Commission honors Tiffany Chu and Dan Flanagan for environmental service

The commission presented environmental service awards to two leaders whose work shaped city initiatives.

Commissioner Tiffany Chu, who was reappointed earlier the same day and is leaving San Francisco for Seattle, received a recognition for two years of service and for bringing planning and transportation expertise to commission deliberations. Commissioners praised her steady expertise and civic engagement.

Dan Flanagan, retiring executive director of Friends of the Urban Forest (FUF), received an award recognizing his leadership over more than a decade. Commissioner Sullivan and Director Deborah Raphael credited Flanagan for FUF's neighborhood-focused plantings (staff cited nearly 14,000 street trees and roughly 1,100 sidewalk gardens), the organization's expansion of urban-greening work and his role in the campaign for Proposition E ("Street Trees SF"), which passed with a high margin of voter support. Flanagan thanked colleagues and partners and said he planned to remain in San Francisco while taking a breather from organizational leadership.

Commissioners and staff noted the long-term impact of their work on the city's urban canopy and climate strategy.