2016 Good Government Awards

2016 Public Managerial Excellence Award Winners

Jane Gong
San Francisco Business Portal
Office of Economic & Workforce Development / Department of Technology

Jane Gong joined city government to lead a collaborative project—between the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the Department of Technology—to create the San Francisco Business Portal. This online tool streamlines the permitting process to open and grow a business in San Francisco. As a prior small business owner herself, Gong pursued a user-centric approach to develop the citizen-to-government portal. The San Francisco Business Portal consolidated information from 18 City departments on 400+ local, state and federal permits. Gong and her team delivered the project in a mere 11 months and within budget. In the first year, it serviced 19,000 unique users—a 670% increase in the number of businesses the City was able to guide through the permitting process prior to its creation. The process is now more efficient for the entire business community and drives solutions-oriented customer service from the regulatory agencies and 311 as they assist businesses through the process.​

Diana Hammons
Revenue Collection and Sales
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

Diana Hammons serves as the Senior Manager in charge of revenue collection and sales for the SFMTA. With 18 years in city government—across legislative, public relations and operations fields—Hammons now oversees 126 employees, a $28 million budget, and processing of approximately $140 million in revenue each year. Hammons manages three sections, that collectively process all parking and transit citations and parking permits, manage all citation protests and a Customer Service Center at 11 South Van Ness, and oversee the collection and processing of cash transit revenue and fare media distribution. Hammons led her team to implement the Free Muni for Youth program within six weeks of its passage by the Board of Supervisors. The Free Muni program, expanded to include seniors and people with disabilities, along with the adult Lifeline Pass programs serves approximately 100,000 low-income San Francisco residents. During her tenure, Hammons has steadily worked to make small incremental changes that, when added together, have resulted in significant improvements in SFMTA’s service delivery to the public.​

Greg Kato
Gross Receipts Tax
Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector

Greg Kato works with the Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector to implement and drive communications about the Gross Receipts Tax that went into effect January 1, 2014. The tax restructured the way that business taxes are calculated for the City and County of San Francisco, and in doing so, increased the number of taxpayers from 7,000 to over 15,000, and the revenues to $500 million per year. Widely recognized as the biggest tax change for the city in a generation, its roll-out required Kato to coordinate internal and external stakeholders on a broad scale. Kato’s team developed a communications campaign to reach the 100,000 businesses registered in San Francisco. With Kato’s help, the City rolled out a complex, new tax completely based on business self-response (tax filings) via online products, on time and within budget, and with positive press and community response.​

Robert Smuts
Emergency Communications
Department of Emergency Management

Robert Smuts is the Deputy Director for Emergency Communications at the San Francisco Department of Emergency Management, overseeing operations and administration for the City’s 9-1-1 Center. Besides normal operational duties of staffing, training and supervising the center, Smuts ensures that all legal regulations related to 9-1-1 services are met, and stewards relationships with the emergency service providers such as the Police, Fire and Sheriff’s Departments. Smuts moved into his position just 1.5 years ago, and has turned around a distressed department. He established objective criteria for success, brought in expert data analysts to assess the recent 38% spike in call volume, and increased the chances of a 9-1-1 call being answered in 10 seconds or less from 68% to 80% of the time. He has improved relations with the emergency service providers, facilitating cooperative dispatching changes that went into effect in January 2016.​

Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) Team
Kate Hartley, Lydia Ely, Erin Carson, Sarah Nusser
Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development

In 2013, the federal agency in charge of safeguarding public housing dubbed our local oversight body–the San Francisco Housing Authority–as deeply troubled. As a result, the agency was disbanded and a new plan developed to establish a new way of providing housing for the City’s most vulnerable populations. The Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD) team is leading the interagency effort to manage and convert 4,584 units of public housing stock to affordable housing and improve homes for more than 8,000 of the city’s lowest income residents. The RAD team identified a creative portfolio of $780 million in funding to support the rehabilitation of these 29 public housing sites, in stark contrast to the $5 million per year previously available. With adroit focus, the RAD team has kept up momentum to reach the program’s goal: improve the lives and well being of the City’s most vulnerable residents through improved living conditions and decent, safe housing.​

Our sponsors are important partners in honoring leaders in public service to the City and County of San Francisco.

Corporate sponsorships range from $1,000 - $30,000 and provide many valuable and tangible benefits.

2016 Sponsorship Information Packet >>

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Sponsor Benefits

Click to enlarge chart >>

Sponsorship Benefits Deadlines

Wednesday, February 3
Recognition in first email invitation

Friday, February 19
Recognition in March and April issues of The Urbanist

Wednesday, March 9
Recognition in the third email invitation

Friday, March 11

Recognition in printed program and sponsor board exhibition

Wednesday, March 16
Recognition in event signage and video presentation

Monday, March 21
Event day and final deadline for sponsorship
Inclusion in April issue of The Urbanist

Sponsors are added to the web site every Friday.

*Please refer to sponsor benefits chart for details on benefits by level of sponsorship.

