All right, thank you. Good evening and welcome to our Sacramento City Council meeting.

I call this order at 504PM.

Madam City Clerk, will you please call the roll.

Thank you. Councilmember Kaplan. Councilmember Tao.

Mayor Pro Tem Telemontes. Councilmember Valenzuela.

We expect Councilmember Gata momentarily. Councilmember Jennings. Councilmember Vang.

Mayor Steinberg will be absent. And vice mayor of my firm Meple.

I am here. Councilmember Tao, would you please lead us in the land acknowledgement and the

due diligence?

Tribal lands. To the original people of this land, the Nisanan people, the southern Maidu,

Valley and Plains Mewak put win-win to people. And the people of Winta, Wotan, Rathuria,

Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the native

people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by

choosing to gather today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for

Sacramento's indigenous peoples history, contribution and lives. Thank you. Please remain standing

for the pleasure of allegiance.

The allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which

it stands, one nation under God and the visible with liberty and justice for all.

All right. Thank you very much. And we're going to start with a very special presentation today,

which is from myself and Councilmember Gera. He is on his way. So I'll get it. I'll

kick us off and if he's able to join us in the interim, then he will. If not, he sends

his regrets that he was unable to be here to do this. But I'm really excited about this

program. Today, there was a, it's the St. Mary's College, new education for women leadership

program. And I had the opportunity along with a couple of other really incredible women

to do a panel discussion for the students today in Midtown. And it was a very, it was

very special. It was great to hear from the students and to get their perspective and

also hear from a couple of other really wonderful women. So I wanted to start out that way.

So while programs like this exist on the East Coast, this is actually the first and only

program of its kind on the West Coast. It's incredibly important that these current and

future leaders have an opportunity to get directly involved in politics and government.

And I see that them trickling in now. Welcome. And public service. So it was just, it was

just an honor to be able to, to talk with them and hear their, their ideas and see and

talk about their interest in public service and government. So I joined them for an open

discussion, about running, discussion about running for office. And why it's important

to have women in leadership. And I'm incredibly inspired by these incredibly thoughtful and

capable women that are filing in right now. And I also brought this up during the discussion,

but I want to say it here too whenever I can. The first woman ever elected to the City Council

in California was right here in Sacramento, as many of you know. Move all of Johnson was

elected in 1912 here at this very city. And we've continued to break barriers by electing

a female majority city council in 2022. And as I often say, it's only the second time

ever. And the first time is before I was born. So, that 2022 was a special year and I have

to say it's an incredible honor to serve alongside the women majority on this council, as well

as all of my colleagues. So I am thrilled. I know that you're filing in. So I hate to put

you on the spot so soon, but thrilled to welcome one of the co-directors, Professor Maria

Luisa Ruiz. Please come to the podium and you can share a little bit more about the program and

take your time. I know that you guys are filing in. Welcome.

Take your time, Naurosh.

I feel like I'm lecturing in one of my classrooms. Good afternoon, everyone.

My name is Maria Luisa Ruiz. She hears your AGA pronouns. I'm a full professor at St.

Mary's College of California and Maraga. I am one of the faculty coordinators for the inaugural

New Leadership Institute at St. Mary's College in California. The first ever program held in the

state of California. New Leadership at St. Mary's, sponsored by the Women and Gender Studies program,

is meant to teach undergraduate women how to become actively involved in politics,

advocacy, and public service. This inaugural cohort brings together students from colleges

all across the state of California. This program has been more than three years in a making.

It is truly inspiring to see the amazing group of students sitting behind me today in this room

learning about multiple pathways to political engagement. On behalf of the participants,

my colleagues and St. Mary's College, we want to thank so many of you, especially Vice Mayor

Katie Maple for this invitation and all the members of the Sacramento City Council for welcoming

us this afternoon. This recognition is incredible as we get this program off the ground.