ept, everybody is happy to support this event because we all want to be together and after two years of not being able to be together this year, people were especially excited. [applause]

[singing]

[cheers] >> i was sitting down. i thought i was going to be able to watch the show. welcome to the kick-off for san francisco pride! and i want to thank the freedom band, the lgbtq freedom band, the official band of san francisco! [applause] thank you to the san francisco gay mans chorus. thank you to the pride board and our department heads of commissioners, our king and queen and the royal court and i mean, everybody is here. if you are not here, fomo.

your problem. but let me tell you, there is nothing like pride in san francisco. the thing we do when we are at our best, is we celebrate, we have fun, we come together and what we are experiencing now in raising the flag is pure joy and excitement about what this means for all the amazing events, activities, fun, and i'll let scott wiener talk about the real a serious stuff in just a few moments. but, we have come a long way and i'm really proud of san francisco. we continue to set the stage for the rest of the world to follow and we know, it is not easy even here in san francisco. it takes a lot of courage to step out and to not only have an office of transgender initiative, the first in the country-

[applause] -but, i got to say, i'm so honored that honey mahogany agreed to join our administration in doing this extraordinary work. [applause] and those investments will continue and i know with her leadership we'll see transformative things with the transgender community of san francisco. but we know it doesn't stop there. whether business investment, whether it is healthcare investment, whether it is art and culture, housing, you name it, this city has done extraordinary work with so many of the organizations and people joining us today. i'm so grateful to have not only our members of the board of supervisors joining us. i saw myrna somewhere around here as well as matt dorsey and rafael mandelman, but i'm so grateful for our

trail blazing lgbtq department heads, including our groundbreaking fire chief, jeanine nicholson. [applause] and the rest of you guys too. i just wanted to touch on just a few quick things, because i don't know why pride is timed around budget season. you all know, i can't show my face unless i make sure those investments are taken care of and from day one on the board of supervisors, scott wiener has been the person to say, mayor or at the time i was supervisor, we have to make sure that those federal cuts for hiv aids that continue to come down the pipeline and continue to backfill them and that has been the thing i have done consistently every single year, and this year is no different, even during a budget deficit year. [applause] we have a bond that will help support not just harvey milk

plaza to make it transformative so it is the gateway to the castro community with the rich history and vibrancy and city clinic is very important to the community so thank you all so much for your work and your advocacy. [applause] and let me tell something suzanne, you have to get more that corporate money, because we are giving a lot of city money, but we need your help too and we got to call out all those corporations because they need to be investing in pride to make sure that the parade, the events and activities, they want to walk down the streets and celebrate pride, they need to show me the money. we also restored funding and flag ship transitional age youth programs like larkin street and lyric and continue to fund the lgbtq center.

we know these things are extremely important. [applause] so, now stop giving me the evil eye. i took care of the needs and i will continue to do everything i can to insure that this community is not just supported in words, but supported in deeds. we know that this is a amazing city and look forward to transformative change and fingers crossed, we may have a deal finally for a new building for the first ever lgbtq museum in san francisco! [applause] so, i can go on and on and on and on, because we also have to take a moment to appreciate how far we've come. we have to always take a moment, even despite the challenges still going on, not just throughout the world, for this community, but even in some cases right here in san francisco. i was in the bayview hunters

point yesterday for a pride event. that just shows you how far we've come. [applause] thes this was a building that at one point didn't welcome people like us and the fact that we are in here taking over and celebrating pride and being loud and proud about who we are and who we love and living our best lives, that has changed. that is transformation and that is why san francisco is such an extraordinary city and why i'm so proud to serve as mayor of one of the best cities in the country. thank you. [applause] and without further ado-i didn't mention the first ever drag laureate, darcie! [applause]

and also, i definitely need to make sure that i mention the person who is always a big contributor and supporter of all events that we do for pride, thank you so much tom horn for all the work you continue to do. [applause] i'm going to get in trouble for forgetting people. please, for give me. if i forgot you and you are mad, maybe darcie might bitch slap me. you guys heard about the play, bitch slap? you missed a treat. anyway, with that i want to introduce someone who really is a extraordinary leader for this community and a extraordinary leader in san francisco. let me tell you, this guys thinks of everything. he supports this community and supports all san franciscans with

policy, with thoughtfulness and with desire to work with people, despite differences we may have here and there. i admire him so much and appreciate his work and friendship, ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, state senator, scott wiener. [applause] >> thank you madam mayor and madam mayor i want to thank you. we have been 12 years been elected officials together and you have just consistently been there for the lgbtq community through the good times and the tough times, through the budget and making sure that our community receives the resources that it needs and you have always been there and i'm deeply grateful, so thank you madam mayor. [applause]

so, even though the mayor thinks i'm only about serious stuff, not true. i like fun stuff too. i want to say, i'm so optimistic for san francisco in general. we have gotten beaten up a lot the last few years and there is so much good and vibrancy in the community. people are out having fun celebrating and connecting and there is an amazing energy in the sity and it makes me so optimistic the best city on the planet will be even better, so i'm so excited about san francisco, where we are and where we are going to be and i know this pride month we are just going to blow it out. it will be even better then it usually is. [applause] and it reminds us we have to support our amazing lgbtq community organizations that do so much of the work like pride. it doesn't just happen, it happens because of the work so

