e
e e
an email that says for you'll be
there I had the wrong time too remember so I didn't even think to ask how long
it was going to
be oh yeah every every week somebody said and and like it said that I didn't
pull up full agenda so I was like but I won't I'll
stay
e
e e
good afternoon it is 4 pm on Monday April 15th and we are reconvening an
open
session and I'm going to uh first begin with a roll call to establish the
presence of a quorum thank you supervisor
renes here supervisor chavz is absent supervisor sub minion here vice
president Lee present thank you and president elberg I am here and
supervisor sidian would you uh lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance
pleasee
rise I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
Republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and
justice for
all I it seven is to consider recommendations relating to certificates
of appreciation commendations and proclamations may I have a motion to
approve item seven so moved second thank you very much let's vote on item seven
please supervisor orenas yes supervisor Smit toit and I Vice chairperson Lee hi
and president elenberg yes motion carries thank you very much with that
item eight is to present the commendations and proclamations which we
have just approved so um I'm going to begin with the first item a which is to
present a proclamation declaring April 2024 as Second Chance month in Santa
Clara County and we will begin that presentation with a
video just one moment while they connect
[Music]
my name is Brian Evans and I believe in second
[Music]
chances my name is Crystal prz I'm a former re-entry client and I'm a case
manager three here at the goodwi Sila Valley and I believe in second chance
[Music]
my name is Jennifer T I'm a public health assistant and I believe in second
[Music]
Chan my name is Dave Gomez and I believe in second chances
my name is sa I'm the director of diversion reentry services for the
county of Santa Clara and I believe in second chances my name is Nick Berard
I'm the chief probation officer for the County of Santa Clara and I believe in
second chances I believe in second chances I'm assembly member Gail pel and
I believe in second chances I'm County Executive James Williams and I believe
in second chances I'm Greta Hansen I'm the Chief Operating Officer for Santa
clir County and I believe in second chances I wholeheartedly believe in
second chances I believe in second chances I believe in second chances
America believes in second chances we believe in second chances
more than 70 million Americans have records on their con have records of
their contacts with the criminal legal system fortunately counties across the
country are more and more frequently recognizing the importance of providing
opportunities for employment housing Health Care voting rights and many other
basic needs to their residents when they exit the carceral system legal and
Regulatory restrictions social stigma related to incarceration gaps in
employment or education family separation housing unavailability
untreated mental illnesses and substance use disorders all contribute to the fact
that nearly 75% of people who have been incarcerated remain unemployed a year
Post Release the US Department of Justice's office of Justice programs the
national re-entry resource center and communities across the country recognize
Second Chance month in April by sharing new programs and initiatives and hosting
events to educate the public and decrease barriers to employment housing
voting education and other opportunities for individuals re-entering their our
communities after incarceration our office of re-entry
Services offers numerous opportunities to our re-entry clients including job
fairs business incubator programs apprenticeships and direct employment
placement to help people get back on their feet many former clients of the
county of Santa Clara's re re-entry Resource Centers who are now working in
County departments and Community organizations serve as role models for
other currently and recently released individuals and attribute their success
in recovery to programs and people who offered them second chances this board
today proudly proc claims April 2024 as Second Chance month and I would like to
invite uh Havier agir the from the office of re-entry services and anyone
else you want to bring up with you to ex accept the proclamation which I will go
[Applause]
grab well on behalf of the entire re-entry service system of the county of
Santa Clair we want to thank you for proclaiming this month Second Chance
month um it's so important to recognize all the individuals that have made their
Journey from incarceration and having second chances to all of our County
Partners and departments who've been hiring some of our former clients into
very important critical positions um we uh provide funding for like about 20
contractors and they employ about 118 individuals of those 118 about 40 um are
with lived experience and in our in our office we have folks that have made that
journey and now are successful County employees so on behalf of again the
entire re-entry system um with our team here um and also all the countless
supporters thank
you going to invite my colleagues down to join us and we're going to turn our
backs to you for just a moment for the photo come come come
bring some people forward
spe
we've got a whole bunch of these today of
course item 8B is to recognize communication dispatchers week
Proclamation the Santa Clara County public safety Communications dispatchers
play an essential role in protecting the Public's life and property by quickly
answera answering and evaluating hundreds of emergency calls daily and
dispatching the appropriate emergency response from law enforcement agencies
fire departments and emergency medical transport providers across our community
they strive to provide equal access to emergency services to all callers
including those who do not speak English or are hearing impaired Additionally the
Santa Clara County public safety Communications dispatchers efficiently
coordinate emergency services for both human-made and natural disasters to
ensure the health and safety of our community and have maintained
accreditation by the internationaly of emergency dispatch since 2002 which
certifies the county Communications Department as a center of excellence in
providing callers reporting medical emergencies with appropriate physician
approved medical instruction while health is on the way this job is
fast-paced stressful and requires special humans to do this work thank you
to all the dispatchers who ensure that we get the help that we need the Board
of Supervisors of the county of Santa Clara does hereby proclaim the week of
April 9th through 15th 2024 as communic ation dispatchers week and I'd like to
invite up the um the county the county communication Department's dis 2023
dispatchers of the Year Allison scardo and Fatima Moreno to receive this
Proclamation [Applause]
do you want to say anything sure thank you
absolutely thank you all for your recognition of all the hard work that
County communications dispatchers do every day we do not go into this C
looking for recognition or credit for the work that we do but it is an honor
to receive we enjoy serving our community 24 hours a day we appreciate
you for having us here and are grateful for the opportunity thank you
[Applause]
exhausting stressful work so essential thank you
okay thank you so much thank you for being here thank you so much for being
here before I begin uh item 8 C I'll note that there's a correction the item
should read as follows present Proclamation declaring April 11 through
