non-profit, when i facilitate immigration non-profits and philanthropy leaders. i work for the immigrants in detention, who's cases are often heard in the ninth circuit court of appeals in san francisco. we discuss the fact that attorneys across california lack the resources they need to represent these vulnerable individuals. so i recently raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to pair non-profits with teams of experts to tackle these challenges. we're developing solutions that could support the over 450,000 immigrants in detention across the u.s. annually. at the end of this month, i'm visiting a detention facility, as well as migrant quarters. i convene people around shared purpose. i help centers connecting individuals with

asylum-seekers. last year i hoste hosted dinners across the commission at the new tenderloin, and new friendships are develops. in two weeks, i'm hosting another dinner in the tendetenderloin, the first sudanese restaurant run by refugees, and i invite you all to join me. i want to impact one person at a time. i volunteer with a citizenship initiative, where i support individuals and immigrants through their t.d. s. naturalization process. i recently spent three hours sitting across from an older iranian couple, translating, and filling out a document with over 175 questions. having experience in this space and reviewed the phenomenal accomplishments of my current commissioners, i would be the only person sitting at the philanthropy, as well as non-profit advocacy.

i have witnessed the important work this group brings to the city. if selected for the role, i would build on the body's current areas including daca, family separation, and the census, while raising attention to critical areas, including youth mental health, domestic workers' rights, and access to legal representation. i propose partnerships to amplify the role this committee place in this city. to address youth mental health issues who fear their families will be deported. i hold forums on the safety of immigrant and domestic workers. i'm a microphone for those without a voice, and a stage for those with conviction. i know how to build trust, community, and power. and i appreciate your time today for consideration on this board, and i'm happy to share more details.

thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker, bryant davinisia. >> it is my understanding he has moved out of the area and is no longer interested. >> chairwoman: thank you. next we will hear from alahi en suni. ensuni. >> hi, supervisors. professor alahi teaches a class at university, and she left her class at 10:00, and is on her way here. >> chairwoman: okay. >> and i forgot to mention that the commission, in the last year and a half, has been really productive, so they worked me on the african immigrant and black americans first time convening with the aston

institute. it is commissioners who called for a daca hearing, for a hearing on the travel ban, hearing with the yemeni community, where 70 members of the community were testifying, and they were all organized and invited to the commission by one of our commissioners. also, tonight -- and we invite the public to come tonight. we're going to hear from survivors of world war ii concentration camps, japanese-americans who took a recent trip to the daily detention center in texas, and met with some of our central american detainees. so this is important work that the incumbents on our commission has driven. and i also did want to voice my support for jesse navaro and paul monge because they represent some of the gaps we have currently on our commission. thank you very much. >> chairwoman: thank you. next we'll hear from

sharaask mar. hi, good morning. >> good morning, honorable supervisors, fellow applicants, and very importantly, victor young, who has been very helpful explaining the processes. thank you, victor. i'm seeing him for the first time. i'm here to briefly share who i am, why i am here, and how i am here. having been to one of the commission meetings, what i find that i'm a slightly different kind of applicant, who has bee had a slightly different path to immigration. i came to u.s. to get my master's degree from texas university in 2003. it took me 15 years to become a u.s. citizen. now i'm a proud u.s. citizen for one year and

15 days. although i cannot represent myself as having some huge problems in this 15 years -- i was never subject to any deportation or some serious, huge problems. however, there are some dreams and some, you know, processes which get broken if you're on a legal path to citizenship for half of your work life. for me, being born in india, which is one of the three countries where currently the citizenship time or the green card time is expected to take 20, 30, 40 years. that's how i see myself as a different kind of applicant. so coming back to who i am, me and my wife came from india for my master's degree here. i later completed the course work from u.c. santa cruz. and i work at uber currently, although my full-time job is an

engineering job related to credit card security, but at uber, we help other employees who are having anxieties or delays related to visas. sometimes the problems or formal, and sometimes not formal. sometimes their family or spouse is having some immigration problem. they need an informative, helping group. i started this group with the help of a few other employees before i became a u.s. citizen. so that's what made me interested in this job. and i've travelled to 27 countries. i have lived in three countries. and what i found that is amazingly easy, or easier, to travel the world on a u.s. passport. so now, obviously, i'm here to represent the voices of legal immigrants who are here through green card processes, which is,