**To ensure you make sponsorship deadlines, please alert us of your sponsorship pledge at spur.org/ggawards or by email to [email protected].

For more information on sponsorship opportunities, contact Vanessa Bilanceri at 415-644-4882 or [email protected].

SPUR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and sponsorship is tax deductible to the full extent of the law. The SPUR tax ID is 94-149-8232.

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View photos from the 2015 Good Government Awards >>
View photos from the 2014 Good Government Awards >>
View photos from the 2013 Good Government Awards >>
View photos from the 2012 Good Government Awards >>

Past Award Winners

2015

Colleen Chawla
Department of Public Health

Jimmy Chiu, PE
San Francisco International Airport

Paula Kehoe
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission

Peter Dailey, John Davey, John Doll, Elaine Forbes and Meghan Wallace
Port of San Francisco

Freda Randolph Glenn, Stephanie Ting and Thomas Wolf
Child Support Services Department

2014

Douglas Legg
​Department of Public Works

Zoon Nguyen
Office of the Assessor-Recorder

Lisa Wayne
Recreation and Park Department

Mary Ellen Carroll, Daniel Lehr, Thomas Siragusa and Cheryl Taylor
The Rim Fire Emergency Response Team, SFPUC

Patricia Lee, Marynella Woods, Lauren Brady Blalock and Marc Babus​
The Legal Educational Advocacy Program Team, Public Defender's Office

2013

Susan Giffin, Rodrigo Castillo, Alan Honniball and Leo Solomon
Crime Data Warehouse Team

Michelle Ruggels
Department of Public Health

Lea Militello
Municipal Transportation Agency

Jaime Flores-Lovo
Department of Public Works

Ted Egan
Controller's Office

2012

Ed Harrington
​MFAC Lifetime Achievement Award​

Jocelyn Quintos
Department of Public Works

Harlan L. Kelly Jr.
SF Public Utilities Commission

Steven Castile
Recreation and Park Department

Darrell Ascano, Tajel Shah, Rebecca Villareal-Mayer
Office of the Treasurer and Tax Collector

2011

Dr. Susan Fernyak
Department of Public Health

Dana Ketcham
Recreation and Park Department

Cheryl Nashir
San Francisco Airport Commission

Dave Curto, Tony Lugo, Leo Sauceda, Jim Whelly
Human Services Agency

Brian Benson, Fran Breeding, Brian Strong, Adam Van de Water
General Services Agency

2010

Toni Coe
Municipal Transportation Agency

Brent Dennis
Recreation and Park Department

Allison Magee
Juvenile Probation Department

Maria X. Martinez
Department of Public Health

Nadia Sesay
Controller’s Office

SPUR Infrastructure & Planning Award
Water System Improvement Program
SF Public Utilities Commission

2009

Tangerine Brigham
Department of Public Health

Dan Kelly
Human Services Agency

Kevin Kone
San Francisco Airport Commission

Edgar Lopez & Brook Mebrahtu
Department of Public Works

Julie Kirschbaum, Britt Tanner, Sally Allen & Liz Garcia
San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

Clare Murphy
Lifetime Achievement Award
San Francisco Employee’s Retirement System

2007

Peter Acton
Airport Commission

Derek Chu
Human Services Agency

Brad Benson
Port of San Francisco

Judith Klain
Project Homeless Connect

Nancy Alfaro, Kevin Dyer, Jay Nath, Diana Nguyen & Heidi Sieck
311 Customer Service Center Project

2006

Sue Currin
San Francisco General Hospital

Jeff Gary
Municipal Transportation Authority

Chris Iglesias
Mayor’s Office of Economic & Workforce Development

Todd Rydstrom
Office of the Controller

Michelle Allersma, Denise Cannonier-Craig, Jennifer Johnston, Kerry Ko, Julian Low, Karen Taylor, Bruce Topp, Ted Yamasaki
Department of Human Resources

2005

Leo O’Farrell
Human Services Agency

Diana Guevara
Department of Public Health

Kathy Bull, DeMarris Evans & Louise Winterstein
Office of the Public Defender

Kerstin Magary
Municipal Transportation Agency

Jackson Wong
San Francisco International Airport

2004

Michael Cohen
Office of Economic & Workforce Development

Dorothy Enisman & Dariush Kayhan
Department of Human Services

Gary Franzella
San Francisco International Airport

Robert Kuzma
San Francisco Fire Department

Florence Mar
Office of the Treasurer

2003

Dr. Rajiv Bhatia
Department of Public Health

Philip Ginsburg
City Attorney’s Office

Olson Lee
Redevelopment Agency

Pacifico Paculba
Municipal Transportation Agency

Bridget Smith
Municipal Transportation Agency

2002

Gigi Harrington
San Francisco Municipal Railway

Wanda Jung
Department of Human Services

Bill Lehew
San Francisco International Airport

Monique Moyer
Mayor’s Office of Public Finance

Peg Stevenson
Controller’s Office

2001

Bond Yee
Department of Parking & Traffic

Marc Trotz
Department of Public Health

George Nichols
Public Library

Jay Banfield
Treasurer & Tax Collector’s Office

Pamela David, Richard Newirth & Kary Schulman
Mayor’s Office of Community Development, Arts Commission, Grants for the Arts