committed staff and volunteers, so let's always make sure to be there for our community based organizations that help make this month happen. we do have some challenges. as with the city, i have the honor serving as chair of senate budget committee just in time for massive budget deficit and it is a challenging budget year, but we are working very very hard to make sure that our safetynet in particular for our young people, people who are at risk of homelessness, our foster kids who are disproportionately lgbtq, we need to make sure that even during the bad budget times that we are always there for these kids. these are our kids and we need to make sure that we are lifting them up and giving them a path to success, so we are working very hard to make that happen, and because we now-it shows the

representation matters, 10 percent of the california legislature is lgbtq. 12 out of 120. [applause] and it is actually mostly not san francisco, la, we are like legislators from all over the state from the central valley, inland empire and san diego, an amazing beautiful tapestry of our community and tapestry of california. even though we know so much hate directed at the community is happening in other states, unforch tunately it is here in california too and we know we have school boards in particular, very conservative areas demonizing and attacking our lgbtq youth in ways that are so so dangerous and so, about a week ago, our caucus, the 12 of us we said, not on our watch and we introduced legislation to ban these forced outing policies school

boards are starting. [applause] because we know that for all of us, a lot of experience in this room in terms of coming out, in terms of when, if, how someone comes out to their parents, that is our decision and no one else's damn business and we'll make that clear in the law of the state of california. [applause] but as we fight all the nasty people out there who are trying to harm us and we'll beat them and we are going to win, let's celebrate, let's have a festive uplifting mujt. month. i'm so excited about it. happy pride everyone. [applause] >> okay. thank you senator wiener. now for those who need a seat, there are seats. the people who got they purses in the seats, move your purses so

people can sit down. you all didn't think that was funny? if you need to sit down there are chairs to sit down. alright. ladies and gentlemen, the executive director for sf pride, suzanne! >> hello everyone. hello to may family. i see a bunch of you out there. thank you mayor breed, senator wiener, supervisors, city department heads, chiefs distinguish guested. my name is suzanne ford. pronouns are she, her, the first transgender executive director of san francisco pride. [applause]

please forgive our board president in sacramento to receive an award on behalf of san francisco pride from the lgbtq caucus at the state senate, so thank you wen. since he is not here i'll take care of a few things. first of all, i like to recognize these two board members on the end here. our former president and member of the board, carolyn wiseinger. [applause] and george smith the iii. [applause] it must be stated, these people work for you year round for free and i used to do it for free and i appreciate you. you can't have my job. [laughter] now i like to recognize the grand

marsal for 2024sf pride and if you are here, please stand up and wave. rebecca roth, executive director of lgbtq center. [applause] my friend-[indiscernible] [applause] leslie from children afterschool arts program is here. [applause] thank you casa. and are nicole adler. [applause] oh, and finally, my sister, the incomparable, tory teasley.

[applause] staff members from san francisco pride. i know you think there must be hundreds of us. there are only five of us. chris roberts, robin adams, alina chavez and london, [indiscernible] please give them a warm welcome. [applause] okay. alright. the housekeeping is out of the way. now, the remarks start i have to tell you that, i have torn up the speech many many times. this is a difficult time. there are many things san francisco must do. mayor breed, first of all, i want to thank you for the historic investment you made in san francisco pride. no mayor has ever supported san francisco pride like you have. [applause] your staff lead by victor has put up with me and been very supportive and i'm so grateful for that

relationship. supervisor mandelman, thank you for your leadership and guidance. you and your staff endered a frantic inexperienced executive director and i appreciate you. [laughter] [applause] there are so many of you here today that i and sf pride owe so much. marcy, i can't say enough about what you-how you helped us and how much you meant to me. angel from folsom. all my young queer advisors. the list goes on and on. tina, michelle [indiscernible] monique. i can sit up here a long time because they are all here supporting us because we are in a family together. in relationship, sf pride continues to grow and change and to look

different and be more inclusive. our mission at san francisco pride is to educate the world, commemorate our heritage, celebrate our culture and liberate our people. our job at san francisco pride is to construct and hold a container for the lgbtq ia community to come together, to define and implement that mission. we must challenge each other and we must accept that as sf pride. especially on what it means to liberate our people. we know that there is a boycaught sf pride movement from progressive pro-palestinian members of our community. we acknowledge your right to boycott. we know the platform we create can be used to amplify queer liberation. we will continue to love you and hope to be in relationship with you.

there is much work to do. we know that there are some decisions and practices of sf pride that are being criticized. we accept that. however, i want to clear up a few things. first, the san francisco pride board called for a immediate cease fire in gaza over three months ago. two, we have not and will not request additional police at pride. we do not control that decision, we strive to create a atmosphere where police community interaction at pride is minimal. three, we have not and will never refer to pro-pal stin stn members as tearest. rrorist. there are no israeli floats at sf pride. there are jewish community groups participating. they are welcome to participate

and celebrate their queer culture at our celebration. finally, why is holding sf pride even important? i have been asked that a lot lately. this year our theme is beacon of love. the world looks to san francisco to demonstrate that a city does not merely tolerate, but celebrate the lgbtq ia community. we will do that again this year. we will send a message to young queer people all over the country that here in san francisco, you can be your authentic self-. you can love who you love. you can be fabulous here in san francisco. the cost for all of this is loving one another. even when we have principle disagreements.