unfortunately, exceeding their expected work life. people are very upset about it. they want immigration reforms, and i do have some limited experience because it was never my full-time job. interesting story on how i am here. the day i took the oath of citizenship, saline kennedy, the chair of the commission, she was the invited guest speaker. otherwise i would never know that something like this would ever exist. today is my first day in this building. through the speech of saline kennedy, i got inspired, and i contacted her and put up the application. apart from immigration, i'm also passionate about education, education issues. i'm a visiting professor at san jose state university. and i enjoy teaching and mentoring young people through their career and visa issues. i've been a soccer coach for many years. in the last five, six

years. and, also, i've served as -- i've served where i've lived, as a director, which gave me different prospectives on helping others. so to conclude, my plan is to stay humble and learn because a lot of people who have a more serious background or many times on the commission themselves, and through that learning, i wish to highlight the voices -- although this is not like a very sad story, but in a way, it is sad that if you come to this country -- i'm 42 years old, and i consider myself too old. i've reading an article that in silicon valley to start a company, if you're over 36, you're old. the point is i spent 15 best years of my life waiting to be eligible to do anything, rather than my assigned regular job. so these are also

important issues when i hope to highlight. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. i appreciate your time. >> chairwoman: any questions? no? thank you so much. next we'll call up jesse ruiz navado. >> buenas días. [speaking through interpreter] good morning. my name is jesse ruiz navado. i migrated 18 years ago from my country. and i lived for about 16 years in north carolina. and i've been in san francisco for the past couple of years.

and i have been working with trans latinos, an organization here. it's an entity that serves transgender women who are latino. and i want to tell you a little bit more about me. i am a lyft driver. and i volunteer with ella about twice a week. where, for example, we go to different organizations and foundation, trying to fund raise money for the organization, to serve the community. >and the reason i am here

and i would like to join the commission is, out on the streets, what we see is a lot of transgender latino women who don't have access to dignified housing. and all of the members of the immigrant community have many needs, but we have particular vulnerability within the transgender community. me, for example, i'm standing here before you, and i don't have health insurance. and i am close to being kicked out from my home. and this is why i'm here, because there are many rights that we need, and i want to fight with all of

you about that. for example, we have a lot of transgender women who live on the streets. and i am socialists part also pa small organization that does fundraising. [speaking through interpreter] so sorry. i'm part of a co-parativtive where we sell things and pool things together. and what we use that money for is to send it to the women who are detained at the border, in the detention center. because they don't have any access to money. and they need that, even to have a quick phone call to communicate with others.

so that's how we use that money for. and, you know, i know that everybody who stood up here before you has formal education, and i know i don't, but i know i can stand to work and fight for our communities. and i am also open to learning. i just finished training on computers and technology. and i want to continue learning more so that i can serve my community better. and i want to thank everybody who is supporting me, too. thank you for letting me be here. >> chairwoman: gracias. is there any questions?

no. muchos gracias. [applause] >> chairwoman: all right. i don't think the professor arrived yet. we will give her a chance if she arrives before the end of the hearing. could this be here? no. so right now i want to open up this item for public comment. if there is any member of the public who would like to speak on this item, please go ahead and line up to my left, your right, and jordan, if you want to start us off. >> all right. >> chairwoman: thank you. >> my name is jordan davis. you know, it's funny, i'm actually up for reconfirmation on the next item, but i really love the immigrants rights commission, and all of the work they do. the work they do on the taskforce really intersects with immigrant rights. i think there are a lot of

qualified applicants here. but i want to speak on three people. jesse -- i know we've never met in person, but you are my sister. there is representation on every dam commission in this city. and let me just say something, i've worked with a lot of her people from alad, and even though i don't speak much spanish, and i know there are language barriers there, we manage work together, and we manage to make a great team, and, really, you're my sister, jesse. and i also want to speak in favor of paul monte. i know him from a lot of work we did around the "our city, our home," and homelessness rights. he's a great guy and someone i really trust. and also ryan, who i've met at the young democrats. let's just say i get around a lot. but, really, there are a lot of great people. and there are applicants for, like, six seats, but

