SFWPC “Summer in the City” RECAP: Wow. What a party! We had around 120 attend including: City Attorney Dennis Herrera, Board President David Chiu, Supervisor Carmen Chu, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, Supervisor John Avalos, Democratic County Central Committee President Aaron Peskin, Christine Pelosi, Leslie Katz, Raphael Mandelman, Laura Spanjian, Debra Walker, Janet Reilly, Jane Morrison, Chris Jackson, and many more! Thank you all for your support.  We raised more than $14,000 that night all of which will go towards electing women and men who support SFWPC bottom line issues in 2010.  A big thank you to 5A5 Steak Lounge www.5a5stk.com  for hosting us and to the Event Committee: Annie Eagan (Chair), Jaynry Mak, Sueanne McNeil Biotti, Laura Kennedy, and Heidi Sieck as well as the entire SFWPC Board who helped raise money and run the event. And yes, we promise next year to get a bigger space. J The photos are up, check ‘em out at the website http://www.sfwpc.org/events/sitc09/

SFWPC Wonder Women Save the City: As of June 2009, SFWPC Vice President Heidi Sieck is now leading the Citywide Post Disaster Recovery Initiative under the direction of City Administrator Ed Lee in partnership with Harvard University Kennedy School of Government. The Initiative focuses on improving all aspects of the city’s plans and processes to accelerate long-term reconstruction of the City in the event of a devastating disaster. As Heidi takes on this new role, SFWPC Communications Chair KayVasilyeva joined Heidi in the City Administrator’s Office to take over coordination of the citywide emergency resource management program and citywide logistics for disaster response.  

Heidi and Kay are currently in Disaster City, otherwise known as the National Emergency Response and Rescue Training Center in College Station, Texas participating in a week of intense disaster simulations and response. So when the next earthquake, tsunami or alien invasion occurs, Heidi and Kay can spring into action to support the city’s first responders. 

In case you were wondering, their capes are red and, yes, they do fly invisible planes…

SFWPC Outreach/Special Projects Chair Jordanna Thigpen has resigned from the board because she’s just taken an awesome job as an associate at Cotchett, Pitre, & McCarthy. Don’t work too many crazy lawyer hours.  We thank Jordanna for her service to SFWPC. Don’t forget us, we expect to see you at the happy hours.

We are pleased to welcome Ellen Hong as the new SFWPC Outreach/Special Projects Chair. Ellen is a Student at Presidio Graduate School and a candidate for a Sustainable MBA; she is also a Student Representative at Presidio Graduate School, a Program Committee member for SFWPC and is a founding member of a grassroots organization, Citizen Hope. Welcome to the Board!

SFWPC member and Volunteer Center exec Julia Love hung out with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, First Lady Michelle Obama, and First Lady Maria Shriver (and more than five thousand other folks) at the National Conference on Volunteering and Service held in San Francisco this year. We don’t know if the First Lady was wearing J. Crew, but we do know she looked good!

Former SFWPC President Debbie Mesloh is now the Deputy Assistant United States Trade Representative for Public Affairs.  That is one long title! Basically, she’s super important in DC doing press for Ambassador Ron Kirk, a member of President Obama’s cabinet. Luv ya Deb.

WOMEN RUNNING FOR OFFICE!!

We’re pleased to announce that our very own Supervisor Michela Alioto Pier is running for Insurance Commissioner!  Check her out at www.Michela2010.com Run Michela Run!

Longtime SFWPCer, Commissioner Janet Reilly pulled papers for District 2 Supervisor….We’ve been watching this one for a while and we couldn’t be happier! Run Janet Run! Check her out at www.janetreilly.com

SFWPC Advisory Council Member Mera Granberg has the coolest 40^th birthday EVER on July 11^th at The Fillmore. In true rock ‘n’ roll style, Mera owned the stage with multiple costume changes, fog, lights and a very special birthday song from her longtime boyfriend Sunil Paul. So sweet! Her band, “More Cowbell” is super good, check them out.