today, we pledge to do just that. thank you. [applause] >> thank you suzanne for the clar fiquation clarification and amazing speech and celebrating pride. the first word i think of when i think about this next speaker is, fabulous. and, san francisco is a fabulous city, so of course there is a fabulous person representing us as the first ever drag laureate in the world, darcie! [applause] >> my goodness. hello.

it fills my heart with so much joy and pride to be standing here with you all today. i just got to say, i just finished a comedy i wrote and directed and starred in, and there are plenty of cities around the country where the mayors want to put drag performers in jail and our mayor came and saw it twice, and showed up, paid for tickets, tipped the bartenders. that is real time reports. we can talk and talk and talk, but you did show up for me so thank you. >> it was so good! >> okay. so, pride isn't confined to just one weekend, even one month. pride for me is a mindset that we carry every single day. it is a mindset that

continually needs to be nurtured and exercised. it is very important and we should--actually, we must, we must exercise that. we must take pride in who we are. not just for ourselves, but for all the people around the world who live in places where they can't exercise their own pride. they can't walk down the street prideful of who they are. they are forced to hide their pride so we must show it. i often speak about the importance of living authentically and embracing our fabulous selves, not only to enrich our lives, but also to inspire those around us to a ultimately effect positive change. we have the freedom, so we must take advantage and i know that it can be challenging to maintain our spirit in the face of adversity, especially when the world around us feels like

a freaken dumpster fire sometimes, ciotic and uncertain. it can seem inappropriate to be fabulous at times like this, when this is exactly when we must do it. this is the time to be fabulous. these are the times rehearsing for , because if we can show up at the table, we can show up for the hard stuff as our authentic selves we can bring truth and joy and love to the table, we can have honest dialogue and find common ground and comfort one another. the key to authenticity though is pride. we can't be fabulous unless we are proud of who we are. i'm extremely lucky to live a city i could be proud who i am and a city genuinely is proud of me and my

community. [applause] as i said, pride is 365 days a year. what makes this month of june special? we get to shine a light on how amazing we are. so, let's flip on the spotlight, let's get out the glitter and turn up the fabulous. or, as the kids say, [indiscernible] [applause] >> alright. so, we have the trifecta here today. you guy s wonder what that is? it is like our board of

supervisors members and so they will be coming to speak in order. supervisor mandelman, supervisor dorsey and supervisor engardio! >> thank you madam mayor. i love this event so much. looking out and seeing our queer community and all the many manifestations, the leadership in arts and culture and non profits and all of the department heads and city workers who do such amazing jobs. tom horn and madam mayor, thank you for bringing this up. this is one of my favorite events of the year. i want to say a word about honey mahogany. for taking on a really important job in san francisco and we have been blessed. we had claire and carl and they

have done amazing work and i think it says a lot about san francisco that as a city, we center our queer policy work in the office of transgender initiative. at a time when the rest of the country and lots of parts of the world are viciously attacking trans and i gender non conforming folks and using them as a political tool to advance some of the worst policies that san francisco--office of transgender initiatives and we now have an amazing leader who have going to lead not just san francisco in this regard, but the whole wide world. [applause] thanks honey. now i should hurry up and get out of here. i want-the mayor really enjoys out-gaying the gays. it is fun for her and she is right, she is more fun then i am, but i have to

say, i think scott wiener is more fun then people know and is a lot of fun, really is. but, this mayor and she spoke about some things she has done, but you cant list all the investments she made. she and i served all most the same 6 years. she has been on the board a long time and i have been mayor and i on the board of supervisor and i see each june as the new slew of investments come out and as i am one of the gay supervisors now, but the gay supervisor representing the castro, i see this year finally coming close to getting projects done we have been working for the entire time that we have been in office. the harvey milk plaza and for folks--that is a 10 plus year long project that senator wiener was working on when he was acting supervisor and andrea and other friends of the harvey milk plaza been working on this with

along public works and arts commission. this has been going on forever and now finally have the prospect of a funding source to pay for there to be a appropriate memorial of harvey milk in the city that gave harvey milk. thank you madam mayor putting that in that bonds. we will see it done. it isn't just that, we will see a lgbtq history museum built and we are very ornot just built, we are getting the building, people and roberto and all who made the dream happen, i dont want to jinx it but i think we are very close and i'm very excited about that. finally, a lot of us had anxiety about the castro. as the neighborhood that isn't always at that great for our youth and thank you madam mayor the work to bring the funds back for lyric and other providers, but it isn't a place

where people can age and the mayor bought a property where we are going to have 200 units of housing for queer people to age, low income queer folks so when you get evicted from your unit in the castro you lived in 30 years, that doesn't mean you are moving to sus soon city, it means you are moving down the street to a open house building and to marcy aidalman, the godmother of queer senior housing who has a dream back in the agnos administration? thank you marcy for your work, thank you madam mayor for making it happen, and now--[indiscernible] i'm really excited to serve with matt dorsey and joel engardio. come here matt dorsey. >> thank you so much and happy pride everybody? ! just a few months ago we were celebrating the wenter of love and it occurs to me that is one

example of the things this city has done to make history and to lead progressive change and it is important we remember that is really core to what san francisco is all about and the work that we are doing to advance the cause of lgbtq equality isn't done and it is something we lead from from a place of love and that's why one thing i really love about this year's pride is, the slogan is beacon of love. whatever our disagreements are, we can lead from that place and i'm so excited and scott-senator wiener mentioned how all the energy that is going on. i tell you, saturday night i had a long of day of events and looking forward having a quite night at home, a quite nuth until i realized there are 25 thousand teenagers having a rave across the street and what a way to kick off with pride and seeing crowded

