Community Boards’ 14th Annual San Francisco Peacemaker Awards celebration and ceremony was a great success. Our awards acknowledged and honored the significant contributions of Oscar Rojas Lopez, David Brandon, and Peer Resources for making San Francisco a city of healthier, more just, and peaceful neighborhoods and communities. San Francisco a city of healthier, more just, and peaceful neighborhoods and communities.
CHAMPIONSHIP CIRCLE
JAMS in honor of David Brandon
LEADERSHIP CIRCLE
Jeanie Fay-Snow in honor of Community Boards Team | Mechanics Bank
San Francisco Police Officers Association | Shwiff, Levy & Polo |
PARTNERSHIP CIRCLE
Anonymous | Jay Folberg in honor of David Brandon, An Unsung Collaboration Hero | Insight Counsel | Tracy Lemmon in honor of Darlene Weide & Her Tenacious Leadership | Marc Martin in honor of Nancy Hopson & Gil Lopez | Michael C. Tobriner in honor of All Community Boards Staff
ADVOCACY CIRCLE
Terry Amsler | Anonymous | Alice Mead | Beth Parker in honor of the dedicated staff of Community Boards | Donald Proby in honor of Tammy Appling-Cabading & Ryan Lamberton | Christina Sabee | San Francisco Pretrial Diversion Project | TADAccounting | Debra & Michael Varner | Kristy Webb in honor of Kenya Williams and Alison Maddeford | Darlene Weide in loving memory of Dorothy Weide | Marissa Wertheimer in honor of David Brandon
Ceremony Photographs | Awards Program Booklet
David Brandon is dedicated to promoting the use of mediation and other collaborative approaches to address and resolve conflict. Since 1990, David has worked in the ADR field in a variety of roles – as a mediator, facilitator, case manager, program manager and director – in both non-profit and for-profit settings. Since 2014, he has served as Managing Director of the JAMS Foundation, which provides financial support for conflict prevention and dispute resolution initiatives across the U.S. and around the world. David is a true believer in the power and promise of community mediation and a passionate advocate for its use in fostering understanding between parties in conflict and providing a safe space for them to navigate and resolve their disputes. Learn more about David.
Oscar Rojas Lopez is an 18-year-old San Francisco native and Mission High School senior. He began his journey as a peer mediator last year. The more mediations he led, the more Oscar fell in love with mediating. He’s drawn to helping other students and creating a more peaceful school environment and better community. He’s led mediations for disputes involving family dynamics, bullying, gossiping, and harassment. Oscar takes great care to explain the process to nervous students, preparing them to speak openly and confidently. He also mentors students in Mission High’s Newcomer Program, helping monolingual students feel comfortable in their new school. One teacher shared, “Oscar is one of the most kind, reliable, and humble young people I know. He is a joy and inspiration to all around him.” Learn more about Oscar.
For almost 50 years, Peer Resources has created change in San Francisco’s schools and communities through the leadership of young people supporting, training, and advocating for each other. Their vision: a world where students are agents of liberatory change, and where schools are transformed into liberatory-learning institutions. They recognize young people as centered partners in social justice movements, strengthening youth power from the classroom and beyond. Their trained student Peer Leaders have the tools they need to help their peers. Peer Leaders reach about a third of the entire San Francisco public school population, leading 300 meditations for almost 500 students across the city. There are about 40 Peer Resources academic school-day classes across 13 San Francisco public K-8, middle, and high schools. Learn more about Peer Resources.
Claudia M. Viera is a highly-regarded mediator, trainer, and facilitator focused on workplace disputes. In her interactive and engaging workshop, she’ll speak on implicit bias and the skills and awareness needed for making changes. She’ll summarize research which indicates that, despite our best intentions, we all harbor unconscious biases which impact our behavior toward others. Claudia’s interactive training invites you to explore your internal assumptions and external practices that arise as you engage with others in our multicultural world. She’ll define implicit bias and utilize interactive exercises to illustrate this bias. She’ll also discuss and demonstrate methods for addressing these biases in the mediation setting.
Paula West, Musical Guest Performer
Paula West is an American jazz and cabaret singer known for her rich, powerful contralto voice and for her highly nuanced interpretations of an extraordinarily eclectic selection of songs. She has had recurring engagements at the Oak Room of the Algonquin Hotel and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and Mezzrow in New York, among others. She has also performed at Lincoln Center, The White House, and Maison de la Musique in Paris. Ms. West’s nights at the Algonquin Hotel’s famed Oak Room earned her three straight New York Magazine Nightlife Awards as “Outstanding Female Jazz Vocalist.” The New York Times has praised for Ms. West, singling out her “thickly textured voice has ripened into a driving expressive force” and an “ever-deepening feel for the blues.” Learn more about Paula.
Donations
Community Boards raises funds to support our Neighborhood Mediation Program, expand our Restorative Justice Program, and award multiple training scholarships. No one is ever turned away for lack of funds. Through gifts like yours, Community Boards can maintain and strengthen all of our mediation, conflict coaching, facilitation, and training programs.