At the August Board meeting, the SFWPC Board met with Assessor Phil Ting to discuss his plans to reform Proposition 13. Did you know there’s 7 ½ BILLION DOLLARS NOT being collected EVERY YEAR on commercial property in California because of a loophole in Proposition 13? Proposition 13 was intended to protect residential property owners but commercial property owners have been able to use it to avoid paying market rate taxes. In these days of the State writing IOUs, isn’t it critical that everyone pay their fair share? Check out his plan at www.closetheloophole.com

Do you GirlTalk with an Accent? A group of local artists are working on a project for a local reproductive health organization that rhymes with Spanned Marenthood. They are recording voiceover for a series of animations that debunk myths associated with various contraceptive methods. They need regional accents (southern, northeastern, mid-western, etc..). If you’re into the crazy notion that women should know about contraception, you want $50 and you miss Boston/Mississippi/Minnesota, please call Mark at 415.595.7979 or email noddy@ersatzdesign.com

We’re over 350 followers on Twitter, sign up today to stay up to the minute with SFWPC news…

Looks like SFWPC has a presence in the Democratic Party. SFWPC Advisory Council Member and Former Board Member Debra Walker (you may know her from the DCCC and the DBI Commission) was just elected Northern California Vice Chair of the Women’s Caucus of the Democratic Party. And Stephanie Ong Stillman won a seat on the API Caucus of the California Democratic Party as the new Northern California Outreach Chair.

Tina Lee got accepted and will be enrolling at SUSE (Stanford University School of Education) program for fall 2009. Way to go!

Ellen Hong won her election for student representative at Presidio School of Management. She was the only person with minority ethnic background nominated for this term. Presidio is the one of the few programs in the world, specializing in progressive sustainable management. www.presidiomba.org

Effective July 13, SFWPC Advisory Council Member Melissa Swanson will make the shift from Corporate Communications to Director of Environmental Affairs & Brand Engagement for Gap Inc. We love to see women advancing, congrats Melissa!

The SFWPC Board just met with Board of Supervisors President David Chiu and wow, ladies, he’s good on our issues.  From domestic violence to economic independence to affordable housing to public education, he gets it. We look forward to working with him.

Former President and Advisory Council Member Saskia Traill was seen at the SF County Clerk’s office getting deputized to perform a wedding ceremony at the Log Cabin in the Presidio. She’s now Director of Policy at The After-School Corporation in New York City, desperately trying to start up SFWPC-East.

Also spotted: Margaret Brodkin at the National Afterschool Association conference in New Orleans, learning all about extended day learning for her new role as Director of SF’s New Day for Learning initiative, combining the best of after-school programs with school-day programs to ensure girls (and boys) do well in SF public schools. 

And, did you all see the Most Connected Women in Washington?  SF’s very own Speaker Nancy Pelosi, is of course, a central connector. http://www.wufpac.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/elle_article_september-2008.pdf 

WOMEN’S POLICY INSITUTE 2009-2010 PROGRAM Women’s Policy Institute (WPI) is now accepting applications for its seventh class of fellows. The only program of its kind in the nation, the vision for the Institute is to increase the number of community-based women leaders in California who are actively involved in shaping and implementing policies that affect the health and well-being of women and girls. The program provides intensive advocacy and leadership training each year for a diverse group of up to 30 California women who are leading non-profit organizations and seek to act as a bridge between the needs of communities and policymakers. In just its first five years, Institute fellows helped to pass 10 new laws that positively impact the lives of women throughout California. Areas of focus for the 2009-2010 Program are: economic justice, criminal justice, elder women’s issues and a cross-issue focus on environmental and reproductive justice. The Women’s Policy Institute is a program of the Women’s Foundation of California. For more information on the Women’s Policy Institute and to download an application, please click here. The deadline for applications is June 8, 2009.

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Got info for Girl Talk?  Send it to: girltalk@sfwpc.org

A New Year. A little reflection back … a lot of action forward. What’s a girl to do? Why send shout-outs to the women’s community for the 4th Annual SF Women’s Holiday Party blast! It was great to see all our sister organizations (NWPC-SF, Emerge CA, NARAL Pro-Choice California, Planned Parenthood Golden Gate, Black Women Organized for Political Action-SF, The League of Women Voters San Francisco, National Organization for Women-SF, Good Ol’ Girls, and the Filipina Women’s Network) to put on yet another successful event.

Oh and GirlTalk is not forgetting to be thankful … to Board of Equalization Vice Chairwoman Betty Yee, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Janet Reilly, District Attorney Kamala Harris, Supervisors Aaron Peskin and Sean Elsbernd for generously supporting the cause and Supervisor Carmen Chu, School Board members Sandra Fewer and Jane Kim, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and our endorsed candidate Denise McCarthy for also cocktailing with us. …. and you just gotta love State Senator Leland Yee for sending three (!!!) staffers: Leah Rowell, Melissa Apuya, and Xiao Lei. Kudos for that show of girl-power!

A special thank you to Suede SF and Asqew Grill for cutting costs and making everything happen. And check out the political consulting firms that contributed to putting on the party here: (we work with all of them and they’re all our favorites.)

