through the women history month program, and i'm proud to be have -- to be part of the celebration, and we should also acknowledge that we will still have a long way to go when it comes to true equity and parity. before we start the celebrations today, i would like to welcome the director of the department of status of women to the podium to say a few words about the history of this event. >> good afternoon president and members of the board of supervisors. happy women charge a history month. i bring warm wishes from the strongest commission on the status of women in the country, including commissioners, the president, the vice president and our partners.

as president yee mentioned, the national theme of this year's women charge a history month is visionary women, champions of peace and nonviolence, here in san francisco, there is no shortage of women persisting, leading the way and fighting for peace and justice, starting with our very own america, london breed. visionaries work alongside us every day as community advocates , nonprofit and business leaders, researchers, healthcare providers, all demonstrating extraordinary courage and commitment in the fight to make our world a more peaceful place. today, supervisors, you will be highlighting some of the finest individuals clicking in san francisco. when you make your presentations , i will also present certificates of honor from the california state senator, scott weiner, philip tang, and david to. there will be a group photo for all of our honourees and a reception for honourees and their guests in room 278

immediately following the presentation. i want to recognize my associate director who has been working very closely with your aids to make today's event happen. i return the proceeding back to president and the boards he may introduce this year's women charge a history month honourees people very much. >> thank you. we will now be presenting the honourees by reverse alphabetical order of supervisors' last names. that means i get to go first. [laughter] for once i'm not the last student to be called. [laughter] okay. i will start with district seven henri, and that is -- honourees, and that is make special friend lisa spinelli. i am so thrilled to be honoring lisa today, quite frankly, we have been trying to get her to

come to the board for months so we can honor her for other reasons. so it is fates that we get to celebrate her during women making history month. lisa is a visionary who truly believes in the core of civic engagement and responsibility. she is international on a daily basis about this mission, she is intentional, i'm sorry on a daily basis about this mission. her day job is to train and facilitate. lisa is nationally renowned for her work in supporting over 100 organizations in a more than hundred nonprofit executives as a professional facilitator and master trainer to help them achieve their goals. lisa's superpower is empowering individuals and organizations to fill their best potential. so she is so effective in

bringing the best of our -- best out of people, and as -- has a special focus on young people. she has mobilized and inspired hundreds to get more engaged with our public schools. she is currently on the board of the jefferson aboard -- awards foundation, and court appointed special advocates which is an essential organization to provide mentorship and support for youth who often are left behind in the legal system. i know how much lisa loves this the work. she is a former chair of this particular organization, and when you hear her talk about this organization, you become a believer. that is how compelling lisa is. she walks the walk and she talks the talk. lisa is also serving as the

chair of the americorps committee, the national public service initiative. in fact, she was on a launch team four then president clinton to make this possible. as if that is not enough, in 2007, she was appointed by the governor to the board of commission -- commissioners were california volunteers. a state agency for volunteerism and service. lisa also previously served on the department of children, youth, and families. beyond her passion for developing a growing organization that serves the greater good, lisa is also closely connected with her local neighborhoods. i came to know her more closely when she was the president of the sunnyside neighborhood association. at the bell boa -- out at the balboa reservoir site, there were discussions about a potential housing project. as you can imagine, with any

land use in san francisco, things have got out of hand quickly. here we had an opportunity as a city, as a community to engage in a robust discussion about the future of a new opportunity site to bring in affordable housing options and housing for families i knew that we needed special guidance to shepherds this conversation in the right direction. that is when we created the community advisory committee and had lisa help stir it. i think without her doing this, it probably would have gotten nowhere. with a short period of time, lisa was able to develop a robust, transparent and engaging process for community members and stakeholders. the process is still moving forward with a developer selected and would not have been possible without her laser focused leadership. she established a motto the other communities in the city want to emulate. it was a lot of work for our city staff, but it was effective

lisa kept pushing this adg become a true model of democracy and civic engagement. i wanted to share this part of her work because i think we often overlook how leaders provide guidance in little, understated ways. lisa, you are an inspiration to so many people because of the way that you are able to bring people in and build people up. i am honored to know you, and i'm grateful for the many roles you play in the community. thank you for all you do and you continue to do. [applause] >> thank you. it is a delight to be here. i look at the service as a thing that i do behind-the-scenes it

is hard for me to be here. it is all about getting people to own things and step up and make a difference. i care tremendously about foster youth and how other citizens can come in and support and really make a difference for those young people, and the bank that i always try to do is when someone asks, i always try to the task because it's through that yes that we get to a better place, and so i'm honored to be honored with ten other amazing women for women charge a history month, and i thank you very much kick together we are better. thank you very much. [applause]