if you could fill three of those seats with jesse, paul, and ryan, that would be awesome. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker, please. >> hello. i've just requested that someone from the h.r. c. attend tomorrow's board meeting as it also pertains to the issue of housing, immigrants' rights, and social equity. there is an absence of high-density housing in the heart of african-american communities. and there is the issue of denying african-americans to construct the high-density housing that would house them, not just in the mission, but throughout the state, from san diego to the oregon border. you also seek to deny achieving maximum utility values by undermining

household operation when you hamper construction development. i wish you guys would set your narrow, parochial interests aside. >> chairwoman: thank you. next speaker, please. >> good morning, supervisors. i am monica bartlet. i'm here to speak in support of adla christy. she is a first generation immigrant herself. her parents were poor indian immigrants, muslim as well, and she is really focused on policy issues. she has a master's in public policy. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is julian marosa. i'm here to speak in support of adla christy, also. much like mo monica, i have

gotten to know her, and based on her experience, and master's degrees, and as the daughter of muslim immigrants, she has a profound dedication and understanding of how our public policy works, particularly in the detriment of immigrant communities, and she is a fierce voice for advancing equitable systems and policies. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. is there any other member of the public who wishes to provide testimony? seeing none, public comment is closed. here we are as usual with our impossible task of unbelievably qualified candidates for only a few seats. the good news -- because, again, we're in one of those situations where, you know, i'd feel comfortable appointing any of the applicants to this commission because you're all incredibly impressive,

obviously dedicated, and bring very specific expertise to the table. the good news is that we are going to have some additional seats coming up at the immigrant rights commission, seats that expire on june 6th. so if you are not recommended for appointment today and aren't approved from the board, i really encourage you to consider applying again on june 6th, when those seats come up. i am looking forward to hearing from my colleagues, but like many of you here today, i just want to express my excitement and my gratitude to you, jesse ruiz, navado, for submitting your application, that you've come here to speak to the committee. jesse would be the first

transgender woman, person, to serve on this commission. and i believe would bring a very perspective and voice to this body. additionally, you're a limited english speaker, and believe it or not, on the immigrants rights commission, you would be one of our first committee members that dominantly is in english, and i think that is really an important perspective to bring to the commission as one of the cities with the strongest language justice policies in the nation. we need your direct experience with being a limited english speaker on a body serving the immigrant community. so i really think those two historic firsts are incredibly important, and i'm very, very excited today to support your

nomination. before i speak on other appointments, i wanted to see if either of my colleagues had any comments on motions. supervisor mar? >> yeah, well, i just wanted to thank all of the applicants who have come forward today for the immigrants rights commission. thank you so much for all that you do, and for your willingness to serve our city and the immigrants rights commission and the immigrants communities. i think all of you really represent the diversitiy of our immigrant communities. so it is just really wonderful to see that. i would just echo supervisor -- or chair ronan's comments and point out that all of you are very qualified to be serving on the commission. and we look forward to seeing those of you that aren't appointed today at the next future opportunity, which will be soon. >> chairwoman:

supervisor walton? >> i just want to echo the comments made by my colleagues in terms of really excited about seeing people who are willing to serve. the immigrants rights commission is a very important commission here in san francisco. and so see so many qualified folks interested in serving and supporting our immigrant community is just -- it's a good thing to see. and so thank you for taking the time to come out. we do have hard decisions to make as we move forward with who we nominate for appointments, but i do want you to know that if for some reason you're not appointed today -- or not nominated today, please continue to come back. it is very important that we stay fired up to represent and support our immigrant community. with that said, i think i'll go ahead and move to first move forward a positive recommendation -- and i'm going to mess up

