San Francisco, CA – Today Mayor London N. Breed announced that Mawuli Tugbenyoh will serve as the Acting Executive Director of the Human Rights Commission, replacing Dr. Sheryl Davis who resigned from the City Friday morning.
Mayor Breed also announced she has asked the City Controller to expand oversight and controls over the Human Rights Commission to guarantee the long-term health of the Dream Keeper Initiative, which supports the Black community through strategies that include expanding home ownership opportunities, launching new small businesses, delivering workforce training, supporting aftercare, funding arts and culture, and more.
With the signing of her most recent budget, Mayor Breed had already paused release of new Dream Keeper funds prior to external department review. City Controller Greg Wagner will now work with the Mayor’s Budget Office to expand oversight and set spending controls to strengthen transparency and ensure that long-term health of the Dream Keeper Initiative.
“Dream Keeper has led to unprecedented support for the Black community, and that work must continue,” said Mayor London Breed. “Supporting this program means committing to strengthening transparency and accountability around how any and all organizations are being funded and how the funding is being used. It means leaving no questions unanswered. By pausing funding and bringing in new leadership with independent support from the Controller, we will make sure this important program can meet its mission of delivering transformative investments in a community that has been ignored and underserved for decades.”
New Acting Director
Today Sheryl Davis submitted her resignation to the Department of Human Resources. In her place, Mawuli Tugbenyoh will serve as Acting Executive Director. Mawuli’s most recent position was serving as a Deputy Director in the San Francisco Department of Human Resources, where he led Policy and External Affairs, helping with key good government efforts as reforming the city hiring process.
Throughout his career, Mawuli has worked on a broad spectrum of range of issues to improve San Francisco's communities. His efforts include improving transportation access and accessibility, bolstering public safety, and advancing environmental justice. He has been a strong advocate for small business development, food security, and police and criminal justice reform. Across all his work, Mawuli has consistently shown a deep commitment to serving underserved communities and ensuring equitable access to opportunities.
“I am deeply grateful for the Mayor’s commitment to our City and for entrusting me with the leadership of the Human Rights Commission during this transition,” said Mawuli Tugbenyoh. “I am dedicated to upholding the highest standards of integrity as we advance the department’s mission. My focus will be on rebuilding the community’s trust through transparent, accountable actions that allow us to advance the transformative work of the Human Rights Commission. I am also glad to have the partnership of the Controller’s Office, the City Attorney, and the Department of Human Resources as we work together to improve accounting practices and ensure the appropriate controls are in place to monitor spending.”
City Controller Oversight and Controls
During the most recent Budget process, Mayor Breed instituted controls over Dream Keeper spending, including increasing Mayor’s Budget Office oversight and accountability of DKI funds. The Mayor paused the release of new funding pending review by the Mayor’s Budget office and requested additional performance reporting to monitor ongoing spending.
Today Mayor Breed has additionally requested the City Controller, which is already undertaking a city requested audit, to expand its role in supporting the new Acting Director. This support from the City Controller will do the following:
- Dispatch Controller’s office accounting staff immediately to oversee accounting operations at HRC, including approvals of payments and other financial transactions.
- Accelerate and expand an audit of HRC Prop Q purchases to begin immediately. Under Prop Q, departments may make one-time purchases of commodities or general services under $20,000 without going through the Office of Contract Administration.
- Controller’s Office and Office of Contract Administration will suspend HRC’s Prop Q purchasing authority until audit is completed.
- The Controller City Services Auditor Performance team and Office of Contract Administration will conduct an assessment of procurement processes, policies and procedures, and segregation of duties, and implement necessary controls.
- City Services Auditor Performance will deploy a team of analysts to immediately work with HRC interim director to assess current contract and invoice approval process, staffing and administrative procedures, and develop a plan for long-term organizational changes to improve program and performance monitoring.
- Audit grant agreements with Collective Impact.
Impact of Dream Keeper Initiative
The Dream Keeper Initiative is designed to address the disparities that San Francisco’s Black community faces, including those resulting from systemic housing, economic, political, educational, legal, and cultural discrimination in a city that has seen its Black population decline to what some believe is 4% due to years of neglect. This can be seen in facts like:
- African Americans have the lowest household income in San Francisco, with an average of $31,000, as compared with $116,000 for white families
- 30% of San Francisco’s Black/African American population live below the poverty level
- African Americans have the lowest rate of homeownership in San Francisco at 31%
- African American students made up 7% of SFUSD’s population, yet 34% of SFUSD high school suspensions were African American students
- The Black population is the only racial group in San Francisco to consistently decline in every census count since 1970
Over the last few years, Dream Keeper has had a positive impact on the community. Through DKI, the City has been able to fund:
- Small business support, including training, incubation, startup capital, and retail space to help entrepreneurs launch and grow their operations.
- Workforce training programs that prepare participants to be immediately competitive in the job market.
- Food security initiatives, preventative care, case management, culturally competent mental health services, and holistic wellness programming.
- Wraparound services for families, taking a holistic and multigenerational approach to ensuring their wellbeing and success.
- Technical assistance for community-based organizations that serve Black San Franciscans, ensuring that these organizations are properly resourced to continually improve their programming and operations.
- Academic and extracurricular supports that augment classroom-based learning for youth through a Black cultural lens.
- Community-generated programming that fosters hope, power, and healing for Black San Franciscans; and is implemented by community members that normally wouldn’t be able to apply for City funding.
- Events, performances, and projects from Black artists and Black-serving arts organizations.
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