>> thank you. next step would be supervisor schumann walton from district ten honoring shirley jones. [applause] [cheers and applause]

>> thank you, president yee. i appreciate the order. a someone who is always had to go last most of my life. in my short time here on the board of supervisors, i have not had an opportunity such as this to do something that brings me more joy than to honor this remarkable trailblazer. as we celebrate international women charge a month, i am honoring our lows -- local district ten hero, miss surly -- shirley jones. [cheers and applause] >> for over 50 years back shirley jones has been a leader and activist in the bayview hunter's point in san francisco. champion the rights and needs of residents. mr. jones is part of the rich history of bayview hunter's point, and the entire city of san francisco. she has worked tirelessly to improve the quality of life for

residents. mr. jones is currently on the board of young community developers, and is the president of the bayview hunter's point foundation for community improvement. she does not stop. she is cofounder of the california association to health education, employment, and dignity inc. where she served and dedicated over 30 years while simultaneously mentoring dozens of persons throughout her career the first infant child development center in san francisco located in the school setting providing additional social services for parents. over the years, miss jones has prioritized making our community a better community by seeing that we have low income housing in our community. she has prioritized making sure that african-american

communities stay in san francisco, especially since the percentage of african-americans are at an all-time low in the city. she is a native of arizona, and she came to san francisco in 1941 with her parents and nine siblings. she grew up in the mission district, it was the first african-american to attend martial elementary school. her leadership skills were honed at an early age as she was president of her class and student body president at every junior high and went on to become class president for two years while attending galileo high school. she moved to bayview's hunters point at -- in 1966 when community activism was at an all-time high, miss jones began her advocacy by volunteering at the equal opportunity council where she met her mentor and

fellow trailblazer, dr. jess kent -- jackson. [applause] miss jones credits dr. jackson with taking her by the hand and that was the beginning of history in the making. she is known as a no nonsense woman, and if any of you have ever cross her path, you will understand why. she knows how to go straight to the corner and get things done without taking shortcuts. she says she has had many comrades in arms that have worked beside her over the years to help make bayview hunter's point in san francisco more responsive to residents's needs. she is an active longtime member of cornerstone missionary baptist church, and they're here in attendance. miss jones is the proud mother of five daughters, all born in san francisco. deborah scott, anita ward, and

terrel senior. she is also affectionately known as mom to duane and veronica jones, patricia johnson, charles and annette lewis, arlene and corey drummer, and sanders. and too many of us as a grandmother and a mother and mentor. these are inspirations for community service and planting the seeds for our next generation. thank you for your amazing service for our community for the last 50 years. if you are here in honor of miss jones, please stand. [applause] [cheers and applause]

>> miss jones, thank you so much for your amazing service and we will briefly here just a couple of words from our attorney general of the public utilities commission as well. [laughter] >> i do not want that title. >> mr. kelly? >> anyway, i just wanted to take this opportunity to personally thank you from the agency, most people don't realize that you are a founder of the southeast community center, part of the big eight, you and us panola. he founded and really made as commit when we wanted to expand the treatment plant to do something for the community.

without your leadership and really forcing the agency to do good by you, and you are still there making sure we still do good by you in the community, this community center would not have been built. i want to thank you for your leadership, and i want to thank you for all the effort that you've done to help the agency really pay attention and give back to the community. thank you so much. [applause] >> i will try not to cry. as a woman, we always cry. i'm looking around at the table and some of you all i have worked with, and mr. chairman, him and i have done a lot of battles. he is from his part of the city, and i was from bayview hunter's

point and we worked very close together. i am glad to see you stand where you should be standing. to my community, i love, love, love. don't think we don't fight. i don't win all the battles, but i am in there until the end. i want to say thank you so much. i'm glad to have my pastor, my children, and all the other friends and family that are here i have five daughters and i have over ten son so i must have done something real well. he is one of my sons. thank you so much, i appreciate it, and god bless each of you. [applause]

