San Francisco, CA

Every year the Fellows at the Center for Public Leadership engage in a policy "field experience." This occurs during a multi-day trip to one city in the U.S., where students have the opportunity to meet with top leaders and organizations across a variety of sectors and industries. The Fellows dialogue with local politicians, CEOs, and analysts, of whom quite a few are former HKS alumnae. The trip is meant to inspire, connect, and broaden our vision as we wade knee deep into the interweaving of the public and private sectors, experiencing how they interact with the community to promote positive social change. This year the Dubin Fellows and about 15 other HKS students flew to San Francisco, California, the Asheville of the west coast.

We met with 18 people/organizations in just three days. We ate unbelievably good food and sucked down multiple cups of coffee in order to prepare for the next activity (did I mention all expenses paid??). The trip was an absolute blast (mostly thanks to our incredible organizers, Jen Firneno and Brooke King!). Every group was inspirational. Briefly, I wanted to share with you some of the major highlights...

• La Cocina helps low-income food entrepreneurs grow their businesses with affordable kitchen space and organizational support. Their clientele are generally minority immigrant women who have had experience in the food service industry. Now they have a ballin' idea that they want to bestow on the American public. On Tuesday night we were served a three course meal by three of La Cocina's successful graduates. We started off with Alicia's Tomales Los Mayos ("My tamales are stuffed with love, and the best people are stuffed with my tamales!"), then ate authentic "onigilly" rice balls with Japanese fried chicken and delicious brussel sprouts, and finished with Tres Leches La Luna Cupcakes (I don't like sweets, but this was honestly the best dessert I've ever tried - so moist). We also learned a little bit about the people in the process, in between bites.
• IDEO is a design firm that takes a "human-centered" approach to helping public and private organizations grow and innovate. This firm is touted as one of the most creative and best organizations to work at in the country, and their office space demonstrates why. Bikes are hung on cables from the ceiling for daily personal storage, each employee works at a new desk every day, and the kitchen is always crowded. In the two hours we were there, we engaged in a brief exercise in design thinking, attempting to expand the public transportation system in SF in new innovative ways. I contributed to the group by offering helicopter bikes as a solution to this crisis.
• Delancey Street is a community that is completely made up of ex-convicts. Entirely. The typical individual who lives and works in this picturesque community, hand-built by the men and women themselves, has spent years in prison and a decade dependent on drugs. The minimum requirement is 2 years living within the organization, but the average person stays four. No doctors, no therapists, no staff. They learn by working hard every day, gaining the skills necessary to reenter society as a contributing craftsmen. The ex-cons run their own admissions process, and boast an incredibly low recidivism rate. Since there are no doctors, the mentally ill must find another place to rehabilitate.
• Gavin ("Norman Handsome") Newsom, former Mayor of SF and now Lieutenant Governor of California, was one of the first political advocates of the Freedom to Marry movement. About a decade ago, he began allowing homosexual couples to legally marry in the city of San Francisco, a measure which was later rescinded but which brought national attention to the issue. He spoke at length (and off the record) about his political career, so I cannot detail much of what he said. I will mention though that he gave us a unique inside look a the political process, both locally and nationally, and had an adequate number of chest hairs popping out of his "3-unbuttoned top buttons" dress shirt.
• Anthony Iton, MD JD MPH has more degrees than he knows what to do with (and you thought I was crazy with an extra year). He is the Senior VP of The California Endowment, and has a broad view of how to improve the health of all Americans. As has been shown in numerous research studies, the ability to have a sense of control in our own lives and the concept of hope for the future independently affect health and life expectancy. Dr. Iton seeks to empower communities that have lost the ability to represent themselves in our democracy, engaging with the poorest areas in California. He works to give community leaders the tools needed to build and develop their own land and resources. He was also concerned with the amount of bacon in our catered breakfast.
• Tesla Motors. My next car will be a Tesla. It was fun to end the trip with an electric car company that is looking to build the next big thing. Unlike Prius and other gas efficient vehicles, these are pure sports cars, yet entirely battery powered and not ugly. Their top model can go 400 miles without a charge, and won Motor Trend Car of the Year for 2013. Sign me up for no longer paying forty bucks at the pump!

These were just a few of the many groups from whom we learned. I have a notebook full of quotes to reflect on in the coming weeks.