Friday, February 20, 2026 at North Beach Restaurant: Alan Wong, member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors

Alan Wong, the newest member of San Francisco’s Board of Supervisors is the Seminar’s guest on Friday, February 20. Supervisor Wong was appointed by Mayor Dan Lurie to the board’s Sunset District-centered District 4 seat on December 1. The post had been held by Supervisor Joel Engardo until he was recalled over the conversion of the Great Highway to Sunset Dunes Park. A Lincoln High Grad, Supervisor Wong received degrees from UC San Diego and a master’s degree in public affairs from USF. He previously was an elected City College of SF trustee. He has served in the California National Guard for the past 15 years. https://sfbos.org/supervisor-wong-district-4

RSVP TO ATTEND any upcoming seminar. To assist the kitchen staff with planning for our Friday lunchtime meetings, please notify DENNIS WHEATLEY at dennis@triticum.com NO LATER THAN MID-DAY ON the WEDNESDAY BEFORE EVERY SEMINAR if you plan to attend and indicate if you’ll be bringing a guest. Dennis DOES NOT need to know if you are not attending. Valet Parking: If there are less than (10) ten sign-ups, there will be no valet. To register for valet parking contact our newly reelected Chair Greg Ryken at (415) 215-3775 or email him the Wednesday before seminars at Greg@rykenlaw.com

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UPCOMING SEMINARS:

San Francisco Chronicle columnist Carl Nolte will return to Sac Sem on Friday, February 27. Carl writes the “Native Son” column on page 2 of each Sunday Chron., A lifelong San Franciscan, Carl was a beat reporter with the “Voice of the West” starting in the 1970s. Carl will look back and reflect on where and how The City has changed for the better and where change has been for the worse. Chair emeritus Dick Spotswood will introduce our guest.

Mary Noel Pepys is our speaker for Friday, March 6^th. Mary Noel will be reflecting on her 30-year journey, during which she has lived two lifestyles that are worlds apart—one in the United States, where she enjoyed the privileges of living in a democracy, and the other abroad where she had worked to advance democratic reforms in more than 45 countries. A Seminarian, Mary Noel is a director emeritus of UC Law – San Francisco (formerly Hastings College of Law.)  

Read details of her background in this introduction to her address at The Commonwealth Club: 

https://www.commonwealthclub. org/events/2026-01-08/usaid-and-rule-law-personal-retrospective-mary-noel-pepys

On Friday, May 8, Sac Sem’s guest will be Marc Levine, a past member of the California State Assembly from the Marin-Southern Sonoma 12^th Assembly District. Marc is currently Regional Director of the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL). https://www.adl.org/ Central Pacific Region (Northern California, Utah and Hawaii). Fighting the growing threat of antisemitism from both the political far right and far left is their assignment. He will be introduced by Seminarian Bruce Raful.

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OTHER THOUGHTS: “We should treat all the trivial things n life very seriously, and all the serious things in life with sincere and studied triviality.” Oscar Wilde