San Francisco

The City by the Bay. Fog City. Paris of the West. The Golden Gate City. These are just a few of the evocative nicknames San Francisco has inspired. Whatever you call it, San Francisco is world-renowned for its reputation for tolerance and its long and storied history. The California Gold Rush, the 1906 earthquake and the 1967 Summer of Love are just three of many highlights. What is less well-known is that this combined city-county is only the 13^th-largest city in the country, home to 805,000 people (and 50 hills).

City Hall Fellows has deployed cohorts to San Francisco every year since we first launched in 2008. Our San Francisco Fellows have worked on many of the city’s most cutting-edge initiatives, including HealthySF, GoSolarSF, BankonSF and SFGreasecycle. They have saved taxpayers millions of dollars without service cuts by re-designing municipal programs and streamlining municipal services. They have deployed next-generation technologies to speed up road repairs and decrease bus wait times. They have piloted groundbreaking alternative energy programs; helped bring municipal water, sewage and civil service systems into the 21^st century and educated thousands of low-income residents about city services and their rights under city laws.

San Francisco Magazine dubbed us “Best of the Bay Area 2008 – Best Political Foot in the Door”. American City & County Magazine named our San Francisco program a “2011 Crown Community”. Our San Francisco program also was a key part in our partner, the San Francisco Department of Human Resources, winning the first-ever Award for Workforce Excellence in 2011 from the Center for State and Local Government Excellence.

“City Hall Fellows has been an important partner in our effort to provide a higher level of service to the citizens of San Francisco while at the same time investing in the training of the next generation of public sector managers. In an era of diminished resources, the program has given us a significant return on our investment in it.”

– Ben Rosenfield, Controller, City & County of San Francisco

Learn more about our work in San Francisco:

City Hall Fellows Study Sit/Lie Law
– KezarGardens Blog (Aug. 18, 2012)

Sit/Lie Law Primarily Enforced in Haight
– San Francisco Chronicle (Aug. 5, 2012)

America’s Crown Communities 2011: Despite a challenging economy, communities complete projects with broad effects
– American City & County Magazine (Jan. 2012)

Entrepreneurs Reboot City Government, Wanted: New City Leaders
– Next American City (Summer 2011)

San Francisco Department of Human Resources Video
– prepared for the Center for State & Local Government Workforce Excellence Award (Nov. 2011) (discussion of City Hall Fellows begins at 4:23)