>> first it's always the hardest and when they look back they really won't see you, but it's the path that you're paving forward for the next one behind you that counts. (♪♪♪) hi, my name is jajaida durden and i'm the acting superintendent for the bureau of forestry and i work for public works operations. and i'm over the landscaping, the shop and also the arborist crew. and some tree inspectors as well. i have been with the city and county of san francisco for 17

years. and i was a cement mason, that was my first job. when i got here i thought that it was too easy. so i said one day i'll be a supervisor. and when i run this place it will be ran different. and i didn't think that it would happen as fast as it did, but it did. and i came in 2002 and became a supervisor in 2006. and six months later i became the permanent supervisor over the shop. >> with all of those responsibilities and the staff you're also dealing with different attitudes and you have to take off one hat and put on another hat and put on another hat. and she's able -- she's displayed that she can carry the weight with all of these different hats and still maintain the respect of the director, the deputy director and all of the other people that she has to come in contact with. >> she's a natural leader. i mean with her staff, her staff thinks highly of her. and the most important thing is

when we have things that happen, a lot of emergencies, she's right by me and helps me out every time that i have asked. >> my inspiration is when i was a young adult was to become a fire woman. well, i made some wrong decisions and i ended up being incarcerated, starting young and all the way up to an adult. when i was in jail they had a little program called suppers program and i -- supers program, and i met strong women in there and they introduced me to construction. i thought that the fire department would turn me down because i had a criminal history. so i looked into options of what kind of construction i could do. while i was in jail. and the program that i was in, they re-trained us on living and how to make the right decisions and i chose construction. and cement mason didn't require a high school diploma at that

time so i figured i could do that. when i got out of jail they had a program in the philmore area and i went there. my first day out i signed up and four days later i started to work and i never looked back. i was an apprentice pouring concrete. and my first job was mount zion emergency hospital which is now ucsf. and every day that i drive by ucsf and i look at the old mount zion emergency, i have a sense of pride knowing that i had a part of building that place. yeah, i did. i graduated as an apprentice and worked on a retrofit for city hall. i loved looking at that building and i take big pride in knowing that i was a part of that retrofit. my first formen job was a 40

story building from the ground up. and it's a predominantly male industry and most of the times people underestimate women. i'm used to it though, it's a challenge for me. >> as a female you're working with a lot of guys. so when they see a woman, first they don't think that the woman is in charge and to know that she's a person that is in charge with operations, i think that it's great, because it's different. it's not something -- i mean, not only a female but the only female of color. >> i was the first female finisher in the cement shop and i was the first crew supervisor, in the shop as a woman. when i became a two, the supervisors would not help me. in the middle, they'd call me a rookie, an apprentice and a female trying to get somewhere that she don't belong. oh, it was terrible. it was terrible.

i didn't have any support from the shop. the ones who said they supported me, they didn't, they talked about me behind my back. sometimes i had some crying, a lot of crying behind doors, not in public. but i had a lot of mentors. my mentor i will call and would pick up the phone and just talk, talk, talk, please help me. what am i going to do? hang in there. it was frustrating and disheartening, it really was. but what they didn't understand is that because they didn't help me i had to learn it. and then probably about a year later, that's when i started to lay down the rules because i had studied them and i learned them and it made me a good supervisor and i started to run the ship the way that i wanted to. it was scary. but the more i saw women coming through the shop, i saw change coming.

i knew that it was going to come, but i didn't know how long it would take. it was coming. in the beginning when i first came here and i was the first woman here as a finisher, to see the change as it progressed and for me to become a permanent assistant superintendent over the cement shop right now, that's my highlight. i can look down at my staff and see the diversity from the women to the different coaches in here and know that no one has to ever go through what i went through coming up. and i foster and help everyone instead of pushing them away. i'll talk to women and tell them they can make it and if they need any help, come talk to me. and they knock on my door and ask how i move up and how i get training. i'm always encouraging to go to school and encourage them to take up some of the training with d.p.w. and i would tell them to hold

strong and understand that things that we go through today that are tough makes you stronger for tomorrow. although we don't like hearing it at the time that we're going through all of this stuff, it helps you in the long run to become a better woman and a person i'm currently an h2 firefighter for the san francisco fire department. i served active duty in the navy. i wanted something that was going to be in the medical field, but not necessarily stay in a hospital setting and i didn't want to stay in an office and this job kind of combines everything i was looking for. everyday's different. there's always something new and to learn. and my first introduction to the department was being surrounded by people of the

lgbtq community. and so we were able to get, you know, it just made things a little more comfortable that you could talk to people about things that people necessarily wouldn't understand. i've had to hide myself. able to come out. being able to understand many his and being able to do things in had that sense, it's very liberating to be able to speak like this, this city in particular, it's a mecca for the lgbtq+ community. you know, there's so much history behind it and being part of this community that now accepting us for who we are and what we do, we're able to just be ourselves. any time somebody finds out i am a member of the gay community, i don't get anybody talking about me, nothing at all. it's just oh, cool. you have a partner? like yes, i do. they start asking about that and how my life is. you become part of the family and here in the san francisco fire department it really is

just one big family. you know, it was my dream to be a san francisco fire department member and i'm here. >> he is a real leader that listens and knows how to bring people together. brought this department together like never before. i am so excited to be swearing in the next chief of the san francisco fire department, ladies and gentlemen, let's welcome, jeanine nicholson. (applause).