April 17th 2024 as black maternal health week in Santa Clara County it is my
absolute honor to present this proclamation in recognition of black
maternal Health week which runs from April 11th through April 17th Santa
Clara County Board of Supervisors recognized black maternal Health week
for the first time in April of 2021 in partnership with County programs and
local organizations that have long advoc advocated for improving black birth
outcomes in our community including our Public Health Department's black infant
health program the Perry natal Equity initiative Roots Community Health Center
the black leadership kitchen cabinet and the African-American Community Services
Agency to name just a few of the partners this is an issue that has
become very close to my heart and I am determined to help make a difference
specifically to measurably improve outcomes for black pregnant and birthing
people and their infants in the United States us in in the United States black
infants die at almost three times the rate of other babies and these
disparities persist even more High even for highly educated and high inome black
pregnant people and data from the CDC shows that 80% of pregnancy deaths are
preventable 80% but data is numbers and the people
dying or losing infants are not numbers take a look at the seven women on this
slide three of them are Alison Felix Tor Bowie
and Tiana Madison members of the 2012 and 2016 gold medal teams in the women's
4X 100 meter relay some of the most decorated track and field athletes in US
in US Olympic history the three women set out to
become mothers all three young healthy athletic black women
developed serious complications Felix De developed preclampsia that nearly went
undetected until she had an emergency C-section delivery at 32 weeks Madison
went into labor at 26 weeks and entered the hospital with her medical advance
directive and her will Bowie died in her home at 8 months pregnant after
developing a clsa tennis champion Serena Williams and
former Virginia gubernatorial candidate Jennifer Carol Foy were also very public
about their near-death stories associated with giving birth to their
children and just last month former Kansas City Chief's cheerleader Crystal
Anderson died when she contracted sepsis following delivery of her second
stillborn child this is not data these are
women our country continues to advocate for black mamas and babies the perinal
Equity workg Group has worked with Community providers in all our Bay area
hospitals to raise awareness of the data the risks and what can actually be done
to improve outcomes we have requested deidentified
Hospital level data from the state so maternal Health disparities can be
accurately identified standardized and measured Roots Community Health Center
is currently facilitating our Doula program which I'm happy to say is
covered by medical last week we hosted did a
screening of two short films created by black women to illustrate the importance
of building safer communities for black families and we held the second annual
perinatal Equity initiative conference which brought together policy experts
providers and Advocates from five counties to hear from a range of
brilliant speakers and teachers and to talk about how to keep the momentum
forward it is now my honor to officially Proclaim April 11th to 17th black
maternal Health Week in Santa Clara County and to invite up the incomparable
Beverly White Macklin the County's black infant health program director Beverly
and her team at black infant Health along with the Pei group and Leilani
Jones who serves as the executive director of our office for Health Equity
and Improvement Alma Burell at roots and so many others inspire me and teach me
every day you are all making me a better and more impactful policy maker and I am
so proud to be on this journey with you Beverly please come up and say a few
words thank you so much for honoring black maternal Health Week the topic
that we are talking about is so important so dear to my heart I was one
of these women who almost died having my first child and I'm very passionate
about this program and what it does for moms and we know that if we have healthy
moms we have healthy babies and we have healthy adults so thank you so much for
honoring our program and continuing to support us um supervisor president
Ellenburg and all of the Board of Supervisors who have stuck by us and
just really have supported everything that we do in the community to help
these bombs thank you
you have other folks here that want to go the from
the all you baby
congratulations
supervisor Lee is going to come up for the presentation of item 8D
well thank you president Alan Burke um so the 8D is the international work days
in Santa Clara County Proclamation the May 1st has been recognized throughout
the world as International workers day and may day has been an annual
commemoration since 1930s in the United States Mayday began on May 1st
1886 with a March to support workers rights down Michigan Avenue in Chicago
Illinois leading to a series of events including the Hay Market
Affair and the great upheaval which began a new era of workers rights and
protections in America on May 1st 2006 Mayday in San Jose was one of the
largest marches ever in the city's history with over a quarter of a million
participants Mayday is an opportunity to cherish the diverse community of
residents across Sara County and I would also like to recognize additional
Coalition members such as Chava Bustamante Luis roacha Jr Teresa
Castellanos aluro Gomez Rebecca amandar Martha Campos Fred hirs and klets of
many others and at this time I like to welcome the members of the San Jose
Mayday Coalition you please come on up [Applause]
yeah we stand here today on the shoulders of those who came before us
the industrial labor of the north who fought to end the SL SL in the south in
order to unionize
together we stand here today on the shoulders of those who were murdered
fighting for things we take for granted now like an 8h hour day 40-hour work
week and an end to child labor
we stand here on the shoulders of our elders those who made history marching
down Santa Clara 18 years ago tens of thousands of people took to the streets
for immigration reform and workers Justice
we stand here to celebrate the enormous victory of the fight for 15 campaign the
ongoing fight for unionization at Starbucks REI Trader Joe's Barnes &
Noble and many other locations we want to recognize the burgeoning fight to
unionize homeless surv service providers as well
we stand here today in solidarity with the protesters who sto traffic on the
Golden Gate Bridge again to Stand United with the people of Palestine and against
genocide
we stand here today to ask you to bring the ceasefire resolution to a vote
history demands that you lead not turn a blind eye to war crimes and the
extermination of a people
[Music]
thank [Applause]
all right we're good thank you
the thank you thank you you congratulations thank you
all right we're still going item e 8 e uh is to recognize the
American Cancer society's 35th annual courageous Kids Day
Commendation um there are a few subjects that are tougher to take on than kids
with cancer but unfortunately cancer remains ubiquitous in our modern world I
would be surprised if there's a person in this room who doesn't have at least
one loved one whose life has been turned upside down by a cancer
diagnosis until there is a cure there must be support for families and
patients the American Cancer Society is one such organization that is dedicated
to improving the lives of patients and their families through advocacy research
