Special Notice / Hearing: None__
Vote Required: Majority
To: Honorable Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Dave Pine, District 1
Supervisor Carole Groom, District 2
Subject: Appointments to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Commission
RECOMMENDATION:
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Recommendation for appointments to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer (LGBTQ) Commission, each for an initial full term ending June 30, 2023:
A) Bismay Mishra; and
B) Dena Marie Sexton.
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BACKGROUND:
The Commission reports and makes recommendations to the Board of Supervisors regarding policies, programs, procedures and legislation affecting LGBTQ individuals in San Mateo County, and provides outreach and support to at-risk and underserved LGBTQ 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 LGBTQ families with children in San Mateo County and provides a public forum for input from the LGBTQ community to identify unmet needs.
DISCUSSION:
Bismay Mishra and Dena Marie Sexton are being recommended for appointment to the LGBTQ Commission for full three-year terms commencing on July 1, 2020, through June 30, 2023. Vacancies on the Commission were created upon the completion of maximum allowable terms by Commissioners Gabe Garcia and Grant Whitman. Recruitment for these openings took place between April 16, 2020, and June 15, 2020, and interviews were held during the week of July 27, 2020.
Bismay Mishra, of Redwood City, currently works as the Director of HIV Global Analytics and Insights for Gilead Sciences, and co-leads the Pride Alliance, an LGBTQ+ employee resource group within that company.
Dena Marie Sexton, of Moss Beach, is an educator who currently serves as the Director of Clinical Practice at San Jose State University and has provided consulting services to several nonprofit organizations including the Outlet Program of Adolescent Counseling Services.
FISCAL IMPACT:
None.