muni buses and trains and i got restaurant opening i can't find time on the calendar for it and san francisco comeback is under way and thank you london breed for leading it. i'm look forward to being at the pink triangle celebration this weekend. also honored to represent home of darcie district 6, where the pride parade begins and ends. happy pride everybody. let's celebrate and let me introduce our colleague, joel engardio. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. so, this morning in the sunset i represent the sunset and far west side of san francisco, i had two school graduations giving the commencement speech, low elhigh school and [indiscernible] i thought to myself, when i was in middle school and in high school as a closeted gay kid in

the 1980's, it sure looked bleak, but there i was speaking to the future of today, and i know we have come a long long way, so it is because of the work that we've done as a city and county of san francisco and many people i see in the audience today over the years and decades who made it so that our children today do not have as bleak a future as i might have had in the 1980. there is so much work we need to do. the transgender community is under attack and rally around to make sure everyone in the lgbtq can survive and thrive in our country and in our world. i'm really proud to be the newest lgbtq member of the board of supervisors. i hope we can have more and thank you for celebrating the pride of san francisco. [applause]

>> thank you supervisors. a trifecta! come on you guys, we got to get excited. i also want to mention that, the pink triangle still needs volunteers. patrick harny is here, so-- [applause] --please show up and help with that project. there are so many activities going on in san francisco. the party events, exhibit opening, galleries--just you name it, it will be lit in san francisco and i'm excited about what that means, but i also want to take a moment to ask one more person to say a few words because honey mahogany she was in fact responsible

for helping to formulate this office, the transgender district and the tenderloin community and she's done so much more and i wanted her, since this is her inaugural event as this--she has been around her, you all know and done a lot of work in the political world, lead the democratic party and worked for matt haney and a incredible part of inspiration and the community so i wanted to ask honey mahogany to say a few words. [applause] >> wow. what a introduction. first i want to thank mayor breed for her leadership and for her apoint. ment i'm honored to take this role and frankly mayor breed and i haven't always agreed on everything, but it is testament to her leadership, to her vision for san francisco and her

commitment to the city that she appointed someone she knew or felt would be the best possible job and what is right for san francisco so again mayor breed, thank you so much for this opportunity. thank you for all your commitment to the transgender community. when we look across the country and what is happening now and promise not to spend too much on the negative, but we have in this year alone, 500 pieces of anti-lgbtq legislation. much of the legislation targeting the transcommunity and transkids and their families. i had the opportunity to work with people across the country and organizations all across the country who are currently organizing against some of this hateful legislation. organizations like southern equality who i don't know if you heard, but made historic wins in florida making the don't say gay bill, basically uneffective. there are incredible people doing the work across the country and yet, we

know transkids and transfamilies are currently still under attack and face very real life consequence. we are already seeing the consequences here in san francisco. we are seeing increase of trans-people coming to the city because this city is safe. it is within a sanctuary state and city and has been a leader for the lgbtq community, but specifically for the transcommunity. while they are doing bans for bathrooms prevent people to use the bathroom, here in san francisco, the office of transgender initiative is leading the fight to have inclusive bathrooms in every city building. while other-- [applause] -- while in other places in this country they are banning books while they are kicking kids out of houses and putting them on the streets,

mayor breed has started a initiative to end trans-homelessness in san francisco. [applause] and thankfully we get the opportunity to work in partnership with so many incredible trans lead and trans organizations, many of which are here today. lion martin, lyric, lgbtq center, the lgbtq historical society. taza coalition, [indiscernible] the transgender district and so many more. lavender phoenix. i could go on and on and on. we are so lucky here in san francisco, but we can't rest on our laurels. we must continue fighting, we must continue investing in lgbtq communities, in the resources that support those communities, because i know it is trite, but it is needed-what is that saying?

no more then ever we need those investments. so, again thank you mayor breed for all of your leadership. i know that you hold the transcommunity close to your heart. thank you for supporting us. thank you for this appointment. thank you for this incredible celebration and lastly, i want to thank my staff at oti. please give it up for shane, [indiscernible] who have been so welcoming who held down that office for months. thank you for your leadership. i will be relying on you. this is pride month. mayor breed and i are home town girls it is special time. a time to celebrate rich history. the organizations like the gay [indiscernible] a time to celebrate all we have done, all we have won and who we are as a city, so one more time for

the incredible leadership of executive director suzanne ford. [applause] thank you for all your sacrifice, your leadership, your words today and all your investment in this community. [applause] and with that, i think i'm the last speaker, so happy pride san francisco! [applause] >> alright. thank you! thank you honey mahogany! alright. let the fun begin. you all know there is going to be fun and excitement and are i don't want to see a frown on anybody face. the whole month of june. you can get mad after june, but june, there is only happy people enjoying san francisco. we have some refreshments and excitement again. thank you to the freedom ban and to the gay men's chorus and all joining us here today. we are excited to celebrate

pride and i don't want to go back to work. i just want to have fun with all the youth. thank you everybody for being here. we are so excited to welcome you in city hall and enjoy, stay as long as you want until the building close. alright. >> you know, i remember when i