and personal support more broadly they aim to ensure that everyone has access
to cancer prevention detection treatment and ultimately a cure every year the
American Cancer Society holds a special event called courageous Kids Day at
California's Great America specifically for children who are fighting cancer and
their families it is a fun-filled day that has become that has come to be
known as a day away from cancer because it provides families with a much needed
break from the challenges of their journey and allows them to create and
enjoy special moments with their child this year courageous kids day is cele
celebrating its 35th Anniversary this annual celebration has created thousands
of lasting memories for as many families and is a much treasured respit for
everyone who takes part here to receive this Commendation is gay Crawford gay is
the Intrepid founder of courageous kids day as well as the founder of Cancer
Care point which has also served thousands of cancer patients with warmth
dignity and practical resources gay is probably an actual Angel and it will be
my honor to present this Commendation to her in just a moment but first I'd like
to invite my colleague Joe supervisor Joe sidian to share a few words as
well thank you I uh want to pick up where my colleague board president Susan
Ellenberg left off um she talked about the way and in which a cancer diagnosis
can turn someone's life upside down and I think what I want to say thank you for
today Gay and to you and the American Cancer Society
is taking the time to
say that diagnosis doesn't have to mean that friends and family and fun are no
longer part of a young person's life
we take most of that for granted I think in our daily lives but for the children
you and the American Cancer Society serve they can't take that for granted
so I'm going to ask that before we present this Proclamation and bring our
colleagues down for a photo the entire room say thank you with me
going to see a video first for almost 30 years Mother's Day
holds a special joy for nearly 600 young cancer patients and their families
fighting cancer introduced in 1989 courageous kids day was conceived by the
American Cancer Society as a family event and a day to have fun together
enjoying rides lunch along with Arts crafts and games children and their
families come from all over California to participate in the American Cancer
society's courageous Kids Day at California's Great America amusement
park in Santa Clara the day referred to as a day away from cancer for these
young cancer patients is a unique partnership between the American Cancer
Society and Great America who has been the presenting sponsor since the
beginning 30 years ago it's an extra special fun unpack day for the
courageous kids and their families allowing them to forget some of that
stress and have fun together it's more than just a fun day out in the park it
provides emotional escape from the everyday Trials of what a family goes
through when they have a child with cancer a day when these patients can
just be kids their brothers and sisters can enjoy the time with their siblings
outside of a hospital room and parents can watch their kids have fun without
worry funds raised not only only provide this very special day to the courageous
kids and their family but also supports pediatric cancer research Heroes come in
all sizes how can you help you can sign up today to become a Committee Member a
volunteer for the day or event sponsor the meaning of life is to find your gift
the purpose of life is to give it away help us find your gift today with the
American Cancer Society and the courageous kids
[Applause] thank you all for standing up that
really got me uh and particularly to hear from both Joe who's been a
tremendous supporter of cancer and Susan who has done so much for children in
this County and Beyond uh I just want to take one second
because my long-suffering husband is here and after 50 years of being
involved in the cancer space as as they mentioned founder of Cancer Care point
the second hospice Hospice of the Valley and I just buried two friends this last
week um that was served by Hospice of the Valley the cancer registry and even
a crazy thing called the colon cancer freeone where I played pollet man in a
parade if you can believe it so the cancer Journey has been a
tough one but of course uh this courageous kids celebrating 35 years we
wanted to celebrate it takes a team um I I just have the most amazing committee
all these 35 years I've missed every Mother's Day with my own kids but there
are people like Bob Steinfeld who worked at Apple and lost a child to to cancer
Angie CIO who's been my staff partner for all of these years and the current
chairs Pam and Donna who worked so hard to do another element of fundraising
construction versus Cancer and a bear campaign and Mara uh the Laura Marshall
who is head of the photographers Association brings out photographers who
volunteer Every Mother's Day and take a portrait of these families and sometimes
it's the last portrait they'll ever have of this child and they usually don't
take a picture even when they're going through treatment so those are really
really special and um Saturday we had a little fundraiser a wonderful restaurant
sell I hope you'll all support cell in Campbell they um did an auction they
sold a rock pry signed football that was given to Courageous kids anyway we
raised about $8,000 so anyway I am so grateful all to all of you and I am
grateful to be alive and well turning 80 this year and to have been on this
cancer Journey um with so many wonderful people in a network sorry to take so
much time thank you so
much oh boy for SP be your sorry that
was ol it was beautiful
conat did you recognize
[Applause]
thank let's
see all right item 8f a proclamation declaring May 4th
as Wildfire Community preparedness day presented by supervisors sidian and Lee
thank you madam president if you have ever
wondered who thinks up these
days I should tell you that May 4th Wildfire Community preparedness day is
actually a national event and it it's Genesis it's start really um came from a
survey of middle school kids right here in California and Colorado as well that
asked them how they wanted to learn about Wildfire safety and the answer the
kids gave was that they wanted to be part of something to improve Wildfire
safety where they lived and so this is an opportunity for us to
learn from what I would describe as wise beyond their years Middle School
students as individuals and neighbors each of us can and should do
all the Hands-On risk reduction activities that we
can by doing that we can all be part of something to improve Wildfire safety
where we live and it's relatively easy ask yourself three
questions are you signed up for SEC alert apparently
not do you have a go bag and have you created and are you
maintaining an evacuation plan have you identified two alternative
Roots out of your neighborhood beyond the one you ordinarily would use and do
you know your evacuation Zone can you see the address number of
your home from the street is there a minimum 5T clearance between the
vegetation and the foundation of your home
I could go on I know my colleagues are worried that I
will but I think I've made the point we can each
individually and should each individually take action to reduce our
risk and improve Wildfire safety wherever we
live if you answered no to any of those questions then Saturday May 4th would be
a great time to take action so that your answers can instead
be yes now because it was middle school
students I'll say if you answered yes to all those questions you get an A+ and I
