Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Dave Pine, District 1
Supervisor Noelia Corzo, District 2
Subject: Appointments to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual Plus (LGBTQIA+) Commission
RECOMMENDATION:
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Recommendation for appointments to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, Asexual Plus (LGBTQIA+) Commission:
A) Fabricio Perez, for an initial partial term ending June 30, 2027; and
B) Michael O’Rourke, for an initial partial term effective December 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025.
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BACKGROUND:
The LGBTQIA+ Commission reports and makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding policies, programs, procedures and legislation affecting LGBTQIA+ individuals in San Mateo County, and provides outreach and support to at-risk and underserved LGBTQIA+ populations within San Mateo County, including youth, communities of color, non-English speakers, older adults, and immigrants. The Commission promotes transgender inclusion among private and public entities in San Mateo County, including access to health care and to gendered spaces such as bathrooms and shelters. It develops initiatives to support LGBTQIA+ families with children in San Mateo County and provides a public forum for input from the LGBTQIA+ community to identify unmet needs.
DISCUSSION:
Fabricio Perez is being recommended to serve on the LGBTQIA+ Commission for an initial partial term upon approval of this appointment through June 30, 2027, a seat vacated end-of-term by Evaine Young. Michael O’Rourke is being recommended to serve an initial partial term effective December 1, 2024 through June 30, 2025, reflecting the date of declared resignation of the Commission’s longest-serving member Craig Wiesner.
Fabricio is a resident of San Mateo and learned about the LGBTQIA+ Commission at the County Career Fair in August, 2024. Fabricio has a background in digital marketing and communications. He attended Notre Dame de Namur University and has a bachelor’s in psychology. With his passion in psychology, he volunteers as a Peer Pal for National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) in San Mateo. He is an advocate for access to and equity with mental health services.
Michael O’Rourke lives in the city of San Mateo with his husband and baby daughter. An attorney by trade, Michael has been part of LGBTQ+ employee resource groups through his employers in the Bay Area. He has been involved in LGBTQ+ advocacy in high school and college and most recently has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) in San Francisco. He is a member of the Temple Sha’ar Zahav in San Francisco and looks forward to serving on the county-wide LGBTQIA+ Commission.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.