• Office: Community College Board
• Election Date: November 5, 2024
• Candidate: Ruth Ferguson
• Due Date: August 26, 2024
• Printable Version

Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the November 5, 2024 election! GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous city delivered via common sense solutions and effective government. Our work includes running public opinion polls to understand what voters want, advocating for those changes, and ensuring that the SF government represents the people.

The GrowSF endorsement committee will review all completed questionnaires and seek consensus on which candidates best align with our vision for San Francisco.

This questionnaire will be published on growsf.org, and so we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.

Please complete this questionnaire by August 26, 2024 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.

• Your Goals
• Executive experience
• The Issues
  • Budget
  • Accreditation
  • Chancellor
  • Curriculum
• Personal
• Thank you

Your Goals

We'd like to get some details about your high-level goals and how you intend to use your elected office to achieve them.

Why are you running for Community College Board?

As the child of working parents who relied on community college to break a cycle of poverty, I know firsthand how important community colleges are in uplifting individuals, families and communities.

I am running for City College Board because CCSF is a place where every San Franciscan can find economic opportunity, exploration and reinvention. But it is facing serious challenges—low enrollment and its second accreditation warning in the past decade.

As a policy advocate, community organizer and community college graduate, I will build collaboration to support a thriving City College. I've built and led a statewide coalition to advocate for workers' rights, stabilized working families during the pandemic in the California Legislature, and served as a leading organizer on critical social justice issues over the past 15 years. I know how to work collaboratively to achieve real change, and I'm ready to get to work for City College.

My family has attended community college for generations, and 4 out of 5 members of my immediate family are community college graduates. A product of community college myself, I transferred from community college to a four-year university and again relied on community college to take affordable prerequisites prior to earning a Master's in Public Policy at UC Berkeley.

Community college transformed my life and my family for the better. I want more San Franciscans to benefit from City College and will work diligently to preserve it for future generations to come.

What is your #1 policy goal?

To address looming, existential issues facing City College and its budget, I will focus on avenues to increase enrollment.

To increase enrollment, as Trustee I will:

1. Increase dual enrollment between SFUSD and CCSF, a data-backed opportunity to improve equity and boost enrollment

   • National community college data reflects a steep decrease in >18-year-old enrollment, but a large increase in ≤18-year-old enrollment. As a student who relied on a dual enrollment program to complete my community college education, I understand the immense benefits of promoting and expanding such programs. Institutes such as the Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) agree: dual enrollment is an equity-focused and data-backed intervention to boost California community college enrollment.

   • In my home state of Washington, where I attended community college as a dual-enrolled student, 88% of students enroll in at least one community college course before exiting high school. In California, 12.6% of students participate in dual enrollment courses before exiting high school. California community colleges have room to grow dual enrollment students, successful models in neighboring states exist, and research shows that students who participate in dual enrollment programs are more likely to graduate from high school and earn a college degree.

2. Address barriers to registration.

   • The most common complaint I hear from voters is that City College's registration system is onerous and often holds potential students back from enrolling in courses. For the past several years, candidates have run on platforms to fix long-standing barriers with online registration. However, no significant changes have been made to the registration system: current board members did not even amend the board's RFP to attract new bids from potential clients who can resolve their platform's technical issues.

   • In collaboration with board colleagues, I will target an RFP to attract companies that have successfully resolved registration issues in neighboring community colleges. The benefit of increased enrollment (i.e. capturing those who inevitably exit the registration process) will outweigh the costs of hiring the appropriate company to fix CCSF's online system.

3. Effectively market Free City and target high-impact communities.

   • I will work with the administration to effectively market Free City and promote the uptake of this critical resource. As Trustee, I will request the administration compile a report that identifies student density in geographic locations across the city (racial, gender, and socio-economic data is already available to the public). Based on this data, I would request the administration report to the board on methods to roll out a targeted, multilingual marketing plan and community engagement outreach in regions with the highest density of CCSF students.

   • Instead of spending $600,000 to send dense paper notebooks for one semester of courses (with some households receiving several copies for each adult in the household), the board must press the administration to build a thoughtful approach to recruit students. Those resources could be used to fund consultant organizers who present in community centers (particularly in high-density areas), present in K-12 classrooms, etc. Blanketing the city with paper notebooks is not only an outdated method – it's ineffective.

