LGBT Committee Member Profiles
Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender Advisory Committee
Minutes of the April 15, 2008 Meeting
Committee Members Present: Commissioner Mark Dunlop, Jane Aceituno, Rene Astudillo, Dora Balcazar, Alex Baty, Samer Danfoura, Bill Doggett, Winston Dong, Jr., Ted Guggenheim, Poonam Kapoor, Paul Klees, Allison Laureano, Mark Murphy, Yvette Pannell, Ren Phoenix, Martin Rawlings-Fein, Greg Shaw, Alic Shook, Kim Shuck, Lindasusan Ulrich, Brad Vanderbilt.
Committee Members Absent: Commissioner Cecilia Chung (excused), Saurabh Bajaj (excused), Justin Jones (excused), Kim Shuck (excused).
Staff Present: Nadia Babella, Larry Brinkin, Domenic Viterbo.
Guests Present: No guests present.
1. Call to Order and Roll Call:
Mr. Klees called the meeting to order at 5:36 p.m. Ms. Babella called the roll.
2. Public Comment For Items Not On The Agenda:
None
3. Approval of March 18, 2008 Minutes (action item):
Ms. Ulrich pointed out 1) a misspelling of the name of guest, Emily Drennen; 2) a misspelling of the name of panel presenter, Shelli Rawlings-Fein, 3) to include another resource, Bi Any Other Name, edited by Loraine Hutchins and Lani Ka’ahumanu in the first paragraph of Page 3. Mr. Brinkin pointed out the misspelling of the name of panel presenter Yoseñio Lewis. Mr. Klees asked if a list of topics that came out of last year’s retreat will be emailed to the Committee per Item #6. Mr. Doggett pointed out on Page 4 under “Announcements,” his comment should read that the fundraiser was to benefit black LGBT business professionals, not the Black Men’s Outreach at Magnet.
Ms. Ulrich moved to approve the March 18, 2008 minutes as amended. Mr. Murphy seconded. The motion passed unanimously.
4. 7X7 Presentation: Commissioner Mark Dunlop:
This item has been tabled to a future meeting agenda.
5. Debriefing on the Bisexuality Invisibility Panel Presentation (Discussion Item):
Mr. Brinkin said that this discussion would be the Committee’s opportunity to provide input, make suggestions, evaluate, and decide on any next steps. The general feeling from the Committee members about the panel presentation was positive. Ms. Ulrich hopes that a Public Hearing on bisexual invisibility will take place before the full Commission; Ms. Babella said that the Committee can discuss this further at the annual retreat. Mr. Brinkin added that the Commission is doing some serious strategic planning to look at the structure of the Commssion including its mission and the kinds of projects to address including ideas for Public Hearings. Ms. Ulrich said that she would have a debriefing with each of the panel presenters. She added that she was excited to have worked on presenting the panel discussion and is happy to have it be so well received.
6. Approval of Letter of Concern to the Health Commission regarding HIV/AIDS/STD advertisements being stigmatizing:
Ms. Babella gave background on the issue of serosorting per the panel discussion from the January 15, 2008 meeting and discussion ensued. (Minutes from the January 15, 2008 meeting can be found on the following link: http://www.sfgov.org/site/sfhumanrights_page.asp?id=75584) Since half of the current membership was not on the Committee when the panel was presented, they felt that more information is needed before deciding whether or not to recommend the letter. Staff will send more information to members, who will then recommend any edits they might have to staff.
Ms. Ulrich moved to table this item until next month. Mr. Doggett seconded. All were in favor except Mr. Shaw who opposed.
7. Approval of Annual Retreat Agenda (Discussion Item):
Ms. Babella reported that the retreat will be held in the Rainbow Room at theLGBT Center, though a very generous offer was made by the Asian & Pacific Islander Wellness Center to use their large conference room. The retreat will start at 9:00 a.m. Refreshments will be provided in the morning and throughout the day. Coffee and tea can be purchased from the Three Dollar Bill Café. Mr. Brinkin said that Committee members must email their retreat topics to him in advance and how they want their topics presented. The Committee will finalize the work plan at the May 20th meeting.
8. Discussion of S.F. Pride Day Activities (Discussion Item):
Ms. Babella said that even though having an information booth at the Pride Celebration in the Civic Center area has its advantages, (e.g. being able to speak to people directly) there are also disadvantages (i.e. securing volunteers to help staff it). Marching in the parade as a contingent, however, is far easier and quick and provides more visibility about the services offered. The deadline for registering a contingent in the parade is Wednesday, May 7. There was consensus to have a marching contingent. Mr. Brinkin said that a subcommittee will be formed to discuss ideas.
9. Outreach Work Group Report:
Ms. Babella said the purpose of the work group is to get word out to the community about the work of the Committee and the services offered by the HRC. She reminded the Committee that their headshots and biographies are needed from some members for the Committee’s website. Their next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 7, 25 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 800, at 5:30 p.m.
10. Commissioners Report:
There was no report.
11. Staff Report:
Ms. Babella reported that the City’s budget has been adversely affected because of the 300 million-dollar deficit which means that some job vacancies will not be filled. The Mayor’s budget is due to the Board of Supervisors on June 1. The HRC may need community support to help defend its budget. The Committee will be notified if support is needed. Staff member Natoyiniinastumiik attended a symposium at Hastings College of Law entitled “Transposium” that addressed legal issues affecting the trans community. Mr. Brinkin reported that he will attend the 4th National Conference on LGBT Aging in New York in October that is being produced by SAGE. He will present work done by the Senior Partnership in San Francisco. Staff will have three summer interns who will start on Monday, June 2 to learn about handling complaints, equal benefits work, and work on special projects including looking at blood banks around the country who’ve excluded men who have sex with men since 1977, mental health and HIV, barriers in providing mental health accommodations in the workplace, being transgender in the workplace, and gender pricing (e.g. ladies free nights at clubs, men’s haircuts, etc.) and whether it’s discriminatory based on gender lines.
Mr. Murphy suggested including looking at bone marrow donating when researching blood banks.
12. Old/New Business:
Mr. Murphy asked if there’s been a video about the HRC. Ms. Ulrich said that a 15-second broadcast on public access Channel 29 had aired last year and a 20-minute panel discussion on Mr. Rawlings-Fein’s show, “AGENCY”, about the Committee’s activities. Links to these videos will be forwarded to the members.
13. Announcements:
Poonam announced that Trikone is having an event, “Kulture Kulcha”, on Friday, May 2, at The California Ballroom, 1736 Franklin Street (at 19th Street) in Oakland from 7:00 p.m. to 1:00 a.m. Ms. Ulrich announced that Horizons Foundation is soon to release an online report on LGBT people giving to LGBT foundations on its website, www.horizons.org. Mr. Doggett announced that there will be an LGBT business professionals network event at The Eureka Restaurant and Lounge, 4063 -18th Street, next Tuesday, April 22, from 6:00-8:00 p.m. and that Actively Out is having a networking mixer at the LGBT Center on Wednesday, April 23rd. Mr. Baty announced that an event called “Acts of DesperASIAN” will be held at the Eureka Valley Recreation Center on Saturday, April 19, from 6:00-11:00 p.m. Ms. Aceituno announced that there will be a 4-person panel discussion on Lions Club issues being held at the Women’s Building at 8:00 p.m. Mr. Shook announced that STOP AIDS Project is having its 7th Annual Dining Out for Life event on Thursday, April 24.
14. Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 7:30 p.m.