these names, and i apologize. ragdu gimi for seat two, ryan castasi for seat three. ramino for seat five. and [indiscernable] seat nine. which takes care of the incumbents. >> could you repeat the last one, please? >> alahi asuni -- >> i'm sorry, i'm trying to find it on my list. oh, yes, thank you. >> chairwoman: and i will second that motion. we'll do the appointments in two parts. i agree that especially given director pon's recommendation that we reappoint the incumbents to allow for continuity of the work, and i would just add that for seat two,

that we add a residency waiver and seat five as well. do you have the motion? >> yes. >> chairwoman: okay. if we could take that without objection, that motion passes unanimously. and i'm happy to make a motion for the remaining two seats. and i would move that we appoint jesse ruiz navado to seat one, and paul monte, who i've had the pleasure of working with for decades and just hold in the highest regard, to seat four. >> one moment, please. i'm trying to find the names. >> chairwoman: jesse, the last person listed, and paul, fourth down on the list, for seat four. >> found it.

>> chairwoman: great. i'll take that without objection. without objection, that motion passes. thank you so much, everyone. i really appreciate it. [applause] >> chairwoman: i'm really hoping that the rest of you reapply in june. >> and i will be contacting you with the new seat descriptions, and asking you if you would like to reapply for the additional seats. >> chairwoman: thank you. thank you so much. mr. clerk, can you please call item number three. >> item three is a hearing consider appointing nine members in definite terms to the single room occupancy taskforce. the s.r.o. taskforce. >> chairman: thank you so much. i know that jamie bonmatsu is here today, who is the chief housing inspector with d.b.i., and the official chair of the taskforce, and i would love to give you an

opportunity to start us off with a few words. >> thank you, supervisors. i am the chair of the s.r.o. taskforce. i took over for rosemary boski about 10 months when she retired. today is actually my first day as the chief housing inspector. my work on reforming housing inspection to help responsible tenants and landlords began about 25 years ago. it was part of a reform group that included many famous san franciscans like the former director, jess cause, the san francisco apartment associations jenny neu. and the harvey milk club, and the aids legal referral panel. the person that started the first s.r.o o. collaborative was trying to decide whether to hire belbill suro are chris daily,

and i suggested, why don't you hire both of them, and she did. that original program was modellied on a programodeled a d code inspection outreach. the goal was to improve living conditions in a cooperative spirit, to maintain the minimum standards of the san francisco housing code. the s.r.o. taskforce helped broaden the participation of communities with the s.r.o. clab tiffs o. collaboratives which served chinatown, central city, the mission, and the s.r.o.families. >> and the chinese progressive association is also a member of that collaborative. it totals about 20,000 san franciscans. the s.r.o o. taskforce

worked with the collaboratives and the board of supervisors to establish groundbreaking groups, and passed the landmark s.r.o o. sprinkler ordinance which saved thousands of lives. our taskforce today would like to renew the terms of our existing members and replace a couple of members who have served us with honor and moved on. we are simply looking for people who can work constructively within our bylaws and the open rules of the city and the state, in order to best serve our s.r.o. communities. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions? okay, great. i'm going to go very much in the same way we did with the immigrant rights commission applicants, through each applicant, and invite you to come up and speak for three

minutes. starting with christopher meika. >> hello. good morning. so my name is christopher meika. i'm an s.r.o. tenant and a resident of district nine, supervisor ronan's district, near 16th and mission. i'm here today to apply for seat one on the city's s.r.o. taskforce. i'm proudly running as part of a queer s.r.o. housing slate with courtney brown. i moved to the commission 23 years ago. i came to live in an s.r.o. via homelessness. a few years ago, i suffered a traumatic brain injury in a fall, and as an eventual result of my injury and subsequent inability to function, i became unhoused.

