I was recently selected to participate in a program called Leadership San Francisco. The program is marketed to develop future community leaders who are both knowledgeable about the City and concerned with its well-being. Participants come from the public, private and nonprofit sectors. The only commonality is that we all have some attachment to San Francisco, whether we live or work here. Over the course of 10 months we will have the opportunity to increase our understanding of the complex social and economic issues of San Francisco. We come together to discuss, educate each other, and attempt to improve the understanding and perhaps functionality of city operations and quality of life. We have selected such topics as homelessness, education, economic vitality, and transportation just to name a few.

We had our first meeting recently and discussed in-depth the concept of community trusteeship: the idea of working for the common good and serving the primary needs of others by holding our community in trust. It is the acceptance and active pursuit of a new way of interacting with the community, with the goal of seeking a wider span of awareness.

When we talk about our neighborhood or our city, we must realize that they were somebody else’s before us and will be someone else’s after us. We must take care of what was given to us to preserve it or make it better for those that follow. Think of your neighborhood and city as being your “living trust” that you pass on to others as something more, or at the very least nothing less, than what you received. We are actually, or should be, obligated to pass the gift of our neighborhoods and city to future generations in a better condition than they were received.

It is written that to become a community trustee, individuals from all walks of life make conscious, personal decisions to:

• know themselves;

• care about the quality of life in the community;

• be stewards of the community and its resources;

• serve the common good;

• listen to the diverse voices of the community advocating their often contradictory positions;

• appreciate pluralism;

• empower others to grow;

• nurture a wide span of awareness and the ability to “see things whole;”

• define and articulate the community’s concerns;

• dream and form effective responses to these issues and needs;

• use their skills and leadership ability to make a better future for the entire community, and finally;

• lead with passion and authority.

We are not born knowing these things, but with commitment, caring and reflection, they can be learned and applied. And with their application comes community trusteeship.

The biggest problem that I have seen is apathy. We all have busy lives, but if we want to see improvement in anything, we have to be willing to work for that goal. If you aren’t working toward the solution, you are part of the problem. So I encourage each of you to work toward improving the quality of life in you neighborhood and realize that whatever method you choose, it will have a positive effect on others.

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