How will you build the coalition and political capital to enact your #1 goal?

Dual Enrollment: I will work closely with SFUSD to identify opportunities for partnership. I am currently in communication with two colleagues who are public policy researchers and specifically research the intersection between poverty & inequality and education. I'm also enthusiastic about BOE candidates Parag Gupta, John Jersin, and Jaime Huling, as I know each of them well and believe they will be strong partners in strengthening dual enrollment pipelines for the good of both CCSF and SFUSD.

Registration: In collaboration with board colleagues, I will target an RFP to attract companies that have successfully resolved registration issues in neighboring community colleges. The benefit of increased enrollment (i.e. capturing those who inevitably exit the registration process) will outweigh the costs of hiring the appropriate company to fix CCSF's online system.

Encourage Effective Marketing of Free City: I will request the administration compile a report that identifies student density in geographic locations across the city (racial, gender, and socio-economic data is already available to the public). Based on this data, I would request the administration report to the board on methods to roll out a targeted, multilingual marketing plan and community engagement outreach in regions with the highest density of CCSF students.

Will the power of the office of Community College Board be enough to achieve this goal?

Not entirely. To be effective in addressing dual enrollment, I will work with the SFUSD Board to bolster pipelines that increase the uptake of this resource. I will work closely with the administration and other CCSF Board members to address registration and marketing of Free City.

I also look forward to participating in state community college networks to learn from successful enrollment growth models.

What are your #2 and #3 policy goals?

2. Stabilize CCSF

   1. Move the college off of accreditation warning.

   2. Increase enrollment to stabilize the budget, get off of hold harmless and onto SCFF.

   3. Plan for the long-term stability of the College. Specifically, plan with the understanding that the state will freeze City College's funding in 2025 while step and column, COLA adjustments, PERS and STRS liabilities, and facilities costs will continue to increase.

   4. Hire and retain a long-term chancellor. Interim Chancellor Bailey is the 10th chancellor in 12 years. The College needs stable leadership and a board that will work to collaborate with a chancellor.

3. Build Accountability

   1. Implement transparent budgeting.

      1. Many specific budget items are not itemized in CCSF's general budget, which makes it difficult for the public to assess budgetary issues at CCSF. For example, CCSF candidates were asked by the SF DCCC to determine whether the campus police department's budget causes a strain on the overall institution. However, candidates without insider access to the CCSF budget were not able to answer this question as that specific information cannot be found. Increased budget transparency promotes public accountability.

   2. Increase institutional accountability and public trust.

      1. For years, SF voters have approved bonds and propositions to make City College free and accessible to more students. But there is distrust among voters, as in the meantime the College is on accreditation warning again, the Board hasn't been fully funding its retirement (OPEB) liability, and the College's fiscal future is yet again murky. The CCSF Board must be accountable to the public again, instead of allowing particular interest groups to be voting members of the Board.

Will the power of the office of Community College Board be enough to achieve these goals?

Yes.

Executive experience

Please describe your experience running or governing large organizations, managing teams (including hiring, firing, and performance management), driving cultural change and clear communication throughout all levels, effective financial management (budgets, reporting, audit, etc.), and any other relevant experience.

Governing large organizations:

• While in community college, I served as the student body president on a campus with over 17,000 students. I chaired our Executive Committee and our Bylaws Committee, and I oversaw a $1.4 million budget. I worked with our Finance Director and Finance Committee to ensure that every recommendation passed through our Executive Committee in accordance with our bylaws and in compliance with laws like Title IX, etc.

Managing teams:

• I was the deputy campaign manager for a winning county supervisor candidate in San Jose – Susan Ellenberg. I nearly doubled our volunteer base and grew a team of consistent volunteers. Our campaign did not have the support of labor or business (the two primary political factions in San Jose), but we won with an over 20 point lead in November due to our strong field operations. I organized and coordinated dozens of phone banks and mobilizations, and made sure volunteers felt engaged by communicating directly with them to identify their personal interests.