being newly permanently disabled and becoming -- and being homeless was a nightmare. a significant part of that nightmareishness was a struggle to try to access homelessness and housing services, and to understand anything coherent about the serviceservice's landscape. in the end, after being rejected, my case was picked up and i was placed in an s.r.o. last july. i first became interested in s.r.o. residents and quality of life issues last year during the campfire, when i lobbied my landlord to help the residents of our building, which is primarily composed of poor people who have chronic health issues. i wanted them to help -- i wanted our residents to

receive particulate masks so they could breathe safely. my s.r.o. building manager more or less laughed in my face. however, i was, fortunately, able to procure 100 masks via a donation from a local organization. and i distributed them myself doo door to door to every person in my building. to me, this moment begs the question: how is this supportive housing? obviously, s.r.o. organizations, who have multi-million contracts with the city, can and must do better when it comes to caring for their residents. you know, and i'd like to enable that. my other active experience over the last nine months includes volunteering with the "q" foundation, related fighting for civil

rights of our city's homeless. i believe all lgbtq people, especially the transgender community, deserve to feel safe, and that's why i'm glad that supervisor ronan has passed legislation making bathrooms safer for transgenders. is my time up? >> chairwoman: yes. but if you want to conclude your thought, that is fine. >> i would be honored if you chose me for s.r.o. taskforce. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions? no? thank you so much. next is, if we could hear from randall sloan? good morning. how are you? >> my name is randall sloan. i won't take much of your time this morning. but i'd be honored to serve on the s.r.o. taskforce. i've lived in an s.r.o. for six years in soma.

and i've also, for the last four years, have been associated with central city s.r.o. collaborative, and that's an organization that advocates for s.r.o. tenants in the tenderloin and in soma. we go in and build relationships with tenants and with landlords, and we help tenants have more -- have more quality of life by dealing with issues of habitability and relationships with landlords and that sort of thing. so i've learned to be a real strong advocate for s.r.o. tenants, again, intentar loin and in soma, in tenderloin and in so manya. i think it makes me uniquely qualified to serve on the seat in the s.r.o. taskforce.

that's all i have to say today. i really would be honored to serve as a member of this taskforce. thank you so much. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. any questions? no? thank you so much. i appreciate you being here. >> thank you so much. >> chairwoman: next, if we can hear from sarash patel? not here. shanita gardener. hi. good morning. >> hello. my name is shanita gardner, and i am a residence coordinator for the housing development. i work with single occupancy residents. i have been doing this for four years, but before i started doing this, i was a desk clerical with he herita's management. i feel i should be on the board because this is what i do: i help single

residents try to get their lives together. they've been on the streets for 10 to 15 years, and they need someone who is going to be able to help them get themselves together so they can move on to something better. it has been my passion to help the single occupant residents. it is something i love to do. we have created great programs for them. we make sure they don't go hungry. and so i just think that -- i'm sorry. i'm nervous, but i think that i would be a good candidate to serve on the board for single occupancy residents, if you'll have me. think that's it. >> chairwoman: thank you. thank you so much. you did great. next, if we'll here from dion roberts. >> good morning, chair

ronan and supervisors walton and mar. my name is dion roberts. i'm the executive director of mary elizabeth inn. i stand here today with my colleagues, staff, and our property management team. there are individuals here today seeking appointment to seat for people who work for very large influential non-profits, who have several s.r.o.s, and affordable housing projects throughout san francisco, well-established voices in the community, who have had representation on an s.r.o. taskforce for years. i encourage the rules committee to consider a new voice in mary elizabeth. the s.r.o.is the only housing option for homeless individuals with low income and special needs. this housing resource needs to remain

accessible, clean, and safe, and code and ordinance-compliant. mary elizabeth inn has been housing the single adult woman seeking safe and affordable housing sings 1914. and since 1996, the single adult homeless women from the streets and shelters, including domestic violence shelters. in 2009, when the care not cash program was implemented, i consider it a win/win/win situation. more guest hotels transitioned into s.r.o.s for the city's homeless population, and non-profit organizations, like m.e.i., could master lease the buildings, administer housing programs, and basically fulfill our mission. 10 years later -- 10 years later, it's the city and residents who are losing. you've heard at least one example from a tenant

representative earlier. non-profits are losing, but the property owners are winning. i have a few ideas to bring to the taskforce. and effort to work with private tenants -- excuse me -- private property owners, the tenants, and other city agencies so that the taskforce is truly fulfilling its mission of improving the quality of life for residents. i ask that you appoint me to seat number four on the s.r.o. taskforce. and i thank you for your time. i'd like to know if you have any questions. >> chairwoman: supervisor walton? >> just a quick question because i believe ms. roberts said seat number four, but i'm seeing seat number three here. >> i believe there was an