>> i grew up total tomboy, athlete. i loved a good crisis, a good challenge. i grew up across the street from the fire station. my dad used to take me there to vote. i never saw any female firefighters because there weren't any in the 1970s. i didn't know i could be a fire fighter. when i moved to san francisco in 1990, some things opened up. i saw women doing things they hadn't been doing when i was growing up. one thing was firefighting. a woman recruited me at the gay-pride parade in 1991. it was a perfect fit. i liked using my brain, body, working as a team, figuring things out, troubleshooting and coming up with different ways to solve a problem. in terms of coming in after another female chief, i don't

think anybody says that about men. you are coming in after another man, chief, what is that like. i understand why it is asked. it is unusual to have a woman in this position. i think san francisco is a trailblazer in that way in terms of showing the world what can happen and what other people who may not look like what you think the fire chief should look like how they can be successful. be asked me about being the first lbgq i have an understands because there are little queer kids that see me. i worked my way up. i came in january of 1994. i built relationships over the years, and i spent 24 years in the field, as we call it. working out of firehouses. the fire department is a family.

we live together, eat together, sleep in the same dorm together, go to crazy calls together, dangerous calls and we have to look out for one another. when i was burned in a fire years ago and i felt responsible, i felt awful. i didn't want to talk to any of my civilian friends. they couldn't understand what i was going through. the firefighters knew, they understood. they had been there. it is a different relationship. we have to rely on one another. in terms of me being the chief of the department, i am really trying to maintain an open relationship with all of our members in the field so myself and my deputy chiefs, one of the priorities i had was for each of us to go around to different fire stations to make sure we hit all within the first three or four months to start a

conversation. that hasn't been there for a while. part of the reason that i am getting along well with the field now is because i was there. i worked there. people know me and because i know what we need. i know what they need to be successful. >> i have known jeanine nicholson since we worked together at station 15. i have always held her in the highest regard. since she is the chief she has infused the department with optimism. she is easy to approach and is concerned with the firefighters and paramedics. i appreciate that she is concerned with the issues relevant to the fire department today. >> there is a retired captain who started the cancer prevention foundation 10 years ago because he had cancer and he

noticed fellow firefighters were getting cancer. he started looking into it. in 2012 i was diagnosed with breast canner, and some of my fellow firefighters noticed there are a lot of women in the san francisco fire department, premenopausal in their 40s getting breast cancer. it was a higher rate than the general population. we were working with workers comp to make it flow more easily for our members so they didn't have to worry about the paper work when they go through chemo. the turnout gear was covered with suit. it was a badge to have that all over your coat and face and helmet. the dirtier you were the harder you worked. that is a cancer causeser.

it -- casser. it is not -- cancer causer. there islassic everywhere. we had to reduce our exposure. we washed our gear more often, we didn't take gear where we were eating or sleeping. we started decontaminating ourselves at the fire scene after the fire was out. going back to the fire station and then taking a shower. i have taught, worked on the decontamination policy to be sure that gets through. it is not if or when. it is who is the next person. it is like a cancer sniper out there. who is going to get it next. one of the things i love about the fire department. it is always a team effort. you are my family. i love the city and department

and i love being of service. i vow to work hard -- to work hard to carry out the vision of the san francisco fire department and to move us forward in a positive way. if i were to give a little advice to women and queer kids, find people to support you. keep putting one foot in front of the other and keep trying. you never know what door is going to open next. you really don't. [cheers and

>> working with kids, they keep you young. they keep you on your tones -- on your toes. >> teaching them, at the same time, us learning from them, everything is fulfilling. >> ready? go. [♪♪♪]