>> okay. , that was nice, next up, supervisor stefani from district two who will be honoring rita so no -- rita so no. >> thank you, president yee. colleagues, i am absolutely thrilled today to recognize the incredible rita semel as district two honouree for the history month celebration. one of the greatest highlights

of my year, last year, was getting to meet rita and getting to know her over the year. when i saw the theme this year, visionary women, champions of peace and nonviolence, i immediately thought of rita and was so grateful to have the chance to acknowledge everything she has done in her life to promote peace and nonviolence and to thank her on behalf of thousands of lives that she has touched, for her wisdom, compassion, empathy, and commitment to loving all of us and bringing people together to do the same. of rita has dedicated her life to promoting civil rights and interfaith understanding. she was born in new york city but later moved to san francisco , and we are so happy that you did, with her family. she received her degree in political science and plan to attend columbia university

school of journalism, but world war ii altered her plans. take a little break? >> hold on just one second. >> thank you, president yee. >> okay. , go ahead. >> thank you. he was a member of the d-day invasion and was injured in combat. rita pursued her journalism goals and was hired as a chronic -- at the chronicle. when she began her career, it was rare for women to even have a journalism career, and in fact , her first title at the chronicle was coffee boy. she did not let that stop there. she quickly became a reporter and was one of two reporters to cover a monumental event in san francisco. when she coverage the signing of

the united nations charter on june 26th, 1925. in the 1960s, she continued her focus on civil rights and took actions that would have lasting effects. in 1953, his recount -- received a call from a local catholic priest who sought to form and interfaith task force on segregation in the bay area. he asked her to represent the jewish committee. the committee evolved into san francisco council on religion and race, which she cochaired for 25 years. after the earthquake, the relief agency formed and interfaith community to eight those affected and displaced. retail was a member of this committee and saw an opportunity to expand the citywide group. the initial committee became what we call today the san francisco interfaith council

where she is currently the executive vice chair. rita personally notes that one of her proudest achievements is the interfaith winter shelter program, which provides shelter at over 35 places of worship throughout the city between november and march. in the early 1990s, the presidio was transforming from a military base into a national park big rita believed the interfaith community should have a presence in the new park and gather interfaith leaders from across the bay area. today, the interfaith centre at the presidio continues to manage the interfaith chapel, whelping -- welcoming thousands of visitors every year. rita has also been an incredible partner on gun violence prevention. after the foot -- fort hood mass shooting into thousand and nine, rita went to fremont for an event. she also spoke at the memorial and the brady campaign last december to commemorate the sandy hook shooting and to honor all lives taken from us by gun

violence. rita has countless awards and accolades for her work. in 2008, she received a special honor from the united muslims of america and local islamic societies for her work in going quote the extra yard for peace and quote. she once said, there's no question of who i am. i'm jewish, working together on these issues, people learn things about each other and are open about what they are and what they believe. this statement and rita herself exemplified inclusivity, love, and compassion that san francisco prides itself on. rita is relentless. i could go on and on and on. i had to really chop a lot out of this. i could go on for ten. i've already mentioned numerous accomplishments enough to fill ten lifetimes. rita is 97 years old. i just have to mention it every time because she is -- i can't believe it's. it is absolutely amazing and still going.

here are some of the other things that rita has done throughout your year. she was executive director of the jewish community relations council. and editor and founding... she is vice chair of the graduate much -- seminaries board of trustees, a trustee of san francisco's catholic charities, families -- family service agency, the homeless port of san francisco, and to the united way a commissioner on the human race commission and many more. if all that wasn't enough, a board member of grace cathedral occasional emanuel. and home health services, clinic by the bay and faith program at the san francisco foundation. obviously, her full impact on our city and community cannot be put into words. she once said, it's important for people to keep going.

it doesn't matter what you do, but you have got to do something , so i choose to spend my time doing this, and as long as people figure i can make a contribution, i will do it. rita, thank you for always doing something, and more than something. you have touched my heart the first time i met you, and i am in all of you, and i cannot fully capture here today your contributions to our city and put into words everything you are to so many people and everything you've done. san francisco is better because of you and you have touched so many lives. i can only say today, thank you for everything, and would love for you to share some words with us. [applause] >> thank you so much, supervisor stefani. i guess i'm just a plain old busybody.