advised agenda. >> thank you. perfect. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next, can we hear from courtney brown? >> good morning, supervisors. i'm really honored to be here today, and honored to be part of the s.r.o. housing justice slate, along with ms. davis and mr. meika. we're an entirely queer slate, providing a space to better advocate for our lgbt members of the community. when i moved to san francisco 10 years ago, i had no idea what an s.r.o. was. i found out by repeatedly joining the community in volunteer efforts. i volunteered with the san francisco suicide hot line before i became the hotline director a few years ago. i volunteered at the aids foundation with the harm reduction center. i volunteered treating hospice patients, and i

found out almost all of the services are used primarily by s.r.o. tenants. i think something we really need to improve in this community is opportunity to hear from the members, the tenants of these organizations of s.r.o.s. i think that there hasn't been enough opportunity to listen to them, and that's something that i'm very good at doing. since i've been working at tenderloin housing clinics since july, i've found so many different issues that seem to be facing tenants. i'm noticing that there is not enough harm reduction space for them. there aren't enough harm reduction services accessible to them, leading to a rise in overdoses. i, in fact, lost a client this morning to an overdose. i find there are not enough accessible mental health services, who are causing higher rates of evictions for people who are not receiving the services. i found that there is a

lack of support for members of our community who are undocumented, and some of the only advocates that they have that they feel like they can trust in figuring out how to retain their housing in san francisco and retain their residencies in the united states is their case managers. and i feel that one of my best assets is organizing groups of people, finding out what they need, and figuring out how to advocate for them, how to communicate their desires in an affective way. so if i were appointed to seat four, i know i would be able to bring together as many voices as possible from my organization, and find out what they need in order to stay well and secure in their housing. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. >> any questions? >> chairwoman: all right. thank you. next if we can call up alejandro garcia. >> good morning,

supervisors, and this is very nerve-racking, i can tell you that. but, you know, it's an honor to stand before you. and i would have never imagined ever in my life being in front of any supervisors in the city of san francisco. [laughter] >> but i would like the thank the rules committee for the opportunity to present myself as a candidate to the taskforce. and i would also like to thank the taskforce for allowing me to sit in and observe. i have been in the clab ficollaborative for over a year now, helping tenants communicate with building management, and working with landlords and building management about issues and/or repairs they have in their hotels, both private and non-profit s.r.o.s. in my past, i have worked with families and individuals in different states, primarily working in one of the first few southern states that

expanded medicaid under the affordable care act, during the initial rollout, so that was a nightmare, but we were able to enroll about 10% above our threshold that was required by c.m.s. i have also worked as a representative for farm workers in the north coast, including sanoma county and napa county, to enforce existing, long-standing labor contracts in those cities. i would appreciate being in the s.r.o. taskforce. i look forward to working with all tenants, from both private and non-profit s.r.o.s, as well as with building managers, so we can build a cohesive group and understand what we can do to better the living standards and situations. thank you. and i'm open to any questions or concerns. >> chairwoman: thank you

so much. any questions? no? thank you for being here. >> thank you, again. >> chairwoman: next we'll hear from clifford gilmore. hello. good morning. >> good morning to the chair, supervisor ronan, and the distinguished members of this body. my name is clifford gilmore, and i'm with the city collaborative, which is part of the housing clinic. and i recently had the privilege and honor of serving on this past taskforce term. and for our organization, the real scope and body of our work is really around tenant rights. but our philosophy has been, and continues to be, to try to build a partnership between tenants and operators and property owners so that in pursuit of actually improving, together, a

partnership, the quality of life for owners as well as tenants. and so i feel as though bringing that perspective to the taskforce has allowed me to see a broader perspective among the different participants who make up that body because we deliberate, but we deliberate based on facts and information that some of the agencies provide. and so when that happens, we're able to submit to you some sort of recommendation as an advisory body. so with that, i really decided i wanted to offer my service again, in hopes of just moving the taskforce forward in a positive way, with the understanding that there some, obviously, people who came before me, and the standard that they set i think is important, and i just want to be part of a body that continues that