>> we really wanted to find a way to support women entrepreneurs in particular in san francisco. it was very important for the mayor, as well as the safety support the dreams that people want to realize, and provide them with an opportunity to receive funding to support improvements for their business so they could grow and thrive in their neighborhoods and in their industry. >> three, two, one! >> because i am one of the consultants for two nonprofits here for entrepreneurship, i knew about the grand through the renaissance entrepreneur center, and through the small business development center. i thought they were going to be perfect candidate because of their strong values in the community. they really give back to the neighborhood. they are from this neighborhood, and they care about the kids in

the community here. >> when molly -- molly first told us about the grant because she works with small businesses. she has been a tremendous help for us here. she brought us to the attention of the grand just because a lot of things here were outdated, and need to be up-to-date and redone totally. >> hands in front. recite the creed. >> my oldest is jt, he is seven, and my youngest is ryan, he is almost six. it instills discipline and the boys, but they show a lot of care. we think it is great. the moves are fantastic. the women both are great teachers. >> what is the next one? >> my son goes to fd k. he has been attending for about two years now. they also have a summer program,

and last summer was our first year participating in it. they took the kids everywhere around san francisco. this year, owner talking about placing them in summer camps, all he wanted to do was spend the entire summer with them. >> he has strong women in his life, so he really appreciates it. i think that carries through and i appreciate the fact that there are more strong women in the world like that. >> i met d'andrea 25 years ago, and we met through our interest in karate. our professor started on cortland years ago, so we grew up here at this location, we out -- he outgrew the space and he moved ten years later. he decided to reopen this location after he moved. initially, i came back to say, hey, because it might have been 15 years since i even put on a uniform. my business partner was here

basically by herself, and the person she was supposed to run the studio with said great, you are here, i started new -- nursing school so you can take over. and she said wait, that is not what i am here for i was by myself before -- for a month before she came through. she was technically here as a secretary, but we insisted, just put on the uniform, and help her teach. i was struggling a little bit. and she has been here. one thing led to another and now we are co-owners. you think a lot more about safety after having children and i wanted to not live in fear so much, and so i just took advantage of the opportunity, and i found it very powerful to hit something, to get some relief, but also having the knowledge one you might be in a situation of how to take care of yourself. >> the self-defence class is a new thing that we are doing. we started with a group of women

last year as a trial run to see how it felt. there's a difference between self-defence and doing a karate class. we didn't want them to do an actual karate class. we wanted to learn the fundamentals of how to defend yourself versus, you know, going through all the forms and techniques that we teaching a karate class and how to break that down. then i was approached by my old high school. one -- once a semester, the kids get to pick an extra curricular activity to take outside of the school walls. my old biology teacher is now the principle. she approached us into doing a self-defence class. the girls have been really proactive and really sweet. they step out of of the comfort zone, but they have been willing to step out and that hasn't been any pushback. it is really great. >> it is respect. you have to learn it. when we first came in, they knew us as those girls. they didn't know who we were. finally, we came enough for them

to realize, okay, they are in the business now. it took a while for us to gain that respect from our peers, our male peers. >> since receiving the grant, it has ignited us even more, and put a fire underneath our butts even more. >> we were doing our summer camp and we are in a movie theatre, and we just finished watching a film and she stepped out to receive a phone call. she came in and she screamed, hey, we got the grant. and i said what? >> martial arts is a passion for us. it is passion driven. there are days where we are dead tired and the kids come and they have the biggest smiles on their faces and it is contagious. >> we have been operating this program for a little over a year all women entrepreneurs. it is an extraordinary benefit for us. we have had the mayor's office investing in our program so we can continue doing this work. it has been so impactful across

a diversity of communities throughout the city. >> we hope that we are making some type of impact in these kids' lives outside of just learning karate. having self-confidence, having discipline, learning to know when it's okay to stand up for yourself versus you just being a bully in school. these are the values we want the kids to take away from this. not just, i learned how to kick and i learned how to punch. we want the kids to have more values when they walk outside of these doors. [♪♪♪] francisco. >> my name is fwlend hope i would say on at large-scale what all passionate about is peace in the world.

>> it never outdoor 0 me that note everyone will think that is a good i know to be a paefrt. >> one man said i'll upsetting the order of universe i want to do since a good idea not the order of universe but his offered of the universe but the ministry sgan in the room chairing sha harry and grew to be 5 we wanted to preach and teach and act god's love 40 years later i retired having been in the tenderloin most of that 7, 8, 9 some have god drew

us into the someplace we became the network ministries for homeless women escaping prostitution if the months period before i performed memorial services store produced women that were murdered on the streets of san francisco so i went back to the board and said we say to do something the number one be a safe place for them to live while he worked on changing 4 months later we were given the building in january of 1998 we opened it as a safe house for women escaping prostitution i've seen those counselors women find their strength and their beauty and their wisdom and come to be able to affirmative as the daughters of god and they accepted me and made me, be a part of the their

lives. >> special things to the women that offered me a chance safe house will forever be a part of the who i've become and you made that possible life didn't get any better than that. >> who've would know this look of this girl grown up in atlanta will be working with produced women in san francisco part of the system that has abused and expedited and obtain identified and degraded women for century around the world and still do at the embody the spirits of women that just know they deserve respect and intend to get it. >> i don't want to just so women younger women become a

part of the the current system we need to change the system we don't need to go up the ladder we need to change the corporations we need more women like that and they're out there. >> we get have to get to help them. >>