women in the nation. it's my pleasure to welcome you to the annual women's history month celebration. this year we celebrate the national theme of valiant women of the vote. we honor the brave women who fought for suffrage rights for women and those who continue to fight for the voting rights of others. i'm very pleased to say we're joined by many members of the family. if you could hold your applause, we'll give them a big applause after. carmen chu, board of supervisors norman yee, catherine stephanie, sandra lee fewer, and fire chief nicholson, and police chief william scott. so let's give them a big round of applause for showing up today. [applause]

>> i also like to recognize women's commissioner sophia and julie from the commission on the status of women. [applause] >> also joining us is president linda calhoun, and lisa of the friends on the commission of the status of women. [applause] >> and i just want to thank my associate director carol for her exceptional support for today's event. we are also joined by many women department heads, raise your hand if you're a woman department head. [cheering and applause] >>, as well as many women leaders serving on our commissions and boards. can we have a wave from our women's commission and board members. [applause] >> so we mark 100 years since the passage of the 19th amendment. it's important to remember that

as the sixth state to ratify the 19th amendment, california has played a major role in the suffrage movement. newly uncovered historical sources put together by the neighborhood history project indicates that san francisco was a site of the first ever suffrage march in 1908. over 100 years ago, suffrage leaders picketed the white house, went to jail, endured intense personal suffering in order to secure the vote for women. i do want to note, this is my last women's history month as the department head. i will be leaving my position at the end of the month, after 15 years of service. i had the honor to serve former mayor now governor gavin, the late great mayor ed lee, and the first african-american women and the second woman to be elected to be the mayor of san francisco, the one and only

london breed. she has made equity for all, including gender equity a hallmark of her administration. she's working everyday to achieve a vision of san francisco that is inclusive, fair, and compassionate, one that stands up and supports all its residents. she has a great team and i want to thank two members of her exceptional staff, senior policy advisor nicole and appoint secretary who helped with today's program. [cheering and applause] >> finally before i bring the mayor out, i want to thank the hard working staff of the mayor's office of neighborhood services who makes these celebrations so special for the entire city. so, please join me in welcoming mayor london breed and happy women's history month. [cheering and applause] >> thank you emily. i don't know if you all heard emily say this is one of her

last women history month events as director of the commission on the status of women and she has done an incredible job leading this department for so many years. let's give her a round of applause for her service. [cheering and applause] >> and thank you to all the women who are here. they are not just women commissioners from the commission on the status of women, they are women commissioners who serve in various capacities in this city that has joined us here today to celebrate women's history month in san francisco. we know that there are still a number of inequalities that still exist for women. in fact, as a woman mayor, i still believe it or not, experience some of those when i'm even in meetings, even today, dealing with the challenges of the city.

questions that i get asked i know if i was not a woman, i would never get asked. the fact is that we made a tremendous number of gains. i look around and i look at the fact that so many of you serve in so many capacities. even think of the history of our police department and we see now deputy chief and the other leading women who are basically running the police department in san francisco. [cheering and applause] >> we see members of our board of supervisors, our fire chief, jeanine nicholson and so many other incredible leaders who continue to lead this city as the director of departments, commissioners, president of the commissions, and we also know that it shouldn't take 30 years to have the second female mayor of san francisco. so while we come a long way, we know that there is still a long way to go. as emily has said, we are celebrating the 100th

anniversary of the 19th amendment giving the women the right to vote. it is time ladies that we exercise that right to vote. we know there is power when we serve on boards and commissions. we know there is power when we are at the table making the decisions that impact our lives. just think about it. the fact that we are even discussing in the year 2020 a woman's right to choose and we have to get out there and defend that, even in 2020 is absolutely insane. it means the work that we do now is important, more than it has ever been. i mean think about what san francisco has done. significant policies that the rest of the country is following, including our paid parental leave which people are still excited and talking about today. [cheering and applause] >> things that address the challenges of motherhood that

people who may not have babies understand what mothers have to do in the workplace to of course make a living and take care of their families. there is still work we need to do. today's honorees represent san francisco values at their very best because the work they do highlights the need to do more, to get people to register to vote, to get more people interested in causes and policies that impact women, to help understand how our voices are important. when we come together and we vote, we make magic happen. we make change happen. we make the kinds of policies we know need to be here, even when we're no longer here. we don't want 20 years from now the next generation fighting for a woman's right to choose. we don't want the next generation fighting for the same