would encourage you to think about your neighborhood then and your neighbors and
about how you can help them improve your community's Wildfire safety I want to
pull my colleague supervisor Lee up because in a moment we're going to
present the proclamation declaring May 4th Wildfire Community preparedness day
to our fire chief chief GGA and a chief Carter but first supervisor Lee would
you share a few words words and then we'll make the
presentation thank you very much supervisor suban I have the same
thinking about May 4th I said is that something to do with some Star War
references that's some young Jedi Miss like playing around and CA a fire of the
the lightsaber but anyhow uh as we all could recall the SCU lightning complex
fires burned almost 400,000 acres in the counties of Santa Clara Alam contracosta
San haen meret and St L the czu complex fires burned more than 880,000 acres and
destroyed almost 1500 structures in the county of Cale and Santa Cruz this
climate change is happening things supposed to happen only once in a 100
years it's happening every few years now and we are feeling it effects the need
to make sure we collectively on top of preparing for Wildfire evacuations so
please please please just like what my colleague said sign up today for
emergency alerts at www. alert alcc.org
alerts.org to stay connected and be prepared and here's the proclamation
I'll go ahead and ask the chief come on up come on up please
[Applause]
yes leave it to you to figure out who's going to say
what say a word say a word good afternoon everyone uh
again I cannot follow that act uh supervisor subian hit all of the very
important points that we need the public to know as well as supervisor or vice
president Lee so please sign up for alert FCC FD uh sorry alert FCC uh.org
right or.gov and then um for what it's worth and I say this from the
perspective of we've got Zone Haven that is now Genesis that's also a tool that's
really important for those who live in the woi so thank you again
supervisor good evening first of all I want to thank uh the supervisors for the
importance for identifying the importance of wildfire Community prepar
the day as the fire chief for the Santa CL unit I'm committed to ensuring that
we're building resilient communities throughout the county and so if for more
information I'd encourage you to visit readyfor wildf fire.org thank you
and chief G we have a rule which is if you use an acronym like wooi you got to
tell everybody what it is how many of you know what the wooi
is okay well we have at least two people who know what the wooi is so why don't
you help make sure everybody knows what the wooi is and why it matters so uh
supervisor subian said if you have a tree that is CL I think closer to five
feet from your house if I remember again very succinctly you probably live in a
wild and urban interface and that's where your house butts up against a lot
of forest or area that is basically prone can be prone to fire so thank you
supervisor yeah also just again we've had an extraordinary amount of rain do
not let that I guess lull us into believing that we don't have the
Wildfire risk we definitely in this area especially on the west side of the
county have that wooy risk thank you give us a moment while we turn
around and do our photo Chiefs colleagues
one
more
warm item G also o being presented by supervisor sidian is a commodation for
The Med Assist
program now if you're asking yourselves I'm here for a later item why
do I have to sit through all this here's the answer the answer is
because you'll learn something helpful and important and valuable to keeping
you and your friends and your family and your neighbors healthy and well and
believe it or not it begins in
1923 when three scientists first discovered something called
insulin and they sold the patent for $3 yeah $3 which was a dollar
piece and they did that because it was their notion that access to this kind of
life-saving medication shouldn't be contingent on somebody's ability to
afford it so they sold the patent for $3
now today that reasoning sounds like it comes not just from another era but from
another world altogether I think too many of us have heard stories about
folks who need to choose between being able to afford their groceries or
affording their kids medicine and there are and have been for
me in my office three chronic conditions that stand
out asthma diabetes and severe
allergies I think probably all of us know someone who lives with one or more
of those conditions these are illnesses that can be controlled with proper
medication allowing individuals to live full and healthy lives but without their
meds they can result in serious illness or even death now just to give you a
sense of the scope of this in Santa Clara County alone just here in our
County there are almost 120,000 adults who've been diagnosed with diabetes it's
a lot of folks there are more than 250,000 adults and kids who've been
diagnosed with asthma and more than 20,000 have been diagnosed with serious
and potentially life-threatening allergies now the prices of the
life-preserving medications that those folks require
have increased dramatically in recent years making it difficult for folks to
acquire the medications they need my office and I thought there was a
solution or at least a help and so I brought to our board and I want to give
a little shout out here to a staff member of mine in particular Brian
Pascal who's on vacation by the way and should be here to hear me give him a
shout out he said can't we do something about this and so we put our heads
together and we said yeah we can't brought it to our board colleagues were
all enthusiastic said let's create something
that helps folks who are stuck who need the inhaler who need the FB pen who need
the insulin and who are struggling to afford it and it's not just folks of
very modest means I think many of you in this room probably know it's the missing
middle in healthcare folks who make a little too much maybe to qualify for a
government program but not enough to have really First Rate health insurance
so to offset these C C in 2022 the Santa Clara County Board of
Supervisors with the real work done by our staff created a program that was the
first of its kind anywhere in the nation and that is the program we call meicy
the program provides hundreds of dollars in some
cases to Simply bring down the cost for enrolled residents to help them afford
their diabetes medications their asthma inhalers their
epipens probably average is $200 a month which is just the right amount in many
cases to make sure that people don't have to choose between their rent and
their meds their groceries and their meds as of February this year 2024 meicy
has now enrolled more than 2,000 residents here in Santa clar County and
has provided $2 and5 million dollar in prescription drug relief
we hear directly from our enroll Le about the relief they feel when they can
finally afford the medications that keep them
alive I mentioned it in passing but I want to underscore it again this would
not have been possible without the hard work of the
leadership and frankly a dozen other current and former staff members at
Valley Medical Center I look forward to continuing to expand the program to
protect the health and well-being of our residents and that is my not too subtle
way of saying 2,000 is great but let's keep pushing the number higher and
higher our health safety and wellbe demanded could we please ask the folks
for medicis to come on up and let us give them a moment of thanks as well
you look trepidacious you shouldn't come right
up tell folks what they are uh good afternoon everyone uh we're