was a teenager, they did i think it was on the grammys, boss scags narrated the san francisco scene and they did a spot on it and how it's evolved and convergence of multi culture and the emergence of gay community, lgbtq, it was not even called that then. >> so like any good listening back then, i played softball and a friend on the team said, the fire department is recruiting women. i took the test in 88 and 89 i got hired. and i always say this, it was like a perfect career, it was like social work, i love that

connecting and helping people aspect and physical. so i was like a social worker with an ax basically. and i just thought, this is like, this is it, i hit the jackpot. part of my story is, i grew up across the street from a fire station and as a young girl, i use today love going in there and would go in there whenever my parents voted, they the old fashion voting machines. sxifs in awe of the place but i never saw anybody that looked anything like me. it was all men, it was all white men and so, i never knew that i could do that. this was in the 70s. and i worked in several different things and i was at the pride parade in 1991. >> and the chief of the department, she i did give her courtesy card to come in, i

remember it to this day, june 30th. the hand and hand together and i was with a friend of mine and fire fighter named anita prattly came up to me and we had a mutual friend and we didn't meet. and she came by the table and as soon as i looked at her, i said hi o to my friend, i could see she was super athletic. >> and she knew my friend and she said hey, do you want to be a fire fighter, here's an interest card, join us. >> there was something about her that could roll with the punches and also give a few punches. she would be great and i just knew it. i did give her the courtesy card. it was my greatest achievement. >> and it was something i saw myself, yeah, i love a good crisis.

and i'm good in crisis and i'm good on thinking on my feet. and i'm you know, super fit and physical, maybe i can do this awesome. >> but just in terms of pride in general, being able to go to pride and be who we are and be who i am, it's like the sense of digity and equality and inclusion. i was always incredibly proud to represent the community and to be doing service for the community, because that's what i love doing. >> coming to san francisco for me, was really key because i love the city. the city is so vibrant and diversity is really, it's one of its treasures. so being part of a department that represents diversity is huge and so important to me

that we welcome everyone. and not just face value, truly to integrate to have diversity, have representation not just on the fire fighter level but all levels in this department, all ranks up and down the chain of command. it's huge and it's, stepping in as a woman of color as part of the lgbtq community, means more than just myself, right. i represent more than just myself. but as a leader, other people in this department, other people in the community that are looking at me and seeing that there is space for them. and so that is really creating space for everyone. >> when i first joined the military, it was still under don't ask don't tell. i had to be super cautious

about what i was doing. i was still figuring out what i was doing. i joined when i was 19, i knew i was part of the community i was not accepting yet. my first duty station was officer guam and that's where i got to explore who i was. and being under the umbrella of don't ask don't tell, and having a friend being separated because he was gay. it was very rule. had you to make sure that you were following the rules you needed to do everything you need today do. i was fortunate to be there when don't ask don't tell was repealed. you find people who are making a big deal about it, the next day everybody went to work like nothing happened. we were accepted and nobody made a big deal about it. work performance was even better because you didn't have

to hide something and worry about hiding. the transition from that world into this one is basically the exact same. i was able to just jump in and just you know, not even test the waters. >> i grew up with firefighters, my uncle and cuss infor a volunteer department in canada. here it's quite different, bigger department, a lot of different people. you know, just working with san francisco i really enjoy having all the different personalities, background, experiences, i'm a pro lead rhyme now. i'm a year into my probation and i'm already finished. and i felt like everybody has brought me in and show me what they know. and regardless of my sexuality, my gender, my race, i was 28

when i decided to change my career and go any different direction. i'm 35 now just starting out in a whole different field. >> san francisco has a large population of lgbtq community in general and our department is reflective on that. the one thing i love about the san francisco fire department, is we do look like the community we serve and we're making every strife to reflect that. so even in our out reach, recruitment efforts, we're trying to make sure that every single person including the lgbtq community has an opportunity to become a member of our department. soz a subpoena officer, it's important to make sure that i welcome my crew. that includes every single member that is on my apparatus, i feel we can do a better job. >> my dad was a football coach

and he taught me to persevere and be committed and i'm showing that i'm doing that. i'm very proud to say that i get to start my career off as a fire fighter for the san francisco fire department. and i'm proud to be who i am, proud to be all the colors that i represent, proud to be, you know, i love being a woman in the department and to feel comfortable with who i am and very secure and excited to come to work. >> you know, one thing my mom also en grained anything we set our heart to and anything we wanted to do, the only thing stopping us was us. it's my dream to be a fire department member and i'm here, being changed because of who i was and now being able to out and proud of who i am, it's, i feel it should mean something.