• I have managed several teams of interns throughout my career. I love working with interns and am in close touch with many interns-turned-young professionals to this day.

• I built and led a statewide coalition to advocate for workers' rights. Working with a team of four co-founders, I managed our partnerships with statewide organizations (e.g. Courage CA, Close the Gap CA, CA Women's List, the CA Commission on the Status of Women and Girls, etc.). I authored a policy analysis under the sponsorship of Senator Dave Cortese on methods to improve state worker welfare and continue to advocate for incremental policy reform.

Driving cultural change and clear communication:

• In my first job in Washington D.C., at a nonprofit in higher education, entry-level workers in my organization wanted to unionize to address low wages and the organization's lack of compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). We were not equipped to pursue unionization, but I persisted by preparing a report that showed the difference in entry-level wages at my organization and comparable organizations. I worked with the VP of my department to identify gaps in my report before meeting 1:1 with our COO to present my findings. I was ultimately successful in raising the salary floor for all 1000+ employees in my organization.

• On several occasions during jobs as a nonprofit program manager and as a field representative in the California Legislature, I worked to address communication issues between constituents and management/government. This has resulted in state policy outcomes, internal policy outcomes, and governing practices.

• As a whistleblower after experiencing sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation as a staffer in the California Legislature, I co-founded a statewide coalition to address workers' rights called Stop Sexual Harassment in Politics (SHIP). We advocated for incremental reforms in the Legislature, and I authored and presented a policy analysis to Senate leadership with three recommendations that were implemented by the Legislature in August 2022. (I will explain more about this later in this questionnaire.)

• Between 2015-2017, I developed and launched national campus programs on disability advocacy, dialogue facilitation, and student leadership. I worked with hundreds of students and dozens of universities and colleges across the country to support these programs.

Financial management:

• As a nonprofit program manager, I was responsible for building specialized programs that met the terms of the multi-million dollar grants we received from private foundations. I had to ensure our programs and our reporting schedules were in compliance with the grant requirements. I also managed the budgets for these programs.

• In my MPP, I completed coursework cross-listed with the Haas School of Business on Financial Management of Nonprofits.

Please describe a time when you had an underperforming subordinate and how you handled the situation, including (and especially) how you were able to increase their performance.

Note: Please remember that this questionnaire will be public, so do not include any personally identifiable information.

I once worked with a subordinate who consistently underperformed and showed a distinct lack of interest in their work. I first tried traditional methods of improving their performance: checking in about the status of their assignments, asking if they needed additional support to complete their assignments, and explaining the challenges of the overall delays our team was experiencing as we waited for their assignments to be finished. Nothing was working and my team was growing frustrated — I began to also notice this dynamic play out socially, as the underperforming subordinate began to be ostracized by other teammates.

During this process, I noticed that there was a particular policy issue that the underperforming subordinate spoke about with regularity. They brought up social events related to that policy area and asked me/other teammates about our knowledge of the policy area. I had a feeling that the subordinate might be more invested and motivated in their work if they had an opportunity to supplement their work with tasks related to this policy area.

I asked the underperforming subordinate if we could go on a walk to check in. During the conversation, I asked if there were projects they wish they had more opportunities to work on. Not surprisingly, they brought up their interest in the policy area they had been discussing with our team. I suggested maybe it was possible to include them on some of the projects related to that policy issue.

After our discussion, I went to my own supervisor and developed an internal plan to shuffle responsibilities on our team. I realized that another subordinate had a keen interest in one of the responsibilities that had been given to the underperforming subordinate. I shifted that responsibility and included the underperforming subordinate on a project they were interested in.

The difference in our team's performance, and the previously-underperforming subordinate's performance, was remarkable. Not only did the previously underperforming subordinate do an excellent job on the new project they were included on (a dense, policy-heavy assignment that my team had been wanting someone to complete for months), but they were then additionally motivated to finish the assignments they had been dragging their feet to complete.

My takeaways from this interaction have followed me over several years and in several positions. By listening to this employee, noticing their natural abilities, and shifting team responsibilities to better align with individual strengths, I was able to improve outcomes for the entire team.

