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Good evening Members of the Board, 
 
My name is Silvia Calzada, a life-time constituent of District 1
and a patient with Asthma. As a resident of National City for more
than 25 years, a neighborhood to the Port of San Diego, I
understood the impact its decision-making will have on my family's
present and future when creating the Community Emissions Reduction
Program for the Portside Environmental Justice Neighborhoods . 

For this main reason, I not only became a member of the AB617
Community Steering Committee, but also of the CERP, Land-Use and
MCAS Subcommittees to share my voice. My participation was not only
an educational opportunity but also an empowering one. 

I appreciate the Collaborative and Inclusive Process along with the
improvement in Transparency.
 
Collaborative and Inclusive Process
The effective, professional leadership of the committee chair(s)
promoting participation from all levels of identities has helped
deliver my voice on the issues of discussion creating trust and
confidence in the process. Although there were few challenges in
overcoming competing priorities and institutional differences of
thought, it opened up a bridge to a positive dialogue as well.
The inclusion of language access with its efficient translation
services, verbal and written, opened and delivered a space for
other members to fearlessly share their voice in their own native
language. 

Transparency
The improvement in prioritizing transparency was a valuable step
forward. One important element was the transparency in
communication between agencies, stakeholders and community members
to openly and honestly share information in order to improve
outcomes and the quality of this plan. Also, delivering clear and
specific, performance measurement and assessment is fundamental to
the creation of effective and efficient system(s) and structure(s)
being set in place. 

Thank you to the Board for the freedom to share my VOICE!