Join us for an important and introspective conversation on LGBTQ+ histories with Zurich Mayor Corine Mauch at the GLBT Historical Society Museum in the Castro. At 10:15 AM on Thursday, October 5, Mayor Mauch will hold an insightful on-stage discussion about her personal experience with LGBTQ+ topics as well as about the history of the Queer scene in Zurich and its evolution to the current day. This event will also serve as a chance to explore how Zurich and San Francisco can further share their commitment to fostering diverse and welcoming communities within their cities.
This event is part of a larger celebration marking 20 years of the San Francisco-Zurich sister city partnership. To join us in the celebrations and discover the full range of our 20th anniversary events, please click here to visit the Swiss Impact website.
Click here to reserve your free ticket.
SPEAKERS
Mayor Corine Mauch
Corine Mauch has been the Mayor of Zürich since March 2009. She is a member of the Social Democratic Party of Switzerland (SP) and was a member of the City Parliament from 1999 to 2009, where she also held the posts of Vice President and President of the SP municipal parliamentary party from 2002 to 2009, and where she was President of the Parliament’s Audit Committee from 2006 to 2008. Corine Mauch holds a diploma in agricultural engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), studied Chinese Studies at the University of Zurich, and completed a postgraduate Master's in Political and Administrative Sciences at the University of Lausanne/IDHEAP. The Mayor's Department includes the Residents' Office, the Zurich City Archives, the Statistics Office, the Cultural Affairs Office, and the Office for Urban Development, which consists of City and Neighborhood Development, Integration, Economic Development, Foreign Affairs, and Smart City. Also falling within the department’s responsibilities are the promotion of gender equality as well as the equality of people with disabilities.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
Supervisor Rafael Mandelman
Supervisor Mandelman represents District 8 on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. District 8 includes the Castro, Glen Park, Noe Valley, Diamond Heights, Mission Dolores, and Cole Valley. Supervisor Mandelman is one of the LGBTQ members of the Board of Supervisors, and throughout his first term, was one of the only LGBTQ Supervisors in Northern California. During his time on the Board, Supervisor Mandelman has been a champion for the LGBTQ+ community, leading the City’s efforts to implement Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity (SOGI) data collection, authoring legislation to create the Castro LGBTQ Cultural District, declaring the Lesbian/Gay Freedom Band the official band of San Francisco, and ending the decades-long ban on bathhouses in San Francisco. Supervisor Mandelman worked with Mayor Breed, the Department of Public Health, and community stakeholders to keep the Lyon-Martin clinic open through the COVID-19 pandemic, and then secured more than $2 million to help the City’s most important provider of trans and gender nonconforming affirming healthcare transition to becoming an independent clinic. As Vice-Chair of the Budget Committee, Supervisor Mandelman fought for funding in the 2024-2025 budget for housing subsidies to support adults and seniors living with HIV, safety infrastructure grants for LGBTQ organizations, and a significant expansion of transgender healthcare services. In 2020-21, he secured funding to open 28 new beds at Jazzie’s Place shelter for trans and gender nonconforming unhoused people, and to support organizations in the Castro that serve LGBTQ youth and create more BIPOC-welcoming spaces in the neighborhood. In 2020, he initiated the historic landmarking process for the longtime home of LGBTQ civil rights leaders Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, and is committed to expanding the number of LGBTQ cultural sites included in the City’s list of historic landmarks.
Pronouns: he/him/his
Natalia Guecheva
Natalia is a production manager for events with a personal affinity for arts, performances, and civic engagement. She has a successful track record in managing a unique range of programs and events in San Francisco and Zurich. For many years, she worked for the SWISS FILMS foundation, organizing the Swiss Film Prize and the Swiss Cinema Day at the Film Festival Locarno. Natalia was born in Geneva, Switzerland and has a Master’s Degree in media science, cinema science, and criminology from the University of Zurich. Since autumn 2010, she has lived on and off in San Francisco and enjoys the rich diversity of the people and cultural events in the city. She strongly believes in core values of diversity and inclusion, which play a big role in her life as a member of the LGBTQ+ community and which have made her sensitive to the struggle of minorities in our society. These values fuel her passion to seek new adventures and challenges.
Pronouns: she/her/hers
LOCATION
This event will be held at the GLBT Historical Society Museum, located at 4127 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94114.
ADMISSION
Free