Crossposted on Huffington Post

If San Francisco's economic future depends on a well-trained workforce, we must address the growing trend of families leaving our community in search of better schools.

No matter how pure our intentions, it's clear that we are failing our kids. We have just 56,000 students, but deprive far too many of them access to a high-quality neighborhood school. Increasingly lean budgets have led to teacher furloughs and draconian cuts to critical programs like summer school, music and art instruction.

The list goes on...

I have worked for more than a decade on the cause of public school reform, and led cutting-edge efforts to support teacher development and improve student outcomes in our most under-served communities. I know firsthand that change is possible when we focus on four basic building blocks: the expectation that every child can succeed, a dedicated teacher and mentor, a culture of innovation, and a broad network of stakeholders engaged in the process.

Remember that phrase from second grade about how we aren't supposed to judge a book by its cover? As trite and cliche as that aphorism was, it became relevant yet again this week. A little eight year old nephew of Joanna's came in to help us out for the week because he was interested in what his aunt was doing. At first he was great for some comic relief, with his newly acquired British accent a-la-Harry Potter and his spunky attitude. After making us some signs and helping me assemble some canvassing bags, Henry wanted another job to do. So I asked him (with very little hope in my voice) if he liked organizing. He replied in a British lilt, "very much so," to my absolute joy. I went to call people to invite them to our Mission Bay meet and greet for about half an hour, and when I went back to check in on him, he had organized our entire wall of supplies AND the cluttered bank of shelves that had been a dumping place for half broken hole-punchers and old posters. Then, without any suggestion from myself, he said, "maybe we can clean out the refrigerator next?" A man after my own heart.

Crossposted on Huffington Post

I learned early on that achieving goals -- either as an individual or a community -- begins with three essential ingredients: access to the skills that engender success, a willingness to work hard and try new things, and the stubborn determination to pick yourself back up when things don't go exactly according to plan.

My grandparents were European immigrants who built a fruit stand into New Jersey's first Italian-owned bank. My father was the first person in our family to attend college, and an entrepreneur who broke new ground in housing development, railroads, and shipping. Both my mother and grandmother were career classroom teachers. The wisdom of their collective experience has guided every step of my own journey -- as a mother, educator, businesswoman and mentor.

When I got into college, one of the first things people said (after commenting on the cold weather in New England), is "What made you choose that school?" What I wasn't expecting was to be asked that question once I joined a campaign. I knew all the reasons why I thought people should vote for Joanna, but I hadn't really thought about what initially inspired me to work for her campaign, and not one of the other 30 candidates campaigns. I had originally picked her because she is a family friend and neighbor, and I was inspired after her meet and greet in my neighborhood. Everything she said sounded great to me- her passion for bringing back businesses to San Francisco resonated with me because I experienced the effects of outsourcing first hand with my dad commuting three hours every day of my childhood to work. But last night, at an event supporting women in politics, I was asked "What made you join Joanna's campaign?" And after I really thought about it, I decided that the issue that resonated with me most was raising the standard of education in our city's public schools to the level that we put other issues close to our heart, like sustainability and equality. Joanna has the charisma, the leadership skills and the passion about SF schools to really make a difference. By putting it at the forefront of her campaign (if and when elected) she will be able to get the people who can make a difference together to make a clear and cohesive plan to get our schools back to where they need to be. Her passion is what keeps me inspired every day, and its the reason why I chose to volunteer my summer to her campaign. If you feel the same way, or even just want to find out more about what we do, please send me an email at katherine@joinjoanna.com!  

Even though the glitter and rainbows have been put away, the office is still buzzing with excitement. Why you may ask? Well because of the fun meet and greets we do every week! Everyday we are having hundreds of conversations with interested voters (just ask intern Elena who rocks a steady 150 calls six days a week), the core of what we are doing is actually really exciting. Joanna isn't kissing babies and taking photo-op shots in front of government buildings. She is out in the city every day asking the people of San Francisco what they actually want. In the Presidio neighborhood, its potholes. In the Tenderloin its homelessness. In Cole Valley, its issues with the N Judah Muni. Every person in San Francisco is so unique (and opinionated) so Joanna is tapping into that vast resource of ideas to try to get a fresh look at what our cities priorities should be. Our next meet and greet is on July 11th at 6pm in Noe Valley, at Bernies Cafe next to Whole Foods on 24th street. If you are in the neighborhood come hang out, have some food and get to know more about Joanna- and tell her more about yourself. Until July 11th, us interns in the office will be doing more research as to what you want your city to do for you... so come tell us!