Please describe a time when your organization faced an extreme challenge and how you got the organization through it.

As previously mentioned, in 2022 I came forward as a whistleblower to share my experience reporting sexual harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in the California Legislature. Based on the encouragement of political organization leaders and policymakers, I banded together with colleagues to co-found a political coalition called Stop Sexual Harassment in Politics (SHIP).

Working with a broad coalition of stakeholders, we held a press conference on the CA Capitol steps. We called for a public hearing to address workers' rights issues in the Capitol and urged changes to the Legislative Open Records Act (LORA).

Over the next couple months while lobbying state legislators, we received consistent feedback that our goals could not be accomplished in the short-term for several reasons (specifically, political feasibility and the political will of the state legislative leadership at the time). Legislators generally agreed with our assessment of the problem, but seemed exasperated by what could realistically change in the short-term.

Based on this feedback, I developed a policy memo with four incremental policy interventions that would address some of the problems we identified without requiring overhaul. I focused on evidence-based methods to improve culture change, like consistently surveying staff to identify gaps and vulnerabilities.

Four days after we presented our recommendations to Senate leadership and sent our memo to all of our legislative allies, joint leadership in the California Legislature announced the implementation of 3 out of 4 policy changes we proposed.

This period of time was extremely challenging for me, personally, as a whistleblower, but also for our coalition as we sought to make meaningful change during what we knew was likely a short Overton window. By adapting to the moment, listening to the feedback of our allies, and working with seasoned colleagues, we were able to accomplish real change for vulnerable workers. I am extremely proud of this accomplishment, and I continue to collaborate with legislative allies toward additional incremental policy changes that support workers.

The Issues

Next, we will cover the issues that voters tell us they care about. We hope to gain a better understanding of your policy positions, and we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.

Budget

Please describe the current budget allocation of CCSF.

Information below is from the 2024-25 Tentative Budget. Compiled in conjunction with Heather McCarty and Luis Zamora.

Total revenues of approximately $304.3 million with projected expenses of $310.6 million.

• While expenditures are projected to exceed revenue by $6.3 million, this is due to Capital Outlay spending, which will be absorbed by the fund balance for this account.

  69.8% of Total Revenue = $212.7 million

• It is attributable to Unrestricted General Fund and local revenue with $212.7 million in projected expenses.

• This revenue is made up of:

• State Revenue ($107.2 million or 50.3%)

• Local Revenue ($85.6 million or 40.2%)

• Parcel Taxes ($19.8 million or 9.3%). It is 69.8% of total revenue.

  30.2% of Remaining Total Revenue = The remaining balance of $91.6 million

• Consists of Restricted General Fund, Child Development, Cafeteria, Capital Outlay, SelfInsurance, Department and Agency, Associated Students, Scholarships, and Financial Aid funds that support 75 categorical programs and services.

Of the projected unrestricted general fund and parcel tax expenses:

• 34% is for Certificated salaries 21% for Classified salaries
• 3% for Administrator salaries 28% for benefits
• 0.5% for Supplies 8% for Operating expenses
• 0.8% for Operational Equipment 4% for transfers and other adjustments. Total expenses for these categories are approximately 3% below unaudited expenses for the 2023-24 year.

In your own words, please describe the nature of City College's budget situation. Is it in crisis? Where does it fall short of what students need? What are the reasons for those shortfalls?

In 2018, Governor Brown signed AB 1809 (a budget trailer bill) and implemented the Student Centered Funding Formula (SCFF). As part of the SCFF agreement, a "hold harmless" provision was implemented to support community colleges in implementing SCFF through 2024-2025. The hold harmless provision has guaranteed funding from the state to community colleges based on their 2017-2018 enrollment numbers.

In 2017-2018, City College served 22,309 full-time equivalent students (FTES). However, City College experienced significant enrollment decline since the 2017-2018 academic year and served only 14,106 FTES students last year. Because of hold harmless, City College has continued to receive funding as if they are serving 22,309 FTES students. To date, this has resulted in approximately $55 million dollars of extra funding from the state.