legacy. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. >> thank you. >> chairwoman: is angela chu here to speak next? i don't see her. okay. raul fernandez barrio saba? not so bad? >> very good. thank you. good morning, supervisors, always good seeing you. i appreciate being here. one promise i have, i'm not going to use the three minutes. three minutes sounds like three weeks to me. i don't like to talk about myself a lot. but i'm an immigrant from mexico. i came here in the early '90s, with $80 in my pocket. i ended up homeless in downtown l.a., in skid row, so i have that first experience with homelessness, and i know what it feels like to be out there in the streets, unable to take a shower, and smell una ri urine on other,

and not knowing where your next meal is coming from. i obviously followed the path that many immigrants did, for four years or so, i was coating asbestos without any protections in the bay view or whatnot. so i'm always hopeful that nothing wrong develops down the road. and then in the mid-'90s i did my transition to the non-profit field. so i work for the city of south san francisco, teaching third, fourth, and fifth graders, and i work with the city of san francisco serving severely emotional, disturbed youth. i was working in community services, doing probably the first housing site on thomas street. i also worked for the mental health issues as the director of the institute on compulsive hoarding and cluttering. and for the last four

years, i've been the coordinator of the s.r.o.'s collaborative, in four neighborhoods in the city: chinatown, mission, south of market, and the tenderloin, where we're, like, doing a lot of advocacy policy and education to work with over 700 families living in s.r.o.s, in sub-standard conditions, eight-by-eight rooms, no kitchen, no bathroom. and some of them are paying as much as $2,000 a month. so, unfortunately, what we're observing is many of these families are stuck without any real access to affordable housing. and sadly, we're seeing -- we know that the children living in s.r.o.s are not meeting their developmental milestones. and we're seeing this

intergeneric racial phenomenas. so i would just like to submit my name out there for your consideration, and as a form of endorsement, i would like to recommend juan garcia, chris and courtney brown, with whom i've had the pleasure to work in the past. thank you so much. >> chairwoman: you didn't talk about yourself, but you almost used your three minutes. [laughter] >> chairwoman: it goes fast, doesn't it? thank you so much. [laughter] >> chairwoman: and last, but certainly not least, jordan davis. >> okay. so i want to start off with a quote by alexandria cortez, "you don't have to be perfect, but you do have to be 100% committed." ni namnimy name is jordan davis.

i'm one of very few transgender people seeking seats on boards and commissions, and i'm a self-advocate for disabled folks. i'm a fellow in the 2018 class of the boards and commissions leadership institute. in addition to my service on the taskforce, i'm part of the home coalition, the voluntary services coalition, the labor lgbtq organization, and the homelessness working group. and i'm involved in the s.r.o. work group, which is currently dormant right now. over the past few years, i have advocated for the rights of s.r.o. tenants, such as hotels conversion 2.0, and first of its kind legislation that would require single occupancy toilet seats being gender neutral. thank you, hillary, for working on that with me. even some people voted

against it, which broke my heart. weeks ago on the taskforce hasn't always been easy, and i have thought of quitting, due to trans phobic transgressions, but they deserve dignity and not being rent-burdened. on the taskforce, i helped to bring populations to specific resources to a tenant resource directory, and brought housing justice issues, and there may be therapy puppies coming into my building soon. in terms of the future, i would like the non-profit hotels and do it without compromising budgets. i would like to see discussions about what happens in s.r.o.s. i would like to see ways we can further protect s.r.o. tenants from mice entering the building. and lastly, i want to say that

i would like to pay it forward and help recruit christopher meika for seat one and courtney brown for seat four, because i believe in a city where the housing crisis seems to be getting worse, we need to respond with the best and with a can-do attitude. we are the s.r.o. justice housing slate, and we also support shanita gardner for seat three. we are pro-equity, and we hope to have your support. by the way, supervisor matt haney just texted me last night, and he is supporting the slate. [applause] >> chairwoman: thank you so much. now i'd like to open up this item to public comment. if there is any member of the public who would like to speak on this item, if you could line up to my left, your right. and whoever wants to kick us off, go ride ahead.