policy that should already exist in this city that protect and support women. so today's honorees represent, as i said, incredible women who really have focused on advancing the rights of women, who are spending a lot of their time trying to get women registered to vote, to address what we know, even in san francisco as we see a lower voter turnout, we know disproportionately that it impacts people of color and women. so getting women registered, getting them to turn out to vote is important and having organizations that are dedicated to that cause is also significantly important. our first honoree is a local american woman of color who is a child of immigrants who came to the united states. she worked tirelessly to engage women, register them to vote,

and connect them with volunteer and civic opportunities. have you ever come across people who say what do i do? how do i get involved? what's the next step? people have no idea what to do. nadia has been doing this work to help motivate and get women, especially women who have not been actively engaged, engaged. she volunteered a lot of her time during the 2018 midterm elections, traveling and california, speaking with people across the state and educating communities on how to get involved and how to register to vote. she has been working to bring women together and to take action. so please ladies and gentlemen, help welcome nadia roman and she's this year's woman i'm honoring for black history month.

[cheering and applause] >> thank you so much mayor breed. thank you for being a pioneer and modeling leadership in every way for girls and women in san francisco, especially for girls and women of color. mayor breed's work to cut red tape in city hall, take on the city's housing shortage, and end homelessness in san francisco ensures that this city can truly be a home for everyone. thank you for everyone who came out to participate today. it's great to see this balcony be full and see many familiar faces in the crowd as well. thank you for participating in the celebration of women's history month. 2020 is such an important year in so many ways and there is a

lot to celebrate and look back on, including 100 years since the 19th amendment was added to the u.s. constitution, finally giving women the right to vote. so securing that right to vote, we heard a little bit about everything that went into that. so the formal women suffrage movement start in 1848, 72 years before that amendment was adopted into the constitution. 30 years after that, in 1878 was actually one of the 1st amendments that was introduced and it failed. finally in 1920, a 100 years ago, it was adopted. women and their allies secured the right to vote. so as we look ahead into the rest of 2020, we're already in march now. i ask that we all be attuned to the time that we're in right now. mayor breed did a great job of

talking about how our civil liberties are under attack and that's particularly affecting women and also women of color, specifically. so let's be intentional on how we choose to spend our time this year. it's of critical importance that we pay attention and do the work of winning elections for people that share our values. san franciscan values of equity, inclusiveness, and radical acceptance. if the suffrage that worked towards their goal for decades, for 72 years in a formal way across multiple generations of women and men, we can commit to eight months to get us to november 2020, right? yeah. [applause] >> so i'm going to conclude my remarks with and ask of you all. please push yourselves harder

this year. pay more attention, be more informed, push yourself to whatever your personal commitment to civic engagement looks like. that can be calling a friend or a relative tomorrow to remind them to vote in the california primary. that can be canvassing for a candidate that inspires you in a swing district in california or a swing state somewhere in the united states. let's all commit to being as informed and engaged as possible this year and let's hold on to that beyond november 2020 so we don't find ourselves back in this place ever again. if you ever think about tuning out or turns off this year or in the future, please think of those who worked for decades for the right to vote. thank you. [cheering and applause]

>> thank you. so, the next honorees for today are a group of incredible, inspiring women who decided after the election in 2016 when the other 45 was elected, i don't know about you, but that night i was campaigning for my re-election for supervisor district five and i was walking around the neighborhood and i ran into a young woman who basically was in tears and so many people were hurt. i mean i won that election, but i was still devastated by the results of what happened as a result of that election. as a result of that, these incredible women got together and they said you know what? we're going to do something because i don't eastbound --

even want to talk about what we all know that this president has done, that has not only been offensive to women, but continue to roll back many of the gains we have made. they came together and they really started a movement. the women's march has really been a place that has brought so many women together for inspiring speeches, to connect with other women, and yes there are some men that show up too. they're always welcome with open arms, but what i notice about the men that show up, they're showing up with their daughters. they're showing up with their moms. they're showing up with their family members in solidarity for what we know we need to call attention to the challenges that women continue to face in this country. it's clear that no matter what political spectrum you are on, there is a sincere need for women to come together for the

purpose of talking about the things that matter to us the most. so this has created a platform, the women's march has just really taken on a whole other dimension. it's not only expanded to other cities throughout the country, where they even had a women's march in napa. i was thinking because i love wine, i was going to join them. i was already committed to san francisco. they're not just focused on a women's march, they're focused on advocacy and support year round, in helping to outreach, to get more women registered, to get more people actively engaged, to make sure they're turning out. so they are all volunteers spending their time in order to provide a platform for women all over the country. the people here in san francisco.

