i wanted to note we actually have an all-female panel. isn't that awesome. [laughter] [applause] i think it's incredible, because, especially when we talk about the me too movement, but also in a city where we value diversity, to actually have women in positions of leadership, to me makes me cry. anyway, thank you. and then we have talia hart. she is here today. she is the president and c.e.o. of the chamber of commerce. please welcome her. [applause] we will continue to work closely together, even though we are quote "-right-double-quote divorced. [laughter] , separates. anyway, we are here today to talk about why san francisco is a global city. i wanted to start with susan,

the research person. could you tell us, what are the key indicators for a global city? >> a global city is a city that has business and produces goods and services that go internationally and touch all parts of the world. i think that there are at least six key indicators of what makes a global city. number 1 is the people. san francisco is a true melting pot. we welcome everyone. i think, also, we welcome them but we welcome though -- their cultures. as a result we have restaurants, and cultural events and all kinds of things that reflect the variety of people here and who they are. access is another key part of that. our great port and airport make us easily accessible for everyone, for people to come and go and for goods to come and go. education is another key aspect of that. our world-class educational institutions produce highly educated people and a workforce

that innovates, that thinks ahead what else. we have, obviously our technology is very innovative here. we sponsor a lots of startups and unicorns and more established tech companies whose products, goods and services, once again, touch all parts of the world. we also have tourism. people come to san francisco and they see what a great place it is. our beautiful environment, and they want to stay or come back. and of course, not to forget finance. the finance here is world-class. we have financial institutions from all over the world. we have big banks and we have venture capitalist and private equity and lending everything that goes on here. that makes us able to do everything else. >> thank you, susan. sophie, she is from france. do you agree with everything that susan said, and, you know, we know that decathlon has been

a really good in china, but what made you set up shop in san francisco. >> i agree with what you said, susan. [laughter] yes. decathlon has more than 1300 stores worldwide. china is a very big market. why san francisco? san francisco, for us is a city where all sorts are represented. we proposed more than 70 spots in our offer. we need the feedback. we think that in san francisco we have the passion and the culture for sports and we will obtain great feedback on all of the products we have to propose. there's also a wonderful innovation culture here. our first store we opened on market street is, to us, a lab. we are using san francisco as a lab to modernize what we will do in the u.s. once we have come to the right conclusions. we are testing many things in that story. we are testing mobile system

payments, retesting the omnicom is reports where we can make sure all of our customers have a project at -- product at any time, anywhere, when they need it with any device. this is the best place to do this over here. we are obtaining great results. >> that's good to know. my next person, kristin, i wanted to ask you, since then desk was conceived on a desk in denmark. why, and how did the founders decide on san francisco? >> i think that the factors that susan talked about definitely played a role in the minds of our founders. the company was founded in 2,007 in copenhagen. and by 2,009 we were already here in san francisco. i think that for the founders, you know, there was some consideration of the city. they made a brief stopover in boston after they had raised their first money, but in many ways, san francisco for us has been an inevitability. the talent, the access to

financial capital, and just having an environment where people know how to build business and how to build it quickly and how to scale it globally with something that, you know, when we saw the product starting to get adopti adoption, it made sense to double down in san francisco, and build a team that would take the company forward from here. and so, you know, that was, now, eight years ago. seven or eight years ago today. we are 2200 people worldwide. about 800 of which are in this city. we continue to increase our footprint along market street because the things that hold true for us, you know, when we were a small private company, even now that we are public, are still true today. we can hire diverse workforce and we can get a variety of skills and talent in that enriches our business and makes us better able to design software that serves all of the

customers that we want to serve. >> that's good to know. innovation seems to be here here. one word i'm hearing and resonating really well. but susan, can you touch on what makemake san francisco a globaly for the future? >> we have an international research department and we produce all kinds -- we compare markets all over the world and one piece that we put out is what we call our city momentum index. san francisco and silicon valley, it was put out in the last few months. they ranked number 1 and watch what globally. what this index looks at his innovation and how to take it to the next level. by k. obviously, because san francisco, this area ranks high because of some of the things i mentioned before, the number of tech startups we have which are fuelled by our great universities, professors and students, partnering and students graduating and going

out on their own and having really invested in great thoughts on products that they want to produce and introduced to the world. so it has to do with, you know, the education. it has to do with the number of startups. it has to do with the number of unicorn companies that are not yet public but valued over a billion dollars in phantom starch in san francisco. we are the top producers of those companies. looking ahead, you know, we see san francisco as a place -- it is a place where these companies are fostered, and with change occurring at such a fast pace in the way we live and work today, san francisco was really at the forefront of all of this. i think that that's really what gives us the momentum to be a city of the future. next i will ask kristin. in your mind, what make san francisco unique?