thank you so much. >> hi, good morning, supervisors. my name is harvey williams, d-4 resident. i'm here to voice my support for the housing justice slate of canada's, including courtney brown, and christopher meika, and jordan davis. all of them are passionate about improving the quality of life for s.r.o. residents. through christopher's experience with the "q" foundation, jordan's work as a current member of the s.r.o. taskforce, and courtney's experience working for a non-profit housing provider, they have knowledge about the stakeholders involved, and have shown themselves well-qualified for the taskforce positions. i've worked closely with christopher and jordan on issues related to homelessness and housing. they bring an empassioned opinion.

i strongly urge you to support christopher, jordan, and courtney for these positions. thank you. >> christopher: thank you s>> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker. >> good morning, supervisors. i'd like to speak on behalf of randall for seat one. i've worked with him for four years. i'm a private tenant organizer with the s.r.o. collaborative, central city, and i would think he would be a very good choice for this seat because he is carrying. he understands people. i lived in the s.r.o. for 11 years, and was a tenant organizer. so it takes a lot to be a person that lives in the s.r.o. to be concerned about people living in s.r.o.s. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. hi. good morning. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is gail secras, and i work with the s.r.o. collaborative, and i'm

here on randall's behalf. i have worked with him, just as brenda has, for four years. i believe he is wonderful. he is so good with the tenants. i've gone out many times on the out reach with them, and he has a demeanor that is just owe relaxing, and they respond well with him. i think he would be a great asset if you appointed him to seat one. thank you. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker. >> good morning, supervisors. my name is lindsay mullkahe. when i started at the collaborative almost two years ago, i was tasked with running our private hotel outreach program. randall, also known as r.j., is a person who really showed me the ropes. he has been with their program for four years now. where he conducts door-knocking, advising tenants on their rights,

and he works closely with individual tenants to resolve habitability issues. i want to note that two-thirds of the s.r.o. units in san francisco are privately operated. while they don't have the same visibility as the non-profits, they are a majority in the city, and they often are underlooked and don't have access to the resources and the support that non-profits do. so we believe r.j.'s experience in our program, combined with his position as a hotel desk clears, and his personal experience living in an s.r.o. makes him an expert on non-profit and private s.r.o.s. i also want to note his inner personal skills. r.j. has shown me how to listen to tenants, how to gain trust, ho t how to be patient when you're

dealing with what seems like a never-ending bedbug case -- we've had many -- and how to collaborate. he is connected to the lgbtq, disabled communities, as well as has a really strong regional and economic class lens that he brings to not only understand individual tenants, but the larger political and economic situation of housing and displacement in san francisco. i would also love to submit my recommendations for courtney brown for seat four, and juan garcia for seat five. i've worked with them both. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. hi, good morning. >> thank you, supervisors, for what is a daunting task that you have to to provide here. my name is cathy black, and i'm executive director at san francisco's oldest and largest provider of shelter and support to victims and survivors of domestic and intimate

partner violence. we have collaborated with many programs in this city, but really in a very intense and comprehensive way with the mary elizabeth inn, and the hotel ver ow verona. for about 20 years we've been in partnership, and it is a really wonderful part of what we do. we provide support services at both locations. and i think if you're looking for a bold, outspoken, new, innovative, inclusive voice, i hope you'll consider dion roberts. thank you very much. >> chairwoman: thank you so much. next speaker. >> good morning. my name is sanqia, and i'm a property manager for mary eel let elizabeth inn. and i worked under ms. roberts for the last seven years. i have not met such a

dedicated person as she is. she is always looking for new ways to implement new program that brings positive changes. so any time there is any new programs or anything going on, she is always like, come here. and sometimes i'm, like, oh, man, here she goes, but that shows how dedicated and compassionate she is about over all community. i don't think there is a better person, so please consider her. thank you. >> hello, supervisors. i'm here in support of the s.r.o. housing justice slate of courtney brown for seat four, christopher meika for seat one, and jordan davis for seat nine. i have so many great things to say about christopher and jordan. i really respect these individuals so much, and have seen them do so much work on the