i love this city, and i'm happy to do whatever i can to make it better, and i appreciate so much the honor you have given me, thank you very much. [applause] >> next up will be supervisor

safai who will be honor i -- honoring patricia lee. [please stand by]

. >> and when she began her career particularly with the --

the rise in the southeast asian immigrants, there was a significant number of those, unfortunately, that ended up in the juvenile justice system, and i think that having patty as a public defender and a face of that and working on that issue, today, we've seen a significant drop in those numbers representing juvenile protection, juvenile justice. and so that is definitely because of the work that she has done. herr her innovative practices have become not just a model for california but for the nation. she has transformed san francisco's juvenile justice system into a national model for rehabilitation and innovation. she's strong, compassionate, caring, hard working woman who

committed to her community, and when things go down, people know to call patty, 100%. and i can say that with personal experience with two of my constituents involved in balboa high school. they said we were referred to patty's pamphlet of knowing your rights. her passion for justices come from personal experiences in the breakdown of the juvenile justice system. as a young mother of two, she witnessed these inequities, and decided to devote her life to making sure that youth had a chance, i know she's committed and always believed in giving people a second chance.

the late san francisco public defender have honored her in many ways. as jeff adachi stated, patty's advocacy over the last 40 years have changed the lives of countless children and youth. when she was hired back in the 70's, san francisco had one of the highest rate of sending youth to state lockups. today, we have the lowest rate of any county in california. [applause] >> supervisor safai: she's happily married and the mother of four strong women. patty, i'm truly honored to recognize you as this year's nominee. >> thank you. we've shed many tears over the past few weeks, and actually, today, are tears of joy just

seeing my group of supporters, my homies, my family, my husband over there. i accept this award on behalf of jeff adachi, and i know that jeff is looking down on all of us. were it not for jeff's spirit, energy, we wouldn't be where we are today, and i especially want to thank supervisor safai and his aides, for recommending me for this very, very distinction among the most incredible women that i see in this room. it is an honor. as mark twain stated, the two most important days in your life are when you are born, and the day you find out why. and i found out why almost 40

years ago, when i wassed hire be in the public defender's office, and i rode in the float in the chinese new year's parade with my old boss, bob nico. i've been so privileged to serve the youth and families over the past three decades. it's really an honor to be here for something that i love and i am passionate about. we all share the same goal, and i looked at my group of friends and family here to prevent youth from entering the juvenile justice system. secondly, those that touch the system, we want to ensure that

those touch light, and they do not ever go deeper into the system. we've been fortunate to have an office that's provided holistic defense to move youth of the system so they can overcombarriers to education, employment success, and ultimately, everything we want, which is to lead productive lives and to give back to our communities. through our work locally and statewide, we've advocated to improve juvenile defense, to provide for collaboration with families and communities, and with our justice partners. this was very recently reflected in the jeff adachi youth rights bill which enjoys the support of all of the communities, the schools, and even the san francisco police department. we know that working together, we can prevent violence and work towards safe and supportive communities. we've seen it work.

we've developed magic programs. we have an education program in our office, and we know for every day that a child is in school, they are out of jail. so my oscar moment, i didn't want to forget my thank yous. i want to thank my fellow warriors in the public defender's office that are here, especially those in the juvenile unit in their zealous defense. i thank the bench who is also here, presiding judge, my confiddante, and judge roger lam, who used to work with me

in the public defender's office. mr. jack jacqua, juvenile jack. and my colleagues at the juvenile center. i also want to extend a big thank you to the many community-based organizations that we have partners with to reduce incarceration of children, provide for community programs to work with our youth and families in the community. we know it works in the community. we do not want to institutionalize services in a building that is broken. so i thank you all, and last but not least, i would not be able to do that without the support of my family. i have four daughters. unfortunately, they couldn't make it, and my husband, gill

grahgill -- gil graham, who's sitting there. [applause] >> i couldn't do it without you. i thank you for all your love and support. i know he wants to go traveling, but there's so much more work to be done. thank you, supervisors. it's been an honor, and thank you, families. [applause] [inaudible]

>> president yee: next up will be supervisor ronen from district nine, and her honoree will be juliana milanese.