2000

Jeffrey G. Adachi
Public Defenders Office

Susan Hildreth
San Francisco Public Library

Janice Anderson-Santos & Jimmie Gilyard
Department of Human Services

Sam A. Mehta
San Francisco Airport Commission

Rick Ruvolo
Department of Administrative Services

1999

Carol Bach
Port of San Francisco

Fernando Cisneros
Department of Public Works

Mary Counihan
Department of Human Services

Barbara A. Garcia
Department of Public Health

Anthony Irons
Department of Administrative Services

1998

Jonathan Chow
Public Utilities Commission

Hillary Gitelman
Planning Department

Dolores Heaven
Department of Human Services

Monique Zmuda
Department of Public Health

Marcia deVaughn & Alex Mamak
Department of Public Works

1997

Adrienne Frazier
Department of Parking & Traffic

Sandra Jo Gartzman
San Francisco Rent Board

Nelly Lee
Department of Public Health

Jill Manton
San Francisco Art Commission

Severin Rizzo
San Francisco Art Commission

1996

Sai-Ling Chan-Sew
Department of Public Health

Matthew Gass
Hetch Hetchy Water & Power

Sharon Kotabe, Pharm D.
Laguna Honda Hospital

Johnny Miller
Juvenile Probation Department

Kathy Page
San Francisco Public Library

1995

Hugo Aguilera, Cheryl Austin, Sheila Kenny, Dennis Sato, Anna Suttmann & Nancy Wong
Laguna Honda Hospital

Evangeline H. Bruce
Controller’s Office

Jim Buick
Department of Social Services

Judith Griffin
Juvenile Probation Department

Mitchell H. Katz, M.D.
Department of Public Health

1994

James Bowen
Hetch Hetchy Water & Power

Teresa Chow
Controller’s Office

Emilio Cruz
Office of the CAO

Gene O’Connell, R.N.
San Francisco General Hospital

Robert Prentice, Ph.D.
Department of Public Health

1993

Donna Burchard
Laguna Honda Hospital

Daniel Patrick Daly
Treasurer’s Office

Rebecca Kohlstrand
Planning Department

Diarmuid Philpott
Police Department

Germaine Q. Wong
Office of the CAO

1992

Phil W. Arnold, Ph.D.
Recreation & Park Department

Dorothy Chen
Department of Social Services

Ricardo Hernandez
Office of the CAO

Judy Johnston
Controller’s Office

Anthony G. Wagner
Laguna Honda Hospital

1991

Alec S. Bash
Planning Department

Patric Duterte, Anthony Nicco & Michelle Rutherford
Department of Social Services

Robert Gamble
Redevelopment Agency

Roger L. Peters
Port of San Francisco

Charles Saunders, M.D.
San Francisco General Hospital

1990

Cheryl Austin
Laguna Honda Hospital

Rich Cunningham
Public Works Department

Joseph Johnson
Office of the CAO

Bill Lee
Department of Public Health

Mary Smith
Department of Social Services

1989

Dorothy Enisman
Department of Social Services

Steven Koneffklatt
Laguna Honda Hospital

Brenda Lauer
San Francisco General Hospital

Sara Pickus
Public Works Department

Edwina Young
District Attorney’s Office

1988

Chief Ronald Driscoll
San Francisco International Airport

Mary Anne Johnson, M.D.
Laguna Honda Hospital

Joel Robinson
Recreation & Park Department

Reiko Homma True, Ph.D.
Department of Public Health

1987

Catherine Bremmer & Vivian Sykes
San Francisco Public Library

Bernard Cummings
Public Works Department

Ron DeLeon
Recreation & Park Department

Michael Marcum
Sheriff’s Department

1986

Ann Branston
Municipal Railway

Barney Barron
Recreation & Park Department

John Roumbanis
Public Works Department

Flo Stroud
Department of Public Health

1985

Ed Gazzano
Public Health Department

Sal Kitchener
San Francisco Zoo

Virginia Leishman, RN
Laguna Honda Hospital

Geoff Rothman
Civic Service Commission

1984

Richard Sullivan
Tax Collector’s Office

Leslie Miko
Commission on the Aging

Richard Rogers
Municipal Railway

1983

Stanley Stephens
Controller’s Office

Joe Dominguez
Municipal Railway

Angela Gittens
San Francisco General

Jason Yuen
Airports Commission

1982

Don Birrer
Public Works Department

Mark Finucane
Public Health Department

Richard Koeritz
Housing Authority

Roberta McDonough
Civil Service Commission

1981

Tom Malloy
Recreation & Parks Department

David Fong
Controller’s Office

John P. Mullane, Jr.
Public Works Department

Carl Williams
Housing Authority