Emily Murase with her father Dr. Kenji Murase A Father’s Legacy: Lead by Example, Bring People Together by Emily Murase Executive Director San Francisco Department on the Status of Women “My father never gave up on his dream of higher education to become a teacher devoted to helping people in need.” The death of a parent, while often tragic and very painful, presents an important opportunity for personal reflection. Having lost my 89-year old father to cancer on June 2, I am coming to understand more fully the leadership qualities I learned from him and how he continues to influence my work. A Landmark Ordinance for Women San Francisco is a unique place. My department is a city department, positioned in the same way as the Fire Department, Police Department, and Department of Public Health. With a staff of 5, our office oversees the local implementation of a landmark 1998 ordinance that reflects the principles of the UN Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), an international human rights treaty. Sharecropper’s Son Sought Higher Education My father influenced me to take on human rights advocacy by example. The son of sharecroppers from Japan, my father Dr. Kenji Murase grew up outside of Fresno and attended UC Berkeley, where he became involved in social causes. Unable to finish due to the wartime incarceration of Japanese Americans, he was shipped with his family, and 120,000 others, to desert prison camps. From Imprisonment to Ph.D. Eventually, through the efforts of the National Japanese American Student Relocation Council, about 5,000 students were permitted to leave the camps and continue their studies. My father was able to earn a BA in social work from Temple University in Philadelphia and went on to Columbia University for his master's and Ph.D. in social work. In 1967, he became one of the first faculty members recruited for the new Graduate School of Social Work and Social Research at San Francisco State University. He devoted his 23-year tenure to making the practice of social work more inclusive of diverse populations. A Voice for the Vulnerable Through my father's work among the poor and the mentally ill in New York, and among Southeast Asian refugees of San Francisco, a common theme in his social work practice was to bring a voice to the vulnerable. At the Department on the Status of Women, one of our primary policy areas is domestic violence, where women of all different backgrounds are victims of physical and mental abuse from people they love. We fund 30 different community-based programs, ranging from crisis lines to shelters to prevention education, to give these women options to lead lives free from violence. Benefits of Working Together My father taught me that there is power to bringing people together in collaboration. In San Francisco, we have convened a Family Violence Council unlike any one in the state because it is composed of advocates and city officials who address child abuse, domestic violence, and elder abuse, folks who would otherwise work in parallel rather than in collaboration. Economic Hardships bring Crisis  A child of the Depression, my father would sometimes talk about his poverty-stricken childhood and how ashamed he was to go to school in homemade, rather than store bought, clothes. As the country and our state face hard economic times, we have prioritized the needs of women in economic crisis and have made available resources related to fiscal stimulus programs on our website (www.sfgov.org/dosw).  Legacy of Advocacy, Perseverance I see now, in a way that I didn't recognize until my father's death, that the work I do on a daily basis reflects many of the values and qualities he instilled in me. Having traveled from a Central Valley farm to the barracks of a desert prison camp to the halls of Columbia University and, eventually, to the classroom lectern at San Francisco State University, my father never gave up on his dream of higher education to become a teacher devoted to helping people in need. He died peacefully in his sleep, knowing that he had achieved his dream and left behind a legacy among his children, 5 grandchildren, colleagues, and countless students. Finally, one of the key lessons of my father's life is that perseverance is a necessary part of leadership, and I know this lesson will be further reinforced as I complete the 2009 California Issues and Trends Program.