Introducing Carley-Ann Manalo: A Daly City Daughter
Family in the forefront
FAMILY IN THE FOREFRONT
Raised in Daly City, Carley started fighting for unity and healing in the city’s diverse and multicultural Old Daly City neighborhood. The youngest of two daughters of first generation Filipino immigrant parents, Carley is a proud graduate of Daly City public schools: Woodrow Wilson Elementary, Benjamin Franklin Middle School and Jefferson High School.
In the 4th grade, Carley was nominated by her classmates to serve the student body as a conflict mediator. Dressed in a black and white referee jersey equipped with a coach's whistle, her job was to listen to struggles of her peers, hold space and work collaboratively to find compassionate solutions to the social and emotional needs of the schoolyard playground. Carley continued honing her skills as a bridge builder in her community, connecting youth to elders through the Voices Against Violence program and as a member of Solid Thoughts, an after school program designed to create safe spaces for Daly City high school students.
Carley’s parents' stories mirror the stories of many working families across Daly City; long hours at work and opposite schedules of the day to enough money to bring her maternal grandmother and six of her aunties and uncles to America. Her parent’s persistent determination and insistence on compassion set a natural course for Carley to lead.
As a single mother raising two daughters in Daly City she fights for her daughters to believe in the power of human connection, to be proud of their history and cultural lineage and to live courageously enough to heal inside a, sometimes, harsh world. It is not an easy task. But this is Carley’s purpose, to create a life and world in which her two young daughters are able to transform pain into love and action.
Education
As a proud graduate of San Francisco State University with a degree in Liberal Studies, Carley has served as a Herstorian chair, pledge educator, Community Action chair and President of Kappa Psi Epsilon, a sisterhood built upon foundations of Academics, Culture, Community Action and Interrelation. As chair of Herstorian, Carley has developed skills in documenting and archiving through photo, film and print. As a pledge educator, she has co-created curricula to support college leaders to develop identity, awareness of local and global issues and life skills beyond the university. As the Community Action chair, Carley developed a knack for inter-organizational collaboration, focusing on action-based participation such as volunteering, joining coalitions, fundraising and teach-ins. As President of Kappa Psi Epsilon, she led and facilitated meetings in accordance with Robert's Rules, the formal governing process which is used in local government to date.
Leadership and Professional Experience
She believes in a style of leadership where people come first. Her journey is a reflection of the women who have led and come before her. Her story is also yours: the story of working mothers, working families, the story of persistence, the story of agility and the skills to adapt to the needs and demands of an ever-changing world.
As a community-based educator and literacy specialist, Carley worked with low-income preschool-age children and their families to prepare for Kindergarten readiness. She worked with families, teachers and community volunteers to improve the literacy skills of San Francisco’s youngest students to ensure each child had the strongest possible start as they begin their educational journey. Most importantly, Carley’s goal was to make sure she helped instill a love of learning in every child she had the privilege to work with.
She worked as a lead administrative manager for a local production agency creating commercial, film and social media content for worldwide clients. Through her experience managing a successful local small business at San Francisco International Airports robust marketplace, she fostered and supported every stage of growth from hiring, staff onboarding, strategic goal setting, customer satisfaction, and expansion.
Equity & Justice
Compassion is what love looks like in action (adapted from Dr. Cornel West) The City Clerk’s Office must apply an equity lens across all of its work. From coordinating and managing clerical duties with fairness to effective and compassionate communication with residents, guests, city staff and serving as a trusted liaison between the public and City Council. Carley is ready to serve justice, fight institutional racism and restore a sense of belonging within City Clerk's Office. As Daly City’s Clerk, Carley plans to accomplish this task by:
- Open Environment: Create an open and collaborative environment operating with efficiency and integrity for all by ensuring the City Clerk’s office is welcoming and responsive
- Season of change: Bringing fresh energy to shift towards an engaged and progressive office
- Enhance communication: Using an innovative lens with more inclusive approaches.