Academy Forum: LGBTQ+ Leaders & Law Enforcement

TO ATTEND

This outdoor event is available for Club Members and their guests, and to interested members of our LGBTQIA+ community. Please feel free to register and be our guest for the evening.

ABOUT THIS EVENT

Join us for a conversation with LGBTQ+ members of local law enforcement, plus special guest, District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman. With a constructive goal of building empathy and strengthening ties, we’ll discuss what it’s like to be queer in the SFPD, the history of policing in our community, and how we are moving forward. All are welcome.

Panelists:

• Captain Christopher Del Gandio
• Sergeant Tina To
• Officer Kathryn Winters
• District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman
• Dr. Ish Ruiz (moderator)

TICKETS

Free; Donations collected at the event; 100% of proceeds donated to Castro Community on Patrol (www.castropatrol.org)

MEMBERSHIP

The Academy is currently accepting new memberships. If you are interested in becoming a Member and enjoying all of the associated perks and benefits, please click here to learn more.

BEVERAGES

Beverages (alcoholic and non-alcoholic) will be available for purchase. Academy Social Club Members receive certain beverages complimentary. Ask your bartender or host for details.

CLUB INFORMATION

The Club will also be open during regular hours (Thursdays 5-11pm) for Members and their guests who do not wish to attend or do not have a ticket for this event.

COVID-19 SAFETY

This event will take place in accordance with all currently applicable health guidelines per the City of San Francisco and SFDPH. Our full safety information can be found HERE. Please contact us if you have any questions.

ABOUT CAPTAIN CHRISTOPHER DEL GANDIO

Captain Del Gandio joined the San Francisco Police Department in 2007. He made history last month when he became the first out gay man to reach the rank of Captain in the SFPD. He is a resident of San Francisco and is passionate about the community he serves.

ABOUT SERGEANT TINA TO

Sergeant Tina To was born in San Francisco, and has been a member of the SFPD for 15 years.  Tina is the child of immigrant parents, who immigrated to the US in the 70's, she speaks Cantonese and was born in Chinatown.  Tina is currently assigned to Community Engagement and loves working with all the different communities and assisting victims.

ABOUT OFFICER KATHRYN WINTERS

Officer Kathryn Winters first joined the SFPD in 1998. She is a native San Francisco and a resident of the city. Officer Winters is an out trans woman, and is involved with local LGBTQ non profit organizations.

ABOUT SUPERVISOR RAFAEL MANDELMAN

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman represents District 8 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. District 8 includes the Castro, Glen Park, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, and Mission Dolores. Supervisor Mandelman is the only LGBTQ member of the Board of Supervisors.

Since joining the Board of Supervisors in July 2018, Supervisor Mandelman has worked to address the City's mental health and substance use crises, serving as Co-chair of the 2019 Methamphetamine Task Force, co-authoring legislation to allow San Francisco to pursue temporary conservatorships for people with severe mental health and substance use disorders, and authoring legislation to streamline the creation of new Board and Care Facilities, and preserve existing facilities. Supervisor Mandelman worked with the Department of Public Health to establish the City’s first community-based Hummingbird behavioral health respite in District 8, which is scheduled to open in 2021 and will provide 20 - 24 beds for unhoused people suffering from mental illness and addiction. As a member of the Budget Committee, Supervisor Mandelman helped to secure funding for Street Crisis Response Teams, which will respond to more than 21,000 calls for behavioral health crises previously handled by SFPD.

During his time on the Board, Supervisor Mandelman has been a champion for the LGBTQ+ community, leading the City’s efforts to implement Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data collection, authoring legislation to create the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, declaring the Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band the official band of San Francisco, and ending the decades-long ban on bathhouses in San Francisco. Supervisor Mandelman worked with Mayor Breed, the Department of Public Health, and community stakeholders to keep the Lyon-Martin clinic open through the COVID-19 pandemic, and then secured more than $2 million to help the City’s most important provider of trans and gender nonconforming affirming healthcare transition to becoming an independent clinic. As a member of the Budget Committee, Supervisor Mandelman fought for funding in the 2020-2021 Budget for rental subsidy programs for trans and gender nonconforming community members, people living with HIV and transitional aged youth; to open 28 new beds at Jazzie’s Place shelter for trans and gender nonconforming unhoused people; and to support organizations in the Castro that serve LGBTQ youth and funding to help create more BIPOC-welcoming spaces in the neighborhood. In 2020, he initiated the historic landmarking process for the longtime home of LGBTQ civil rights leaders Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, and is committed to expanding the number of LGBTQ cultural sites included in the City’s list of historic landmarks.

Supervisor Mandelman has been active on a variety of public and nonprofit boards, having served as a commissioner on San Francisco’s Building Inspection Commission and Board of Appeals, a member of the Bay Area Jewish Community Relations Council, president of the Board of Directors of Livable City, and Co-Chair of the San Francisco LGBT Community Center Board. A past president of the Noe Valley and Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Clubs, Supervisor Mandelman has been an elected member of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee since 2006. He joined the Equality California Institute Board in 2020.