extremely honored to be here today um and on behalf of the medicis team um the
amount of work and efforts that everybody has supported us with has been
tremendous I would actually like to take this opportunity to thank supervisor
sidian uh members of the board and the county exec's office for their
continuous um encouragement and belief in our mission um I would also like to
appreciate our CEO Paul Len and our director nari Singh um their leadership
really provided the foundation of our success and um all the support that we
received empowered our team to go above and beyond in serving and bettering the
health of our community um as supervisor sman mentioned today our program is
assisting over 2,000 people um in not only affording their life-saving
medications but also improving their medication adherence which also results
in Better Health outcomes for our community um we feel very very fortunate
to be a part of this program and thank you so much thank
you just want to say thank you everyone for this wonderful opportunity it's been
such a joy to see this program start from zero enroles just two years ago and
now over 2,000 in counting so it's such an honor to be a part of this thank you
very
much we have one ceremonial Proclamation we'll let the two of you sort out how
you share it all right you take that hold it go
ahead I'm let I'm gonna let you put that between the two of you good job job J
my thank you really thank you again [Applause]
and
finally Madame President board colleagues members of the public I'm
going to take the opportunity to be a little more personal in my remarks than
would typically be the case because uh in this my 12th and final year on the
Board of Supervisors this is the last opportunity I will have
to take a moment for our board and our community our entire County to
commemorate the anniversary of the genocide of the Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire which this year is the 109th
anniversary and so as I say I want to take the opportunity to
reference that historic event in slightly more personal terms looking all
the way back 109 years to the year
1915 April 24th when the genocide
began in the Ottoman Empire now you've heard me use the word
genocide a couple of times and that's not a small thing and the
reason it's not a small thing is that for more than a hundred years following
the genocide no sitting American president had ever actually deed
declared the Armenian Genocide by that name I'm gratified that today we're in a
different place and it's the source of some satisfaction because back in
2019 the United States House of Representatives and then this United
States Senate took action to call the genocide
of the Armenian people just that a genocide and then on April the 24th day
of commemoration in 201
21 President Joe Biden called the genocide Again by that
name and so as we declare the 24th a day of
commemoration and Remembrance we're taking the opportunity
to acknowledge what it took too long to
acknowledge now I guess I would say that now that an
American president has actually used that word clearly and unequivocally and
that our House of Representatives and the United States Senate have made that
formal declaration and particularly given the
state of world affairs today does using that word
matter a lot of folks in the Armenian community of which I'm a part would tell
you that they waited more than a hundred years to hear
it so I do think it's important to ask does it matter I mean at one level it's
just a word so why does it matter and I think for folks
in the armenian-american community it matters because it tells their
story tells the story of a diaspora a community that is literally
scattered around the world so whether they are from Boston or
Beirut anara or anjar Cairo or copertino in my district
where we are and where we're from is probably in
some way some significant way determined by this genocide which created a
worldwide diaspora so what I wanted to share with
my colleagues and with all of you is that the
genocide is the answer to so many questions when people ask what's the
story of the armenian-american community
the answer to the question why are my grandparents buried in New
York why are my great-grandparents buried in
Cuba the answer is more than just a matter of personal
geography because the genocide informs I think the notion of the
Armenian Community as a scattered Community a diaspora as I
said as a kid my father once told me when I asked
him about our ethnic and cultural history said well we're a Melancholy
people you know as a kid I had no idea what that
meant but I I think he meant that our community shared a common sadness and
that that sadness was rooted in the genocide more than a hundred years ago
now so the word does matter hearing it out loud
matters and even as we are determined that it's a word that shouldn't limit or
Define us as members of the community I think the word has
continuing importance as I say I wanted to speak a
little bit more personally today because this is the last chance I'll have to
share this story with folks in the community and members of the County
family but also because I think it's an extraordinary time right now in the
world for anyone who has waited so very very long to hear the word I suspect
that most folks in this room don't know there's a place called
artac nagoro kabak that 120,000 ethnic Armenians called it their home just some
months ago and that today they have been driven from their home and are now
refugees in Armenia so there is
painfully continuing relevance to this
conversation and to the importance of this word and finally I would say it's
an important word Above All Else simply because it is the
truth so what I'd like to do now is say thank you for indulging me in this very
personal moment and invite folks from the local community including Leon
barsumian to come forward and ex and receive our resolution acknowledging and
commemorating April 24th as a day of remembrance for The Armenian
Genocide leavon would you and your colleagues please come forward and
please welcome them [Applause]
thank you supervisor
sman uh and thank you honorable supervisors of Santa Clara County um for
the proclamation um commemorating the 109th anniversary of the Armenian
Genocide um as supervisor sman noted um recognition is still important to
Armenian Americans today because While most Armenian Americans living in Santa
claric County uh arrived due to Violent displacement my grandmother for example
um many still have family in Armenia or from
artak um as many of you know on September 19th of last year all of the
Armenians of atsa were um forcibly displaced ethnically cleansed and are
refugees living in Armenia and today Armenia itself is under
threat um so it's important to today still to use the word and to recognize
uh the historical facts so um I just want to again extend our sincere thanks
um I don't think I could say anything that too profound or better than you
could have said all right please say welcome and thank you
again
call forgive us again while we turn our backs I'm going to hand this to you Leon
I'm going to ask the rest of the community to get in the photo here
please an
thank you all once again thank you there you go
I will'll invite uh County Executive James Williams to come and present the
remaining four commendations before we move to employee excellence
awards it's my honor this afternoon to get to present several retirement
commendations to some extremely dedicated long- serving County employees
and we're going to start with Katherine Bustamante from custody Health Services
com on up [Applause]
come