In July 2025, the state will "freeze" the funding allocated to community colleges. The state will continue to provide funding based on the hold harmless provision, however, other expenses – such as faculty and staff salary increases and promotions – will continue to increase as defined by their contracts. This will result in a funding "cliff" for community colleges if they are not able to increase their enrollment to their 2017-2018 enrollment numbers (22,309 for CCSF).

If City College does not continue to considerably increase its enrollment in the near future, it will cause significant issues for the College and its budget. Cost of living adjustments for faculty and staff will likely be withheld; the College's ability to pay into its PERS, STRS, and OPEB liability will be impacted; and critical services and programs for the campus community will likely be examined as cuts will likely become necessary. Additionally, if City College's reserves dip back under 2%, the College will be moved back on budget oversight and kick-start the possibility of a state takeover. Should the state takeover City College, it is unlikely that community-focused courses and programs (i.e. non-credit coursework) will remain and instead the state will force CCSF into a junior college model. As an advocate for the community benefits of a "community" college, this imminent and real threat is deeply concerning to me.

This budget and enrollment challenge, and the immense risk it poses to City College's accreditation and future, is the reason why enrollment is my #1 issue as a candidate.

One reason for City College's budget concerns is declining enrollment. What will you do, as a Board of Trustees member, to boost enrollment? Please see my answer to my #1 policy goal.

In your opinion, does the "Free City" program, which provides free tuition to San Francisco residents, meaningfully impact City College's budget? If so, how? If not, why not? City College is reimbursed by the City of San Francisco through Prop W for students who enroll using Free City. Through this MOU, City College is reimbursed by the city for the students they serve—Free City only changes who pays CCSF for enrollment (the city vs. students). After the passage of Prop W and the implementation of Free City, all San Francisco residents who have been Californians for one year + one day receive fully-reimbursed academic credits.

Because of the unprecedented impact of the pandemic on community colleges across the country, and considering Free City was implemented just shortly before the pandemic, it is too early to tell the extent to which Free City benefits City College. However, it is likely that a fully subsidized community college education (aside from textbooks, cost of living expenses, etc.) can significantly and positively impact enrollment with the proper interventions to improve uptake.

Although it may be too early to tell exactly how significantly Free City impacts City College's budget by increasing enrollment, in the long-term I believe we will see the impacts are distinct and meaningful.

Accreditation

City College faces a loss of its accreditation, putting the education of its students at risk. In your view, why hasn't the accreditation crisis been solved?

By March 2025, the board must address the concerns outlined in the ACCJC report, which identifies the several board-specific governance issues that led to the College's current warning status. Community college boards must hold its administration accountable while also honoring the administration's authority, as defined by state ed code. This means the board cannot continue to make unilateral decisions – such as the passage of a resolution on May 18, 2023 to rehire faculty that violated Board Policy (BP) 1.02. Additionally, the ACCJC report cites that BP 1.02 was violated when "agenda items were often placed on the agenda by the President of the Board of Trustees, without consultation with the Chancellor."

Another concern from the ACCJC concerns the fiscal health of the college. At the time of the report, the board had not yet approved a "multi-year budget plan for the next three to five fiscal years," as required by BP 8.01. The board also voted to divert budget allocations from OPEB and capital outlay, which has long-term impacts on the financial stability of the college.

What needs to be done to solve the accreditation crisis? The board must:

• Work with the administration and legal counsel to consistently follow its Board Policies and bylaws
• Allow the administration to develop a comprehensive multi-year budget without interference, and then it must pass that budget
• Balance the long-term stability and financial health of the institution and prioritize student success above everything else
• Respect the chancellor's authority and refuse to entertain any resolutions or votes that undermine the chancellor's authority (e.g. the vote to rehire faculty in May 2023)
• Plan for the long-term financial success of the college and prioritize student success above all other interests

What role does the Board of Trustees play in solving this? The board is responsible for adhering to its Board Policies (BPs), bylaws, and state ed code. The board must also work closely with its legal counsel to ensure that no future accreditation violations arise, and work collaboratively with the administration to resolve additional areas of concern (e.g. keeping their reserves above the state-mandated level).

Overall the board's "role" is to balance the long-term stability and financial health of the institution while prioritizing student success. That means following their own rules (BPs and bylaws), the rules for all community colleges (state ed code), and refusing to give into and take votes on anything that may risk their accreditation and the college's future.