Hope Road Consulting www.hoperoadconsulting.com
Terris, Barnes and Walters www.tbwmedia.com
Storefront Political Media www.storefrontpolitical.com
Ground Floor Public Affairs www.gfpublicaffairs.com

And while she was socializing at the party, GirlTalk was listening and sends huge congratulations to Frances Hsieh who will be giving wise counsel to a supervisor (Avalos) and surely mentoring a new group of electeds and staff. And to Giselle Barry communicating in a new direction at the Alliance for Climate Protection (think Al Gore).

But the real accomplishment of this holiday merriment was consensus that we must – together – begin building the foundation for the 2010 supervisorial campaigns … which feed assembly and state campaigns … which feed statewide office campaigns… which feed ever upward. The Agreement: find qualified women to run for supervisor in each district in 2010. And find them now … and support them early.

And so we continue. SFWPC, NWPC-SF, Emerge and others are working, right now, to identify potential candidates. We are working, right now, with the Board of Supervisors to find qualified women for appointments to boards and commissions. We are serious and we are committed.

This fall’s Women’s Policy Summit reinforced what, as women, we know instinctively: the power of cooperative work. So we got this policy recommendation for equity on boards and commissions. So there is much to be done and guess what: we have to be the ones to do it. So get involved. We need you. Check it out: http://sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp?id=-4386

And we have a new pro-choice prez…

What a great day January 20th was… We salute the twins: hope and change. And a little shout out to our girl Debbie Mesloh who worked for Obama since the VERY beginning and is now going to stay in Washington to do more good work—we’ll miss you Deb but we couldn’t be prouder. Giselle Barry, Mera Granberg and our new SFWPC Prez Sueanne McNeil Biotti went out to Washington to be there for the big day. We hear it was super cold…brrrr…They ran into one of our favorite politicos, Speaker Nancy Pelosi at the Western States Ball and got to rock out to Mark Anthony (J. Lo even made an appearance—we’re trying to get her for next year’s holiday party.) Much partying and fun times we hear…

And if you haven’t heard, Congresswoman Barbara Lee’s PAC One Voice is looking for a new Executive Director. Check out details on the website. Ladies, it’s a bad economy so if you know of any other job openings, send them our way and we’ll get them out—the sisterhood has to support.

This is going to be an adventurous and happy new year. GirlPower with GirlTalk. Let’s keep moving.

You can email GirlTalk at girltalk@sfwpc.org.

Girls gone wild!

Ok it’s been awhile since we’ve had a chance to chat about the goings on around town … and have there been some!    So now let’s get serious.

The Women’s Policy Summit just concluded and congratulations to all especially head honcho Heidi Sieck.   But ladies, we gotta keep the drumbeat going:   elect more women supervisors, appoint more women to boards and commissions, enroll more kids in our public schools, and help more women find economic independence right here in San Francisco.

The fact that local women’s organizations are focusing on these issues will definitely make a difference.   Witness:  Heather Knight’s article in the Chronicle … “Women losing traction in city politics”. We need a concerted effort to keep in the media … we need to organize around “talking points” and keep talking … We need leadership here … let’s recruit!    Let’s do weekly conference calls with the PR chairs of Policy Summit members.   Include the women supervisors and women who have leadership roles on key boards.   Decide on the three things we will all be saying to our members and the media these next few weeks … Lets coordinate to get stuff done.   It’s time to pressure the outgoing board.

And why why why don’t we have women candidates in every supervisor race? And what about the Ed Boards of local media not endorsing women?   Omigod.   What kind of town is this?

A little shout out to our girl Debbie Mesloh who hasn’t slept in her own bed in a while. Last year she took a little leave of absence from running Ms. Kamala’s press office to help out a fringe—but very inspiring—candidate by doing his press in California. Now she’s heading up the communications for Obama in one of the most contentious states (Missouri) for the likely next prez.  We’re with you Deb!! And thanks Mera Granberg for flying out just to help our girl—we succeed as a team.

Oh and there definitely is something in the water…. baby power:….Bonnie Jean von Grogh brought Leah into the world about a year ago, Amy Everitt and Sueanne McNeil Biotti both had kids last winter (Andrew for Amy and Samantha for Sueanne), Melanie Nutter gave birth in May to a little Nash, and Amy Moy just had adorable Zoe this September…who’s next? We’ve got a little SFWPC mommies and daddies group set up. If you’re interested in joining, contact sueanne@sfwpc.org.

And you have to check this out … Women, Power and Politics at www.imow.org site.   The International Museum of Women’s gathering place.

And well OK I’m just getting started.    Let’s chat again soon.

GirlTalkSF

Got gossip for GirlTalk?  Email GirlTalkSF@aol.com