on Katherine devoted 37 years of service to the county of Santa Clara beginning
her County Career as an extra help employee for Santa clar Valley Medical
Center in 1986 on April 16th 1990 almost exactly
34 years ago Katherine was promoted to a coded position as a medical unit clerk
within custody Health Services she spent all of those final 34 years in custody
Health helping support quality care to patients Katherine was part of the first
line of healthc Care staff working with patients in our County jails providing
multi multilingual services and other key responsibilities with the utmost
professional ISM compassion and dedication she's been an inspiration to
many colleagues whether through words of encouragement unsolicited offers of
support sharing of institutional knowledge or for the various treats she
would bring to share and deliver with her warm smile I'm told Catherine was
always offering snacks to share especially Hot Cheetos and hardboiled
eggs Katherine is described by her peers as a very kind
funny sweet and always positive known by many as Mama Katie Catherine
demonstrated leadership by creating a collaborative environment often stepping
in to cover for colleagues to help with Staffing shortages working closely with
Correctional staff and selflessly working in service of the patients in
the jails by continuously going above and beyond the Call of Duty Katherine's
granddaughter Natalie who also works in custody Health helped put together
today's Commendation in addition to her
granddaughter Katherine leaves behind a legacy of noble dedication to her
colleagues patients and the residents of Santa Clara County we are so grateful
for your service
congratulations just want to say thank you to everyone um that I'm still here I
would still be working it but uh than got to cut it
short thank you cut it short after 37
minut I don't think cutting it short is after 37 years thank you so much
oh thank you for your yeah that way you don't look I know she does that to me
all the time thank you
generous life of
next we get to celebrate Rosie Estrada coming up
Rosie dedicated 36 years of service to the county of Santa Clara including
postponing her retirement to continue serving youth in the County's juvenile
facilities and supporting her colleagues Rosie began her career with the county
on October 7 1985 as a medical unit clerk at juvenile hall in the Children's
Shelter she was later promoted to the Administrative Assistant with juvenile
custody Health Services due to her unparalleled dedication to Justice
involved Youth and her commitment to serving vulnerable individuals in our
community throughout her career Rosie provided multilingual services to youth
while also helping grow multiple medical mental health dental and vision services
within the County's juvenile facilities I'm told Rosie has been like
a mother to everyone she always made sure the break room had healthy snacks
she decorated for employee events she also routinely made seasonal
appreciation goodie bags for her colleagues each goodie bag would come
with a note and a pun about the contents of the bag the clinic would go nuts
without you read one note with a goodie bag of Trail
Mix Rosie demonstrated leadership showed a great deal of enthusiasm for her work
took on responsibilities above and beyond what her position required and
was the consumate team player and motivational colleague to fellow
employees during long hours and difficult times Rosie's favorite quote
was better health for all and she lived those values throughout her career Rosie
leaves a legacy of dedicated and caring service to Justice involved Youth and
their families to her colleagues and to the residents of Santa Clara County
thank you so much Rosie and congratulations
thank you all I I can say I've always been a great supporter for Santa Clara
County Services and all I can share with all of
you teamwork makes a difference thank you
congratul congratulations congratulations
Dave saula come on [Applause]
out David J V started at the county in docc in July of 1987 as a
technician he was motivated to join what is wrong 89 cor well he was motivated to
join the academy and graduate in December of 1989 initially is a
correctional officer at the main jail and within two years began serving as a
jail training officer he rose through the ranks later serving as internal
affairs sergeant and Captain Elmwood division Main Jail Division Watch
Commander later Captain over jail reforms at one time or another he's been
in charge of every single division or business unit in
custody among many many notable accomplishments he was the executive
sponsor for the demolition of Main Jail South helped the formulation of the jail
management system led the creation of the grievance unit the implementation of
the inmate tablet Services Program and helped launch theate tracking system in
September of 2021 in recognition of all of the work that he had done and those
successes he was promoted to assistant sheriff with full oversight of the
custody bureau's 900 staff who are responsible for the lives and well-being
of 3,000 individuals on average in a 247
operation he served as an active recruiter and Mentor he's developed
countless Correctional professionals he's a third degree black
belt in Taekwondo he's an avid Raiders fan a
proud husband and father enjoys hosting family and friends in his home but I
want to add that he has been just an extraordinary partner to the entire
County organization over many challenging years of incredible change
and reforms in our correctional system he has done so in a place of compassion
with outstanding professionalism and from a spirit of
true and genuine cooperation and collaboration with a mindset that
working together across the county organization we can do what we need to
do to do right by those individuals who have been remanded to us for Care by the
courts so I want to thank you so much for your outstanding service to our
community wish you and your family all the very best thank you
thank you um first I want to say it's been an absolute pleasure and honor to
serve the county of Santa Clara and the community um that I've grew up in ra
born and raised here um but I I just want to say the the county of Santa
Clara is a fantastic place to have a career they really take care of their
employees and um people often say how did you do so
long in in in the correction profession and that's because it's a very difficult
um career but what makes it easy to come to work every day is when you come to
work because you know that the correctional staff the deputies the um
professional staff our partners in custody Health our partners at the
re-entry Center our partners programs and everything we do and especially the
support that we've gotten from the Board of Supervisors the the county EX
office um makes it worth it because everyone comes together to make a very
difficult job easy to to want to do and that's to serve the people and try to
make a difference in the lives of those who are incarcerated they don't want to
be there they're at the worst point of their life but we are striving to make
it better for them and that's what the whole purpose of what we do is so it's
been an honor and a pleasure and I thank you for all the support
[Applause]
thank you so
next Wednesday April 24th is a very important day in the County it's a
distinct honor to present a proclamation on behalf of the Board of Supervisors
and County Administration celebrating office Professionals Day office
professionals make the Enterprise work they're the life force they are often
the first people our customers and residents interact with our office
professionals are in many ways the face of the county