>> it's important as a san francisco fire fighter, that we understand the community that we serve. it's important that our department is made up of different genders, different ethnicities, different sexual orientations, because the community that we serve need to reflect the apparatus. >> i've seen, i've seen the evolution of this department, i've seen it change through the years. we're in a better place than we were many years ago. i think we continue to evolve. i'm really hopeful for this next generation of leaders who do smart, determined, lead with heart and i'm hopeful for our future for this department going forward. >> we're your department. we're here for you. we're you and that, and i really believe that san francisco really embodies that.

i tell you, it was the greatest decision i ever made. i kept thinking, my gosh if i didn't play softball i wonder if i would have heard about it. it's funny you plan in life and gu to college and you plan your next steps, but the most profound decision nz life, is how you meet people are random. i was meant to be i think and it was such a great fit being that social worker with the ax, that's it. >> so i see san francisco and san francisco leadership and government as a beacon for the entire country. because we are so up front about what we believe in, we're really up front about inclusivity and i know that, others look at us, many look to us. we've had other departments,

contact us in terms of how do you, how do you do this? how do you create a diverse equitable and inclusive workforce? and so, but i would be lying if i said that we don't have any problems in california or in san francisco or in the department. we are out liars, sure? are we doing our best again to address those things with implicit bias training? with changing the culture, our department has made huge huge leaps as has the city and i really feel like san francisco is part of the solution to moving forward in a better way. people are individuals, there are a lot of different types of people in this world and celebrating our differences is what pride is all about.

[music] >> office of initiative start in the 2017 and started as a result of community advocacy. our transgender nonbinary community advocates were really letting our government know that we needed to be heard. we needed to be considered and policy and budget decision and so, then the mayor lee and founding director of spark created officeof initiative

that allow us to advocate for equity for transgender and nonbinary communitiful we focus on 4 areas. training, education for the city employees. we focus on civic and community engagement making sure our leaders have a voice and are heard by our elected officials. we work on policies and programs to make sure our city is responsive to transand nonbinary community and add voice to departments to integrate transinclusion in policies, procedures and practice. >> we still have, lot of work to do to improve and address equity in san fran for our community upon i feel that we are on the right track and seeing how people's lives are improving thanks to those changes. i do think it is unique that our local government is sponsive to

transgender communities so i hope that people can remember that despite the work we had, we seat progress. we seat change and there is hope for transpeople in san francisco and wherever we come together and organize to improve our lives. [music] >> happy pride. everyone. [applause] [crowd noise].

[music] >> amazing. incredible for the city. for the citizens. for our visitors and the fire department and our public safety partners to come together today and to celebrate pride weekend. >> i came because this is my first, year of pride and i wanted to experience with my mom. i'm most excited for everything i will see. celebrities just surrounded by so many fun people. my besties. we'll have a great time. >> >> i'm most excited about the expression of freedom and things which have to be this way well is no other way to do it. everybody is wrong and we should all be like the pride people and

proud to be who we are >> we are here to celebrate pride >> san francisco pride. it is my first one experiencing the new atmosphere and learning. >> my first one, too. >> so close we could not pass it up. it is san francisco it is the biggest ones can you pass it up. [crowd noise] [music] [crowd noise] >> it means everything that we have a common goal a common operating picture and a common mission. it is great to be together and walk together and show that. [crowd noise] [sirens].

the message is the lbgtq community is reflect in the our police department in san francisco. it sends a message that there are members of the department the police department, sheriff's department, fire department that are just like the people that we encounter in san francisco. and i think it sends a message of hope the more we honor the lbgtq community now, the stronger we can be in standing up against those that don't want our representation. [crowd noise] [music] >> [speaking spanish] [speaking spanish].

[crowd noise] [music] [music] [drums] [crowd noise] this is my first time at the san francisco pride

even though i have been here a couple years, i felt like now was the time to go. um -- really just coming to show my support and love for the whole community out here. um, i'm really excited to be here today. >> i think i am most excited be such an arc mazing community come together. just the love and support i think that especially in san francisco, um, people bring together it is this such a deep feeling. and i'm excited feel that today. [crowd noise] [music] [music]

[sirens] [music] [crowd noise] whoa! [music] [cars honking] [sirens]

[music] [horns] we never been to a parade or something like that. >> i'm excited for the parade never been to an actual pride parade. pretty pumped. [crowd noise] [music] i'm

excited celebrate with all of my queer people and to stand together in a hard time like we affirm each other and support each other. >> same, ditto. >> [laughter]. [music] [crowd noise]. you love who you want to love >> happy pride. >> happy pride! >> go san francisco! happy pride! happy pride. >> happy frigin pride, everybody. [music] [music] happy pride!

of [laughter] [music]

>> growing up in san francisco has been way safer than growing up other places we we have that bubble, and it's still that bubble that it's okay to be whatever you want to. you can let your free flag fry -- fly here. as an adult with autism, i'm here to challenge people's idea of what autism is. my journey is not everyone's journey because every autistic

child is different, but there's hope. my background has heavy roots in the bay area. i was born in san diego and adopted out to san francisco when i was about 17 years old. i bounced around a little bit here in high school, but i've always been here in the bay. we are an inclusive preschool, which means that we cater to emp. we don't turn anyone away. we take every child regardless of race, creed, religious or ability. the most common thing i hear in my adult life is oh, you don't seem like you have autism. you seem so normal. yeah. that's 26 years of really, really, really hard work and i think thises that i still do. i was one of the first open adoptions for an lgbt couple.