>> there are a lot of things, right? there's lots of things about the city that makes it unique. when we think about it in the terms of our business, while we have built our nd centres in our global offices, we've expanded our sales force to be in a region as well. i think that very much, is still at the level of understanding of product and technology innovation, you know, those products projects still remain here in san francisco because we have the opportunity to hire talent out of universities and also to be able to bring in engineers and product designers and product marketers who have experience, you know, doing these things for decades now, right? as san francisco has been, you know, not just on the edge of the original silicon, you know, but the internet, and now what we are moving forward into which

is a world of apps and connected devices and things like that. i think for us, you know, san francisco is still really unique in that regard. i think that, you know, how did san francisco become unique? i think a lot of it is, you know, and cultural in terms of the openness that the city has to welcome people in, to welcome business in and making this an environment where you can get connected and you can get the help that you need. it's very unique. and the ability to work with the city to continue to improve, you know, the communities that we are in. and in no other city, have we had that level of partnership. trust is really important and developing culture within the company, and being able to create a culture that is lasting and that is focused on, you know, helping employees be empathetic and be in the

community and really giving back and working. for us, you know, that partnership with the city has been a very unique. on the fun side, right, our employees love that, you know, we had a large float at the pride parade on sunday, you know, it's a great opportunity for us to be out in the community in that way. and a lot of other initiatives like that that don't exactly exist anywhere else in the world. i would say, from our customer's perspective, we are developing a new center to bring executives and from around the world. san francisco, for them holds this, you know, magic as being a real center of global trade and not in the obvious ways that perhaps hong kong, or london once where. this is where the world comes for innovation. we get to benefit from that and also be in a part of that flow however, it looks.

>> really interesting. partnership i am hearing a lot, right? we are still diverse and have a great culture. let's talk about retail now. sophie, what do you think -- how do you think things will change, and what is retail going to look like for the future, especially in san francisco? >> i think we have seen there has been a big change in retail in these recent years. i think you will agree with me on that one. we see that online sales are becoming the very predominant on the retail market. that there is a big bank occupancy rate in san francisco. it is hard to find real estate. big boxes, notably. we have surface area between traditionally 50,000 and -- 15,017,000 square feet. is not an easy thing to find in the city or the bay area. players the question of how do we position ourselves? what do we want to do it san francisco? and when we will be expanding at a later stage, where will we rest with the model we are

building here? we are a city-based model. wingfield that, today, our customers that we call our users, our ambassadors. everyone has to be ambassadors of our different products. they need to have a convenience that they want to have. they need to be able to purchase online or in the store, with the best quality service they could have. they also need to feel they have a personal dialogue with us that we are actually there with them doing sports with them in their communities. we feel that the retail activity, and the specific locations will take less space and we will highlight what we can bring online, and our stores will be a window to our e-commerce. what we are trying to engage in is the community. it is a really important word we share. to be in the community with our sports users so they can have access to our products online and meet us in our story.

>> thank you. let's touch on that too. what trends do you see? you guys talked a lot about what we see different in the retail space. the thing is, i wanted to talk about trends in products. >> sure. is a very interesting space over here. our products are starting to be known. wif we have our own designprodu. we feel that there is something that we have to explain about products that are technical, but are affordable compared to other products that can be very, very technical and great products, but nothing -- not just on the same way. for us there is a real story to tell about who we are and how we sell our products and how we design them. it san francisco it is demanding in terms of what type of products you can offer. our big challenge is to make an offer that is perfect for san francisco. we feel it is one of the most demanding markets in terms of

sporting goods. because of the variety of sports we can practice here that is our aim. that is why engaging in our communities and the sports world is very much targeted on communities and talking to people. it is very important to make sure they have the right offer. >> san francisco is a demanding market. susan, how does san francisco -- how are we competitive compared to other cities in california? and in other gateway cities in the u.s.? >> it is all about the talent here if you look at the statistics, the proportion of people with a college degree in san francisco is higher than the national average. it is higher in san francisco than the east bay and the south bay. it is also the millennial workforce. san francisco has, i think, 30% of people in that 22 to 27 age range we hear about what a low