Chancellor

In your opinion, is the Chancellor doing a good job? I am optimistic about Interim Chancellor Bailey, but I believe it is too early to tell how well he is addressing issues at CCSF. He was in a transitionary period until July and, from what other board members have shared with me, is still working to build an understanding of the challenges facing CCSF.

My criteria for a permanent chancellor are:

1. Stability – a willingness and enthusiasm to stay at CCSF for the long-term
2. Experience – prior chancellor-level experience is preferred, strong governance experience and/or significant administrative experience
3. Collaboration – a demonstrated commitment to collaboration and consensus-building across difference

As a Trustee, how would you ensure the Chancellor is focusing on the right issues?

As Trustee, it will be my job to serve as the accountability mechanism for the chancellor but also to be a management partner. To ask questions about how the administration is working toward student outcomes and success, but also regularly share feedback with the chancellor about any potential blind spots I may feel the administration has.

It is also imperative that I proactively ask for what I need to ultimately support the chancellor's agenda. That is, I will ask for the information I need from the chancellor to build toward policy that promotes the board's goal of prioritizing student outcomes and success.

In a recent meeting I had with the president of a community college in the South Bay, she shared with me that one of the challenges that she, as an administrator, sees at City College is that the board doesn't remain management-leaning and undermines the chancellor's authority — which leads to frustration and dysfunction. I will work to be clear with Interim Chancellor Bailey and future chancellors, while also being a supportive management partner.

How has the current Board of Trustees helped or hindered the Chancellor?

As I shared in the previous question, the board has consistently overstepped in their authority (see: ACCJC accreditation report) and undermined Chancellor Martin on many occasions. As I discuss in the "Accreditation" section of this questionnaire, the board did things like pass a resolution to rehire faculty—despite the fact that such a resolution explicitly violates their board policies.

Should the Board of Trustees retain or fire Chancellor David Martin?

The board should have retained Chancellor Martin, and it is disappointing that they took action that led to his resignation.

Interim Chancellor Bailey is the 10th chancellor City College has had in 12 years. City College needs stability — not political games during the college's second accreditation warning in a decade.

Curriculum

What can the Community College Board do to improve student performance at City College?

1. Adapt to the needs of modern society. Routinely consider course offerings and whether classes appropriately reflect the skills needed in the local community and the greater job market, and are relevant to today's students.
2. Focus on job placement and career pathways. Work with academic counseling and regional employers to identify gaps in education.
3. Utilize data to examine academic trends. Address courses that have historically underperformed and whether such courses can adapt to meet the needs of the modern era.
4. Identify equity barriers to education. Understanding that some communities or groups may lack exposure to certain forms of education because of societal barriers (e.g. women in STEM), identify and address methods to remove equity barriers.
5. Appropriately fund and staff fundamental, required courses so students can complete courses in a timely manner. Are students graduating with the skills necessary to obtain a good job? Why or why not? Although I think there is room for growth at City College, and for many community colleges as they adapt to the skills needed in the modern era, this question is too subjective to answer in general terms.

Some students may attend City College on a vocational path, and in many cases the education they receive at City College can get them into their vocation of choice. Some students graduate from City College with a GED, while others pursue an academic transfer degree. Part of what makes community colleges special is that there is a broad range of pathways for students — each pathway with its own limitations, challenges, and benefits.

As I shared in the previous question, there are distinct questions the board can be asking itself and reports it should be requesting from the administration to promote student success. Based on that data and information, there are likely a range of interventions that could support students in receiving the skills they need to obtain their own standard of a "good job."

What is the City College curriculum lacking which the Board could rectify?

The City College Board is not responsible for curriculum development – that is instead the responsibility of faculty. However, as Trustee I would ask for the data and reports I address in my first answer to identify curriculum gaps. I would then collaborate with the Faculty Senate and work toward curriculum improvement.

Personal

Tell us a bit about yourself!

What is your professional background?

I am a policy advocate, policy analyst, and organizer. I advise candidates at the local and state levels on political strategy, communications (primarily earned and owned), and policy formulation.