organization from Connecting People in Need to of health services to issuing
marriage licenses to keeping the calendars of our busy Executives to
taking meeting minutes even Framing proclamations and Counting
ballots their Ingenuity flexibility and the ability to handle the unexpected
make our office professionals so valuable they're essential to keeping
our departments running efficiently Monica and Sonia make my
life easier there are many serving in these key roles throughout our County
organization making this a better place to work and serve our
community in 1987 County leadership saw the importance of our office
professionals and created the top program 37 years later the top program
is still going strong over 2,000 County professionals have graduated from the
program the last three top classes have supported kid scope Behavioral Health
Assessment Center assisted Outpatient Treatment and pets of the unhoused
respectively efforts that are very much aligned with the board and
administration priorities these classes raised over $40,000 for these County
priorities every year the top program holds a training seminar this year the
seminar will be in November at tasmin seminar is a space for continuous
learning skill building support and growth for moving into larger more
responsible roles in the county so I'd like to present this Proclamation uh to
John
Tran chairperson of the top program
and to top board members and alumni on behalf of the over
4,000 office Professionals in the county we honor and celebrate you all in
2024 for office Professionals Day
so thank you James on behalf of all office Professionals in the county I
along with the training for office professionals executive board beside me
would like to extend our deepest gratitude to the Board of Supervisors
our County Executive James Williams Chief Operating Officer Greta Hansen and
the entire County Administration for this Proclamation we appreciate your
recognizing and celebrating this special day but more importantly we appreciate
your intentionality in lifting up the importance and value of of the
4,294 office professionals working in the county organization your
long-standing support for the staff is an embodiment of the County's unwavering
commitment to providing excellent and exemplary service to our clients again
thank you so much for this Proclamation we will ensure that it gets showcased at
our upcoming top events thank [Applause]
you for
thank you thank you everybody thank
you all right this brings us to the pce to resistance of these meetings item
nine is the opportunity to present certificates of appreciation to employee
Excellence award honores for April 2024 take it away
James and if the award recipients can come on up we're going to hear inspiring
stories this afternoon yes
we're going to hear inspiring stories about our extraordinary colleagues from
the office of the assessor the Finance Agency County Library Department of
Correction Social Services Agency County of Santa Clara Health System Department
of Parks and Recreation and technology and services Solutions department so I
will go one at a time read a little bit about you that was provided by your
department and then uh you take a step back and president Ellenberg will give
you your certificate take a photo with you and at the end we'll do a group
photo with
everyone and feel free to cheer for everyone all
right Chris Dixon
during his three years as an auditor appraiser 3 with the county of Santa
Clara Chris Dixon has been an exemplary figure in the assessor's office
embodying its core principles he upholds the values of Integrity Quality Service
fiscal prudence and Innovation Chris works on business property audits with
business owners certified public accountants and tax directors his
honesty and integrity are critical in completing audits accurately efficiently
and in a timely manner role assessments are vital for the County's revenue and
support essential services that include law enforcement schools and Healthcare
in the 2022 2023 audit year Chris's exceptional skills in identifying Escape
roll assessments significantly contributed to the assessor off
Assessor's office's success underscoring his invaluable role in the team Chris's
interpersonal skills are a testament to his empathy and trustworthiness his
consistent documentation of processes and sharing of expertise not only
enhance operational efficiency but also Foster a positive work environment
reflecting his commitment to the team and the office Chris's problemsolving
abilities and organizational prowess have been essential to the assessor's
office making him a respected and indispensable asset to the team thank
you
Chris Maria Hernandez
Maria showcases integrity and honesty at the county of Santa clar Department of
tax and collections she leads her team with Grace and ensures every interaction
with the public is First Rate recently promoted to Supervisor of the payment
processing unit Maria's committed to upholding the Department's fiscal
responsibility over the past year her team efficiently processed a staggering
170,000 property tax payments received through the mail amounting to a
substantial $1.5 billion received through the
mail approachable and communicative Maria spearheads various initiatives
within the department from revamping tax bill designs to managing the public
website and overseeing the distribution and maintenance property tax bills
Maria's dedication shines Maria Foster is an environment of innovation and
adaptability she guides her team through Chang changes and enhances procedures
through comprehensive training sessions her leadership Fosters a workplace
culture characterized by mutual respect and
collaboration outside of her professional Endeavors Maria finds joy
in her personal life with her fiance and pets Maria is known to have the greenest
of thumbs and can revive almost any plant congratulations
thank Jennifer Chang [Applause]
Jennifer Chang is a children's services librarian at the copertino library who
brings creativity and positivity to everything she does Jennifer has been
with the Santa clar County Library since 2013 and she's created a variety of
programs that support the library's strategic plan by incorporating
diversity and belonging she leads an art therapy program for twins and their
adult caregivers every month the program helps participants engage in Creative
projects and conversation with their family members in a calm and welcoming
environment Jennifer Co leads the change makers book club which introduces young
readers to chapter books that feature culturally diverse characters and voices
a fluent Mandarin speaker she leads engaging story times in both English and
Mandarin many families have shared how much they appreciate Jennifer in the
bilingual program Jennifer treats everyone with kindness and respect and
she's always willing to help another colleague whether it is covering a desk
shift helping to set up for a program or covering a story time she's committed to
lifelong learning which helps her create enriching programs for our diverse
Community congratulations [Applause]
Jennifer and a big thank you to all the Librarians out there tomorrow is uh
National
librarian Jose
Caldwell Deputy Jose Caldwell is a 15-year correctional officer with the
Sheriff's Office who demonstrates the traits needed to be both a rule enforcer
and a peacekeeper in the county jail with a calm demeanor and an uncanny
ability to diffuse potentially volatile situations it's a skill set that has him
frequently being called upon to serve as mediator and Communicator with
uncooperative individuals achieving compliance in a peaceful manner Deputy