they do it with a lot of love and lot of complaints from other people. [laughter] >> but they still try to provide the opportunity for people to be heard and to be recognized, and diverse community, and i know it's a lot of work, but you still do it every single year, even though sometimes it may feel like oh, i don't want to do it again this year, it's a lot of work. we're with you, we appreciate what you're doing and as long as we're here in san francisco, we'll be there to sported -- support the work you continue to do. ladies and gentlemen, at this time i want to invite up one of our commissioners from the commission on the status of women. sophia andari and ann to say a few words and to really thank them along with there's a bunch of women who helped to coordinate this event every

single year. so after these ladies say a few words, we're going to ask them to come up for a photo. [cheering and applause] >> good afternoon. my name is sophia, i'm a founding member and cochair of women's march san francisco. i'm joined by founding member elizabeth, kelly, martha, heath heather, janet who is here in spirit, she's working, and cochair ann. we have other leads of women's march san francisco as well. we're all right here. on behalf of women's march san francisco, thank you mayor breed for this incredible honor. thank you so much. a group of 10 women came together right after the

november 2016 election, not knowing the impact that we would have on each other and our communities. over 100,000 marched on january 21, 2017, in the pouring rain. >> pouring rain, yes. >> to affirm our commitment to women's rights, human rights, civil liberties, and social justice for all. since then, we have partnered with numerous community organizations to continue that work through events, marches, and action to keep our communities civicically engaged. stressing the importance of voting, getting involved in local and national campaigns, and empowering women to run for office and take on more leadership positions. commissioners, more commissioners, now regardless of the outcome of the upcoming

election, we cannot afford to be idle anymore. we need to show up with our votes for our most marginalized, elect more women, especially women of color, run for office, and take on more leadership roles so that women take 51% of seats in local government in the senate and the house, in boardrooms, and in all rooms where decisions are being made. [cheering and applause] >> thank you again for honoring our team to the mayor and the mayor's office and the commission on status of women. i'm going to hand it over to my cochair ann. [cheering and applause] >> again, thank you so much for everybody who's come out today.

i'm the co-chair of the women's march with sophia. as sophia highlighted, none of the women's marches accomplishments over the last four years would be possible without the volunteers and the partners we had working an organizing on nights, weekends, and any other moments of time we could find. i would like to thank our leadership team that we have here today. crystal, robin, ariel, and all the talent and hard work you bring to this organization. i also like to express our deepest thanks to the partners that helped us put this together. this includes planned parenthood of northern california, the women's building, the js c.f.s., glide, care f.s., and the league of women voters in san francisco. [cheering and applause] >> our mission is to empower

everyone that stands for human rights, civil liberties, and socialing -- social justice for all. we will continue to organize to march because the most marginalized among us is defending all of us. in 2020, this marks 100 years of women gaining the right to vote. the women that demanded this right were extraordinary in their conviction and ordinary in the fact that it was a critical mass of people coming together to demand more. to all the women that marched for us, who were arrested for us, who gave their lives for women to have their voice and votes be heard, we honor you today and we promise to humbly continue in your footsteps to all among us achieve equity. thank you all for having us to celebrate. thank you mayor breed and happy women's history month. [cheering and applause] >> so thank you. as the women who are on the

board for the women's march come forward so we can take a photo together. i just want to take this opportunity to thank all of you for coming out today to celebrate these incredible women, to kick off women's history month. tomorrow, the board of supervisors will be hosting their owner is moan -- ceremony starting at 2:30 where i know they're going to be honoring some phenomenal women like we are today. so thank you all so much for being here. after this photo, i also like to take a photo with all the women commissioners and women department heads that are joining us. i want to take advantage of this incredible opportunity. you know, i know that it feels like there are challenging times ahead of us, especially in san francisco and throughout this country. when i look around this room here today, when i think about so many of the incredible

inspiring leaders that are with us right here on this balcony, i can't help but be excited about what we are going to do to change the future for the better because we know that we are stronger when we come together. there is nothing we can't accomplish. so we want to keep that in mind as we move forward with these challenges. we are going to take it all head on. we are going to do it because you know what? when women are in charge, great things happens. [laughter] >> thank you all so much. [cheering and applause]

(role call). >> directors, you have a quorum. there will be no such announcement with sound devices today. item 4, approval of the minutes from april 7th regular meeting. >> very good, board members. we've been supplied with the minutes and i will ask first, is there anyone from the public who wishes to comment on our april 7th minutes? >> for members of the public who are watching this meeting via sfg tv from april 7th, please call (888)808-6929 and then code