they split up when i was about four. one of them is partnered, and one of them is not, and then my biological mother, who is also a lesbian. very queer family. growing up in the 90's with a queer family was odd, i had the bubble to protect me, and here, i felt safe. i was bullied relatively infrequently. but i never really felt isolated or alone. i have known for virtually my entire life i was not suspended, but kindly asked to not ever bring it up again in first grade, my desire to have a sex change. the school that i went to really had no idea how to handle one. one of my parents is a little bit gender nonconforming, so they know what it's about, but

my parents wanted my life to be safe. when i have all the neurological issues to manage, that was just one more to add to it. i was a weird kid. i had my core group of, like, very tight, like, three friends. when we look at autism, we characterize it by, like, lack of eye contact, what i do now is when i'm looking away from the camera, it's for my own comfort. faces are confusing. it's a lack of mirror neurons in your brain working properly to allow you to experience empathy, to realize where somebody is coming from, or to realize that body language means that. at its core, autism is a social disorder, it's a neurological disorder that people are born with, and it's a big, big spectrum. it wasn't until i was a teenager that i heard autism in relation to myself, and i

rejected it. i was very loud, i took up a lot of space, and it was because mostly taking up space let everybody else know where i existed in the world. i didn't like to talk to people really, and then, when i did, i overshared. i was very difficult to be around. but the friends that i have are very close. i click with our atypical kiddos than other people do. in experience, i remember when i was five years old and not wanting people to touch me because it hurt. i remember throwing chairs because i could not regulate my own emotions, and it did not mean that i was a bad kid, it meant that i couldn't cope. i grew up in a family of behavioral psychologists, and i got development cal -- developmental psychology from all sides. i recognize that my experience

is just a very small picture of that, and not everybody's in a position to have a family that's as supportive, but there's also a community that's incredible helpful and wonderful and open and there for you in your moments of need. it was like two or three years of conversations before i was like you know what? i'm just going to do this, and i went out and got my prescription for hormones and started transitioning medically, even though i had already been living as a male. i have a two-year-old. the person who i'm now married to is my husband for about two years, and then started gaining weight and wasn't sure, so i went and talked with the doctor at my clinic, and he said well, testosterone is basically birth control, so there's no way you can be pregnant. i found out i was pregnant at 6.5 months.

my whole mission is to kind of normalize adults like me. i think i've finally found my calling in early intervention, which is here, kind of what we do. i think the access to care for parents is intentionally confusing. when i did the prospective search for autism for my own child, it was confusing. we have a place where children can be children, but it's very confusing. i always out myself as an adult with autism. i think it's helpful when you know where can your child go. how i'm choosing to help is to give children that would normally not be allowed to have children in the same respect, kids that have three times as much work to do as their peers or kids who do odd things, like, beach therapy.

how do -- speech therapy. how do you explain that to the rest of their class? i want that to be a normal experience. i was working on a certificate and kind of getting think early childhood credits before i started working here, and we did a section on transgender inclusion, inclusion, which is a big issue here in san francisco because we attract lots of queer families, and the teacher approached me and said i don't really feel comfortable or qualified to talk about this from, like, a cisgendered straight person's perspective, would you mind talking a little bit with your own experience, and i'm like absolutely. so i'm now one of the guest speakers in that particular class at city college. i love growing up here. i love what san francisco represents. the idea of leaving has never occurred to me. but it's a place that i need to fight for to bring it back to what it used to be, to allow

all of those little kids that come from really unsafe environments to move somewhere safe. what i've done with my life is work to make all of those situations better, to bring a little bit of light to all those kind of issues that we're still having, hoping to expand into a little bit more of a resource center, and this resource center would be more those new parents who have gotten that diagnosis, and we want to be this one centralized place that allows parents to breathe for a second. i would love to empower from the bottom up, from the kid level, and from the top down, from the teacher level. so many things that i would love to do that are all about changing people's minds about certain chunts, like the transgender community or the autistic community. i would like my daughter to know there's no wrong way to go through life. everybody experiences pain and grief and sadness, and that all of those things are temporary.

[music] since the opening on third and mission in 2010 the grove is a epicenter. tis is part of the community. we bring tourist, we bring convention ears and have a huge group of locers who live here. we are their living room and love to see them on a regular basis and seek newcomers to the city of san francisco and serve them a good dose of san francisco hospitality. we make everything in house from scratch every dape we vahand carved [indiscernible] the chicken pot pie we serve probably a hundred thousand if not more. roasted chicken, prime rib,

salad[indiscernible] coffee cake and [indiscernible] all the pies are fresh baked. the home made cookies are done, once, twice a day, depending how fast they go. we believe in goold old fashion home cooked food. we want to be a welcoming, warm hospitable place for everyone to come and hang out. respond time with friends and family, meet new people. have important conversation. relax and enjoy, rejuvenate, get restored, enjoy one another and the at mus sphere the growth. the grove is over 730 to 830, 7 days a week, breakfast, lunch and dinner. >> i don't think you need to be an expert to look around and see

the increasing frequency of fires throughout california. they are continuing at an ever-increasing rate every summer, and as we all know, the drought continues and huge shortages of water right now. i don't think you have to be an expert to see the impact. when people create greenhouse gases, we are doing so by different activities like burning fossil fuels and letting off carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and we also do this with food waste. when we waste solid food and leave it in the landfill, it puts methane gas into the atmosphere and that accelerates the rate at which we are warming our planet and makes all the effects of climate change worse. the good news is there are a lot of things that you can be doing, particularly composting and the added benefit is when the compost is actually applied to the soil, it has the ability to reverse climate change by

