SPOTLIGHT
Every few weeks we will spotlight one of our commissioner/board members so you have an opportunity to get to know the Sheriff's Department Oversight Board board members.
This week we spotlight Member and President of the Board, Julie D. Soo
Tell us a little about yourself:
I am a senior staff counsel with the California Department of Insurance and am charged with prosecuting enforcement cases among my regulatory duties. In 2017, I prevailed in a $12 million settlement against a surplus line insurer, one of the largest of its kind for the Department. I volunteer in a variety of community causes, including addressing hate crimes, civil rights education, campaign work, and community health advocacy. I served on the San Francisco Commission on the Status of Women for 12 years until my 2021 mayoral appointment to the Sheriff’s Department Oversight Board, where I currently as its president. I was a delegate to the California Democratic Party from 2001 through 2022; I served five terms as a co-chair and two terms as a lead co-chair of the Platform Committee and served two terms as the statewide chair of the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus. I also served nine years on the Board of Trustees for Saint Francis Memorial Hospital. I have also served and advised the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association’s Civil Rights Committee. I tackle civil rights issues affecting Asian Americans and their communities. From my experience working on the Dr. Wen Ho Lee case with the Asian Law Caucus over 20 years ago, I am again tackling racial profiling of Chinese American scientists. A fourth-generation San Franciscan, I am a Lowell High School alumna and hold an A.B. with a double major in Pure Mathematics and Statistics from U.C. Berkeley, an M.A. in Applied Mathematics from U.C. San Diego, and a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law.
Why did you want to become a commissioner/board member?
At the heart of being a commissioner/board member is serving well all San Francisco communities. My family's generational influence on community service has made me adept and working with our vast and diverse communities. I am able to call upon community leaders to bring constituents together for honest conversations and feedback. I developed this mantra while campaigning for Kamala Harris as District Attorney: "A good leader knows about the community, but a potentially great leader is immersed in the community."
What do you want to accomplish as a commissioner/board member?
My view of oversight is to serve those who are incarcerated and their families as well as looking to the working conditions of the sheriff's deputies and their physical and mental health. I facilitated the hiring of an excellent inagural inspector general so that we can objectively review complaints and policies. As president, I have set agendas to educate the Board and the public about the inner workings of the Sheriff's Office and our jails. San Francisco is unique in having Prisoner Legal Services and robust programs to support those in jail toward re-entry and support services post re-entry. I am now focused on crucial and pragmatic funding for our Office of the Inspector General and hiring more sheriff's deputies so that programs for our incarcerated and family visitations can be expanded.
And finally, since this is social media, a fun fact question: you have to sing karaoke, what song do you pick?
I grew up in a family with very eclectic musical tastes, from Cantonese opera to Broadway hits and gospel. My era was Motown and coming of age meant Earth, Wind & Fire and Commodores concerts. I also remember watching variety shows with my parents in the '60s and '70s that featured music icons. Because my voice is not on the soprano side and I can't reach those falsetto high notes, I would have to defer to a Burt Bacharach / Dionne Warwick creation. The later version of "That's What Friends Are For" was used as a charity for AIDS research and prevention. I think that song is a reminder of our interconnectedness and would be an apt choice.
Thank you for letting us get to know you a bit better, Julie. We look forward to seeing great things from you and the Sheriff's Department Oversight Board!