calwell is firm fair and consistent in his enforcement of rules showing respect
that is reflected in return Deputy calwell sets a consistent Benchmark in
daily routines within the jail his positivity is
evident in his interactions with peers and can be seen in the activity
schedules he creates to set a baseline while fairly Distributing workload among
all shifts he is highly respected among peers and professional staff who
appreciate his ability to skillfully communicate and document matters in
thorough reports these are traits that not only promote safety within the jail
but also reduce liability to the county it's this level of experience diligence
care and compassion that were an accommodation of Excellence congratul
Deputy
K Chantel
Coleman Chantel Coleman is a social services analyst with the Department of
Family and Children Services who embodies the Department's commitment to
empower the children and families we serve Chantel who's been with the
department for 21 years is a dedicated public servant she's
passionate about helping families affirming their strengths and lifting up
their unique voices before meeting a family Chantel familiarizes herself with
their case and makes sure to find a positive event or goal they've achieved
she uses this information as the foundation for her interviews
acknowledging the family's accomplishments and commending them for
their hard work families that work with her feel seen and empowered as part of
the federal case review process she she engages both the immediate family and
those within the Family Circle of support she's always friendly and
personable she speaks openly and honestly and invites families to do the
same so that they feel safe and comfortable sharing their
experiences Chantel improves the department by strengthening processes
for the future Children and Families we serve she's a true asset to the county
and to the community we serve thank you [Applause]
Esther
olivarez Esther has dedicated 26 years of service to Public Health focusing her
efforts on providing immunizations in Santa Clara County and advancing Health
Equity initiatives by forging Partnerships with schools and County
clinics she's created an environment of trust within the community earning her
the affectionate title of the I queen AKA immunization Queen among her peers
her commitment to Community Health ensures that students receive essential
immunizations Esther prioritizes highquality public service and
emphasizes effective communication tailored to diverse audiences she
Champions in-person engagements like training sessions and Outreach events
recognizing their significance in our organizational culture Esther's
leadership is not just exemplary it's transformative her passion and
dedication Inspire the immunization team to advocate for the community especially
those facing adversity her warmth humor and
dedication create a supportive environment that Fosters a strong sense
of belonging among team members Esther's compassion and professionalism are not
just Stellar qualities they're the very fabric that enriches the immunization
team and serves as an inspiration to everyone in public health
congratulations thank you
Dr Lauren
lakia Dr lakia chief of head and neck surgery at the Santa Clara Valley
Medical Center is consistently recognized by colleagues and patients
for her excellence and remarkable commitment to teaching mentoring and
leadership Dr lakas mentored many young surgeons both at the Valley Medical
Center and Stanford University while also achieving outstanding surgical
outcomes as an ear nose and throat surgeon besides her clinical practice
she provides emergency care to patients with a variety of illnesses she is
always available and handles even the most complex and acute problems with
poise and skill Dr lakia is also championed the
hospital sustainability efforts and is a founding leader leader of Health Systems
climate action collaborative she inspired the organization to sign the
White House Health sector climate pledge demonstrating its commitment to reducing
greenhouse gas emissions she has worked tirelessly on multiple climate
initiatives she's a vital resource to every Department within the Health Care
system on all aspects of climate change including how to ease the
disproportionate burden of environmental challenges on our underserved
communities Dr lakia represents the best of medicine p patients appreciate her
excellent bedside Manner and unparalleled surgical outcomes referring
Physicians say they would trust themselves and their family members in
her capable hands thank
you Matthew
Santos longtime Parks and Recreation employee Matthew Santos has covered just
about all the bases in Administration in his 14 years of service he's played a
key role in developing and improving programs in Human Resources payroll
onboarding internships Outreach Recruitment and timekeeping his
dedication was evident during the covid-19 pandemic when he remained on
site to manage the administration office many times being the only person there
he handled Staffing shortages and the evolving pandemic era policies and
procedures with tacked and professionalism he's also been key to
improving Park and Rec's online accessibility creating training
materials reference pages and various other online resources that have greatly
benefited the department and those who use them Matthew's passion for improving
processes and making things accessible to staff in the community inspires
others to do the same he implemented an onboarding program for new employees
creating a raft of videos information and training to get new employees
quickly up to speed and he spearheaded the initial student intern program which
exceeded all expectations for a first year program if a process or task
appears to need Improvement Matthew will step in and do it he goes above and
beyond his daily duties as an and is an asset and resource to Parks and
Recreation thank
you and last but certainly not least Jennifer P
last [Music]
one I've had to do a lot of them this afterno right Jennifer is a 17-year
County employee who joined technology services and solutions as an accountant
de a decade ago since then Jennifer has consistently showcased her competence
and expertise with substantial knowledge that has been key in supporting the
fiscal team's intricate reports to Administration recently that has
included putting together a government Accounting Standards Board update with
new compliance requirements it was a complicated and
intense task that involved pulling fiscal information for over a thousand
contracts Jennifer not only got the required information in a timely fashion
but also provided it to the county controller's office in an easily
understandable manner Jennifer approaches routine and
ad hoc tasks with int Integrity known for her reliability she is often tapped
to coach and Mentor staff on government accounting principles her talent and
knowledge shine in handling complex financial reporting and compliance for
the county controllers Jennifer Foster's teamwork among her peers she's proactive
and supportive of Staff always motivating them to pursue continuous
learning she consistently recognizes achievements and successful
collaborations and brings her own insightful ideas to make the department
more successful Jennifer is ultimately an inspiring coworker and a tremendous
asset to the county thank you [Applause]
Jennifer give everyone a big round of
applause we're going to briefly turn our backs and take a group photo
invite the board to come join
us I'm taller than
you short people
spe
conat congratulations thank you very
much we are adjourned go and celebrate
than
e for