>> supervisor ronen: otherwise known as juli. there's a ton of people in the overflow room, and i'm hoping they can come to chambers. and there's a ton of people outside that i want to make sure come in. so if you're in the overflow room, please come into the board chambers. and juli, if you want to make your way up to the front? i get to order you around. if you'll get your butt up to the front. [applause] >> supervisor ronen: i was just given a sticker that says juli is the boss. i'm going to put that on aaron peskin right here.

all right. i just want to give a couple of moments for everyone to come in. you have a lot of fans, juli. [inaudible singing] [applause] >> supervisor ronen: all right. i can't tell you how excited i am about this. i get to talk in front of a lot of people about you, juli, and i get to say whatever i want. but i promise i'm going to be nice. i -- this woman right here,

who's a pain in the ass also happens to be a beloved, beloved friend of mine, and she is a force of nature. you know here as juli. her proper italian name is juliana milanese and i'm sure you all know her well because whether she wanted it or not, she either works on her campaign with bugging on every single day or she was heckling you and trying to stop you from getting into office, but either way, she was on one side or the other. [applause] >> supervisor ronen: and i cannot think of a better way to celebrate the contributions of this remarkable woman than to celebrate our own red witch, which perfectly describes juli.

her deep commitment to social justice, her love for friends and family, and her wise circle of friends and comrades make her a perfect partner for somebody like myself. she was born in oakland to immigranted who had a small grocery -- immigrants who had a small grocery store. she attended public school where she learned to be the out going rebel that she is today. she became an active -- in the civil rights movement after seeing how her own community of italian immigrants made their ladder up the american dream

while african american immigrants could not. juli and many others divide the u.s. embargo on travel to cuba to participate in the sugar cane harvest. there, she met her soul mate, the love of her life and her future husband, bill soro, as they cut cane in the field of you cuba. she and fiphil were leaders to save the international hotel, home to many poor and elderly immigrants, the surviving core of what had been a thriving filipino community at the edge of chinatown. in the early 70's, they moved into a small room, where they they helped to -- where there,

they helped to fight the forced eviction. for nearly 30 years more until the site was finally rebuild as affordable senior housing, and a new home for the manilatown heritage foundation. [applause] >> supervisor ronen: juli calls the two years that she and phil lived in the i hotel the best of their life. with their first child on the way, they moved into a house in bernal heights where bill's large family had lived for generations. they went onto have two sons together, julio and joaquin. i see julio here. is joaquin -- when their best friends kendra and frank lynn

passed away, juli and bill welcomed their son into her home. she retired early when bill received a dire cancer diagnosis, and she devoted herself to his care. tragically, bill passed in 2007, but juli continues their fight for social justice in a breath taking number of ways. her fierce passion for justice is wide and it is deep. in the 1990's, she was part of the committees of correspondence, an effort to reform the communist party in the united states which led to the creation of the center for political education now housed at the eric quesada center at 510 valencia. she has been an essential part of their campaign for solution does, not suspensions, and to address the racial achievement gap in san francisco schools.

she helped found and nurture jobs for justice, where our colleague, gordon mar, used to be the executive director which continues to grow as a world class movement advocating for worker rights. her tireless advocacy includes medicare for fall, quality school education and more. juli is a true lover of humanity. believe it or not, she can be a softy when it comes to babies and kid and her dog. she is a prolific cook, and if you know her at all, i'm pretty sure she's handed you a petition and ordered -- i mean politely ask for you to sign it. my words only scratch the

surface of this powerful, loving, and revolutionary woman that is juli milanese. years from now, when our children is living on a just, equal, and loving horizon, we will have juli to thank. when my husband and i were looking for someone to offi kroffi -- officiate our wedding, juli was our only choice. we got married in october, and in the middle of the ceremony we had carefully planned, she

stopped, ordered everyone to take out a piece of paper and a pen, and told everyone how to vote in november. it wasn't planned, but it was perfect, and it was our juli. there's one more thing before i turned over the mic. in january, i wore a difficult t-shirt here with pride to point out the hypocrisy of labels that strong and daring women wcarry. juli, i got you one and i hope you will wear it with as much pride as you wear the one that says, i'm not bossing,y, i jus know what you should be doing. ladies and gentlemen, give a huge round of applause for juli milanese.