Crossposted from sf.govfresh

Our government is only as strong as the bonds of trust between our institutions and citizens. An effective government must communicate its goals and actions. In order to best serve its citizens it must embrace transparency and innovation.

Think about how much the Internet has changed your life in the past 15 years, and compare that to the pace of change in city government over the same period of time. Our smart phones have a staggering amount of computing power that enable us to do things on-the-go that few would have deemed possible just a couple years ago. In San Francisco, we are the innovation capital of the world and yet city government does not embrace innovation in the way we run the city. We have made progress, but not fast enough to keep pace with other cities in the world, let alone keep up.

None of this is rocket science. If we embrace innovation, we are going to do more, we are going to do better, and we are going to do it cheaper. Implementation of Gov 2.0 requires foresight, determination, planning and execution to get it done. Substantive results require out-of-the-box thinking and a willingness to experiment and try new things. I bootstrapped my way into the clubby male-dominated world of venture capital. I did it by focusing on practical ideas where the cutting edge meets common sense. I am an entrepreneur and I will bring a spirit of innovation with me to City Hall.

Crossposted at Endeavor

I have long believed in taking risks, rising to challenges, and persevering. Whether climbing the corporate ladder, starting my own venture capital firm, or most recently entering the 2011 race for Mayor of San Francisco, I have always tried to live by these convictions. Through all of these experiences, there is nothing that excites me more than working with entrepreneurs. Their passion, vision and tenacity are inspirational. Helping them build and scale their businesses led me to join the Board of Endeavor Global. Through my work with Endeavor, I have met so many High-Impact Entrepreneurs who consistently take risks, rise to challenges, and serve as role models. Through their work, commitment and passion they inspire countless other entrepreneurs.

I want to tell you the story of my friend Francesca Romana Diana, who is a great example of a High-Impact Entrepreneur. Francesca was born in Italy, traveled to Brazil and became inspired by the beautiful stones and gems found in the region. She launched her own jewelry design and manufacturing company. After fifteen years of building a successful jewelry business with her husband, Francesca lost everything when the two split. He retained the name of the company, Francesca Romana, and held all the assets. At perhaps the most difficult time in her life, Francesca, who was also a mother with a young son, courageously built a new luxury jewelry business from scratch. Since her name was taken she used her full name Francesca Romana Diana. Her talent and determination prevailed.  

Check out my recent interview with SF GovFresh in advance of the SF Open Mayoral Debate on June 12. SFOpen 2011 is bringing together the 2011 San Francisco Mayoral candidates for a discussion on open government, civic engagement, technology and innovation. More information about the debate by clicking here.

We are excited to launch our new Join Joanna Rees for Mayor website using the NationBuilder platform. NationBuilder is like Word Press for organizing. It allows a grassroots movement to take shape with ease and without getting bogged down with coding or having to figure out how to use complicated technology. It provides the tools we need to effectively organize online and off. We are very excited to be the first campaign in San Francisco and one of the first in the nation to use this platform to communicate with and recruit new supporters.

Joanna Rees is an entrepreneur. She will bring that same entrepreneurial spirit to City Hall when she is elected mayor. At the Joanna Rees for Mayor campaign we embrace new technology and ideas. We are constantly looking for ways to innovate, whether out in the field or online – and we know that this campaign will be won on the ground by thinking outside of the box.

This site is fully integrated with Facebook and Twitter. To take advantage of all the features you need to sign in with one of your social media accounts or email address. Sign-in today to see the full power of this platform.

I hope you enjoy our new website. Take a look around. Let us know what you think and sign-in to leave us a comment.

This week the San Francisco Chronicle ran an article about the need for more cuts in the state’s education budget.  Governor-elect Jerry Brown stated that public schools in California “should brace for more budget cuts” when he presents his spending proposal in the next few weeks to solve the state’s $25.4 billion budget deficit.  Governor Brown clearly stated that education and public safety are the pillars of a civilized society but warned that the magnitude of the deficit problem facing California is “unprecedented in my lifetime” and that the state must prepare for drastic changes.