pulling carbon out of the atmosphere and into the soil and the t radios. and there is huge amount of science that is breaking right now around that. >> in the early 90s, san francisco hired some engineers to analyze the material san francisco was sending to landfill. they did a waste characterization study, and that showed that most of the material san francisco was sending to landfill could be composted. it was things like food scraps, coffee grounds and egg shells and sticks and leaves from gardening. together re-ecology in san francisco started this curbside composting program and we were the first city in the country to collect food scraps separately from other trash and turn them into compost. it turns out it was one of the best things we ever did. it kept 2.5 million tons of material out of the landfill,

produced a beautiful nutrient rich compost that has gone on to hundreds of farms, orchards and vineyards. so in that way you can manage your food scraps and produce far less methane. that is part of the solution. that gives people hope that we're doing something to slow down climate change. >> i have been into organic farming my whole life. when we started planting trees, it was natural to have compost from re-ecology. compost is how i work and the soil biology or the microbes feed the plant and our job as regenerative farmers is to feed the microbes with compost and they will feed the plant. it is very much like in business where you say take care of your employees and your employees will take carolinas of your customers. the same thing. take care of the soil microbes and soil life and that will feed

and take care of the plants. >> they love compost because it is a nutrient rich soil amendment. it is food for the soil. that is photosynthesis. pulling carbon from the atmosphere. pushing it back into the soil where it belongs. and the roots exude carbon into the soil. you are helping turn a farm into a carbon sink. it is an international model. delegations from 135 countries have come to study this program. and it actually helped inspire a new law in california, senate bill 1383. which requires cities in california to reduce the amount of compostable materials they send to landfills by 75% by 2025. and san francisco helped inspire this and this is a nation-leading policy. >> because we have such an immature relationship with nature and the natural cycles and the carbon cycles, government does have to step in and protect the commons, which is soil, ocean, foryes, sir, and so forth.

-- forest, and so fors. we know that our largest corporations are a significant percentage of carbon emission, and that the corporate community has significant role to play in reducing carbon emissions. unfortunately, we have no idea and no requirement that they disclose anything about the carbon footprint, the core operation and sp360 stands for the basic notion that large corporations should be transparent about the carbon footprint. it makes all the sense in the world and very common sense but is controversial. any time you are proposing a policy that is going to make real change and that will change behavior because we know that when corporations have to disclose and be transparent and have that kind of accountability, there is going to be opposition. >> we have to provide technical assistance to comply with the

state legislation sb1383 which requires them to have a food donation program. we keep the edible food local. and we are not composting it because we don't want to compost edible food. we want that food to get eaten within san francisco and feed folks in need. it is very unique in san francisco we have such a broad and expansive education program for the city. but also that we have partners in government and nonprofit that are dedicated to this work. at san francisco unified school district, we have a sustainability office and educators throughout the science department that are building it into the curriculum. making it easy for teachers to teach about this. we work together to build a pipeline for students so that when they are really young in pre-k, they are just learning about the awe and wonder and beauty of nature and they are connecting to animals and things

they would naturally find love and affinity towards. as they get older, concepts that keep them engaged like society and people and economics. >> california is experiencing many years of drought. dry periods. that is really hard on farms and is really challenging. compost helps farms get through these difficult times. how is that? compost is a natural sponge that attracts and retains water. and so when we put compost around the roots of plants, it holds any moisture there from rainfall or irrigation. it helps farms make that corner and that helps them grow for food. you can grow 30% more food in times of drought in you farm naturally with compost. farms and cities in california are very hip now to this fact that creating compost, providing compost to farms helps communities survive and get

through those dry periods. >> here is the thing. soil health, climate health, human health, one conversation. if we grow our food differently, we can capture all that excess carbon in the atmosphere and store it in unlimited quantities in the soil, that will create nutrient dense foods that will take care of most of our civilized diseases. so it's one conversation. people have to understand that they are nature. they can't separate. we started prowling the high plains in the 1870s and by the 1930s, 60 year, we turned it into a dust bowl. that is what ignorance looks like when you don't pay attention to nature. nature bats last. so people have to wake up. wake up. compost. >> it is really easy to get frustrated because we have this belief that you have to be completely sustainable 24/7 in all aspects of your life.

it is not about being perfect. it is about making a change here, a change there in your life. maybe saying, you know what? i don't have to drive to that particular place today. today i am going to take the bus or i'm going to walk. it is about having us is stainable in mind. that is -- it is about having sustainability in mind. that is how we move the dial. you don't have to be perfect all the time. >> san francisco has been and will continue to be one of the greener cities because there are communities who care about protecting a special ecosystem and habitat. thinking about the history of the ohlone and the native and indigenous people who are stewards of this land from that history to now with the ambitious climate action plan we just passed and the goals we have, i think we have a dedicated group of people who see the importance of this place. and who put effort into building an infrastructure that actually makes it possible. >> we have a long history starting with the gold rush and

the anti-war activism and that is also part of the environmental movement in the 60s and 70s. and of course, earth day in 1970 which is huge. and i feel very privileged to work for the city because we are on such a forefront of environmental issues, and we get calls from all over the world really to get information. how do cities create waste programs like they do in san francisco. we are looking into the few which you are and we want innovation. we want solutions.

>> good evening everyone. i now call this meeting to order. charles. >> good evening. this is a meeting of the san francisco commission on the environment. the date is monday, june 3. the time is 507 p.m. please note the ringing and use of cell phones pagers and similar devices is prohibited. the chair may order removal from the meeting with anyone using a phone or similar device. public comment will be available for each item on the agenda. for comments on matters not on the agenda, there will be a opportunity for