[applause] >> can i cut you off here for once? supervisor ronen said that i could add a little bit to her recognition of you. so i just wanted to -- well, thank you so much, supervisor ronen, for honoring somebody who's so close to us and so many people, so many others here in the chamber here today and beyond in the city. juli's been a uniquely impactful organizer for racial and economic justice in our city, in our social movements, and as -- as we've heard, you

know, you've been -- for decades, a relentless and -- force of nature, and -- and also -- i'm just trying to find the words here, yeah. and just -- just an incredible -- i think particularly mentor and inspiration to literally generations of activists here in the city. and so thank you so much, juli. you're so deserving of this recognition here today at the board of supervisors, where you -- you've really been who so many times for so many important causes over the years. i would also say you've been such a holy terror for all enemies, all enemies of the people and really, a colleague

for your closest friends over the years. >> supervisor fewer: may i say one word? >> president yee: supervisor fewer? >> supervisor fewer: thank you, supervisor yee. thank you for honoring this wonderful woman. i have to say, i met juli when i was working at coleman advocates for children and youth. i knew her at someone who fed all of us. i saw her at a time when i think was her deepest sadness, the loss of her husband, but she bounced back. this is an example to all of us, giving to the community of san francisco. it was juli who jacked me up, who said, you're running, aren't you? you're running, aren't you?

juli, i don't know if i should thank you or hit you. but i just want to say, you have never given up on the hope of a future for san francisco. you are never given up on the voices that are the most marginalized and need the most help. you have been out there, bugging people, knocking on doors, bugging us to sign those positions and get those petitions for other people to sign. you have never given up hope, and would you see of that, you have given us hope. today, juli, this is a small commendation. it is such a small token of appreciation of what you have done for us, and the generations of youth that you inspire, your grandchildren and everyone whose lives you have touch, i commend you, also, and i thank you, juli. thank you so much. [applause] >> president yee: supervisor

peskin. >> supervisor peskin: don't worry, juli, everything that can be said has been said, but not everybody has said it yet. i will only add that this human being is the only person who could control chris daly and tom ammiano. >> president yee: juli, i think you're up. >> as your favorite liberal democratic friend -- >> i punch him all the time. >> you punch me all the time. thank you, juli, for everything you've done for this city and for everything you've done for me, and for so many people in this chamber. i join with my colleagues in

thanking you for being awesome. >> okay. i'm going to speak now. i wrote my comments because if i just speak spontaneously, god knows what i'm going to say. so tonight, i dedicate my honor to our beautiful comrads who left us too early, and who fought for justice and equality until their last day. now for the women in my life, whom i respect, i want to honor. when my daughters, my granddaughters, and from my moment, nija, chasan, vanessa,

tina, tere, and tracey. and in closing, as much as i love and respect hillary, i did go to the commission on ageing -- [inaudible] [laughter] [applause] >> all of us? [inaudible]

[inaudible singing] [applause] >> president yee: so as the crowd is leaving quietly, thank you, like to call up supervisor peskin representing district three to call up in a second

his honoree. i'm just going to wait until the door closes. today, i'm honored to honor the youngest person to serve on the california coastal committee in 2017, miss sarah amenzada. [applause] >> supervisor peskin: i think this is the first time since

1976 that san francisco has had two representatives on the coastal commission. we had a -- i really got to know her when we held a reception for her at the san francisco yacht club. she hails from supervisor haney's district, and she used law, policy, and communications to defend californiians' rights to a healthy environment. i actually know her to be more of a fierce warrior for environmental justice and someone who has brought some much appreciated humor to the california coastal commission where we meet around the state once a month. she never shies away from peppering presenters or should i say unknowing victims with lines of questioning. her student note, 2006, on the human rights impacts of sea

level rise, was one of the first legal papers to recognize the impacts of climate change on underserved and disadvantages communities not only in california but around the world. she went onto author a chapter in a legal textbook outlining california's environmental law to protect the environment and communities from sea level rise impacts and now as an attorney she applies that in her job. she was a keeper of the california coastal alliance for eight years, and in that role urged legislative actions against polluted run off, and the ongoing damage of the trump administration. she creates new networks and campaigns to build power in sacramento for the environment, including the blue business council, which took on offshore oil drilling under this federal administrati a