Prior work includes: policy fellow at the UC Berkeley Center for Civility and Democratic Engagement, graduate student researcher at UC Berkeley, district office staffer in the California Legislature (focused primarily on housing and transportation policy), deputy campaign manager for Susan Ellenberg for County Supervisor (who is now Santa Clara County Board President), program manager at Hillel International, religious school teacher (and 2013 Teacher of the Year), campus barista, and Clark College student body president.

Are you currently or formerly enrolled at City College, and/or do you have any children who are currently or formerly enrolled at City College?

No.

I am a community college graduate from Clark College in Vancouver, WA. In 2020, I took courses in economics and statistics at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills, CA while working full-time in the California Legislature.

How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?

I have lived in San Francisco since mid-2020 and the Bay Area since mid-2017. As someone who grew up in a small, rural hometown with significant white supremacist activity, there's a lot that keeps me here and makes me proud to call San Francisco home.

Some specific things that keep me here:

• A dynamic workforce industry that supports my family
• Family roots in the Bay Area, including my sister who lives in Noe Valley
• My love of urbanism in the best location in the world
• Supportive, caring community members whose lives are intertwined with my own

What do you love most about San Francisco?

The thing I love most about San Francisco is that people are free to come as they are. Whether you're a student, working in tech, an artist, a child, or retired — there is world-class opportunity, fun, and reinvention for everyone. My neighbors care about each other, despite some very distinct differences in age, politics, nationality, etc.

I didn't grow up in a community that was bound together by that type of respect for each other's differences. Even when partisan politics permeate regular life, my experience is that San Franciscans still have respect for one another (though perhaps not on Twitter!). For people like me, that aspect of San Francisco is palpable and extremely special.

What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?

The economic disparities and inequality in this city are vast, and are reflected in some of the city's most challenging issues: chronic homelessness and drug addiction, housing instability, and chronic health crises.

As the child of working parents, something I often think about is that my future children will grow up in a city that lacks meaningful socioeconomic diversity. That is, although socioeconomic diversity is certainly present in San Francisco, the population is highly segregated to the extent that diversity is not regularly experienced. I grew up in a community that was solidly middle class and low-income, but where students whose parents were higher earners went to the same public schools as students who lived below the poverty line. I think of my former schoolmates often when wondering about the disparate impacts that policies may have on particular individuals and groups. I imagine this also feels especially close as my own family broke a cycle of poverty just one generation ahead of me. Sometimes I wonder how outcomes might look different in San Francisco if we were more accountable to our neighbors. If instead of distinct "haves" and "have nots," there was a broader range of needs for which we all felt more responsible.

Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.)

I am a member of the following Democratic clubs: United Democratic Club (UDC), YIMBY Action, San Francisco Young Democrats (SFYD), Bernal Heights Democratic Club, CA Women's List, and SFWPC.

I am a lead organizer for a coalition called D9 Neighbors for Housing. I work on projects such as: organizing with staff at the Bernal Heights Neighborhood Center to recruit neighbors to support affordable housing, plan social events to build our membership, and build short- and long-term political strategy to grow our influence in District 9.

I am on the SF DCCC's special subcommittee on sexual assault and sexual harassment. I was recently quoted in a CalMatters article about the subcommittee's work and the issue in general.

I have been active on several campaigns in San Francisco, and have consistently supported candidates like Bilal Mahmood and Senator Scott Wiener.

I am an active member of the UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy alumni network. I previously served on the board of LifeMoves, was a policy fellow at the UC Berkeley Center for Civility and Democratic Engagement, and served on the board of SFWPC.

Outside of my political involvement, I routinely gather with my neighbors and friends for dinner, go to the dog park with my dog Phife and husband Zach, support my street's community garden (between Santa Marina Street & Cortland Avenue), walk on Slow Streets with my sister who lives in Noe Valley, and spend every Saturday morning possibly at the Alemany Farmers Market. I truly love my neighborhood and this city, and I love being in community with so many wonderful people who truly make San Francisco home.

Thank you

Thank you for giving us your time and answering our questionnaire. We look forward to reading your answers and considering your candidacy!