unemployment rate san francisco has. companies are really challenged to hire the people that they need to grow and to grow their businesses. i think that one of the things that makes companies globally, and companies around the country feel like they have to be here is because the people here are very talented. we have the talent that people want to hire. young people want to live here because it is a great place to live, you know, the whether, -- the weather, the culture, the diversity, everything, you know, the places you can reach in a few hours. you know, you can go skiing or to the beach. all of the things that are available here that make all of us want to live in this area, i think like a draw that talent. the talent draws the businesses because they, you know, want to grow. >> that's good. good to know.

i feel old all of a sudden. >> the thing is, with that in mind, what does san francisco offer to compete in the global market? the city itself has been a great partner. can you elaborate on that queen. >> yap garrick at the same time, there is a lot of talent here locally. it is challenging, right? san francisco is more expensive than it ever has been. the ability for our employees to live in the city, you know, is increasingly complicated. i think that for us, that is aware we really look to the city organizations, ideally like global s.f. who will help bring the kind of thinking about how do we develop in an economically inclusive way which, you know, is a concern for a company, even like ours, which is growing well, you know, i think it something that we can't turn a blind eye to. the willingness of the city need

to engage in that conversation, like i said, our office is at six and market. if any if you walk down a part of market street, you see the challenges of homelessness and drug abuse, and that, you know, these are super challenging thing is on the city continues to be there and work with us on that to help those people and to make it inclusive, even on that small scale. it is really important. taking that sort of commitment to the city as a whole and the economy as a whole is really encouraging. it shows the city has bought in to making all of a successful. >> great. sophie you have something you want to add to that? >> no, i agree with what kristin said. i think there is really a big change that's happening in the city. i think that many companies are coming to the city. we are located inside the city. and also in oakland because we have a warehouse in oakland.

i went through that area and it is really great to be able to develop and expand inside san francisco which is a wonderful city. and we like being in the city. that's why we chose to have our first store inside the city which is not what we usually do. we really wanted to be inside san francisco. is a great opportunity to be inside the city. >> that's great. i think we have members here as well. i hope you heard all the comments today. we will continue to work with you all caps clearly. kristin, sophie, we definitely appreciate you have chosen san francisco to be your headquarters, at least to have your office here. and the chamber and the city look forward to continue to work with you. is there anything else any of you would like to add? any questions from the audience? otherwise we are moving right along to our next speaker so we can have champagne. [laughter] opa. thank you. sorry, yes. >> sorry about that.

i am james bridgeman. the cochair of the san francisco zurich city committee. the comment is to put a plug-in for sister cities. we have 19 in the city and we do a lot of work with bringing businesses here. we could go on for a long time on that. my question to you is how do you workers afford the cost of apartments and things like that in the city. a two bedroom apartment cost more than $500,000 a month -- $500,000 -- $5,000 a month. >> as an incredibly tough challenge. i think homeownership or homeownership affordability is less than 15%. i see people that are on my team struggling to figure it out. if you are young, you have a roommate, you know, there were headlines the other day about $117,000 considered low income for a low income family of four,

which is astonishing. i also think that, you know, people figure it out. there's definitely a housing shortage. not just in san francisco, not just in the bay area, you see this happening in other markets all over the country. maybe nowhere so severe as it is here. we see people, you know, moving further out living in the city with roommates or all the things that people do. it is definitely a huge issue that is impacting businesses. we do see people moving out of the bay area. those people -- we also see people moving in. the people moving and have higher incomes. so it's certainly a challenge. >> we have developers in the room today too. note this, please. any other questions from the audience? no? ok. we are moving on.

thank you ladies. [applause] i would like to introduce our next speaker who will be closing our program. hans gallant. >> thank you. thank you for placing me between the champagne and the panel. [laughter] very briefly like i'm honored to be here today. and very grateful for such a big audience to focus everyone's attention on the launch of global s.f. from its very inception, san francisco has been an international city. angel island and alcatraz. with landmarks of immigration and native occupation. they are just want to have the many reminders of our area's international past. today,