Structure

The Collaborative is a multi-organizational effort, which leverages and brings together the diverse expertise, skill, and resources of its members and partners to work towards increased worker health, safety and rights in the salon sector.  The Collaborative’s full membership meets quarterly to share updates, reflect, and strategize about future work. We also meet regularly with nail salon worker and owners through advisory committees and community forums as a space for leadership development and for them to provide the Collaborative with guidance and direction for decisions and strategies that are made.

The Collaborative has three subcommittees that meet regularly throughout the year:  (1) Outreach and Education, (2) Research, and (3) Policy Advocacy. The Collaborative also has a Building Bridges taskforce which focuses on outreaching and partnering with other cosmetology and beauty care sectors.

The Collaborative is fiscally-sponsored by Asian Health Services, an Oakland-based non-profit community clinic.  Governance is provided by a Steering Committee that advises on strategic direction setting, establishes policies, provides fiscal oversight, and engages in priority setting.

Steering Committee members include:

• Lisa Fu, CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative
• Kimberly Irish, Breast Cancer Action
• Julia Liou, Asian Health Services
• Vinh Luu, Asian Advocacy Project – Community Action Marin
• Anuja Mendiratta, MES, CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, and Philanthropic and Nonprofit Consulting
• Mavis Nitta, Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
• Catherine Porter, JD, CA Healthy Nail Salon Collaborative, and Law and Policy Consulting
• Thu Quach, Ph.D., Cancer Prevention Institute of California and Asian Health Services

Guiding Principles

Members of the Collaborative are aligned with its mission, goals, values and activities. Guiding principles that define the Collaborative’s efforts include:

• Helping to create conditions that empower nail salon and cosmetology workers by:
  • Engaging local and grassroots leadership, workers, and owners in identifying key issues and in developing solutions.
  • Encouraging and supporting nail salon workers and owners to be leaders and advocates.

• Working collectively by:
  • Sharing knowledge, resources, wisdom, and best practices across member organizations.
  • Unifying the respective activities and strengths of our members to leverage greater power and effectiveness.
  • Supporting each other and not reinventing existing practices or programs.
  • Collaborating on joint projects and campaigns.
• Finding constructive solutions by:
  • Identifying practices that benefit workers and employers to ensure worker health and safety, continued employment and business viability.
  • Advocating that manufacturers of harmful salon products produce safer, greener products and reformulate to remove known harmful ingredients.
  • Engaging in policy advocacy, outreach and education, industry advocacy and research

Member Organizations

Asian Advocacy Project of Community Action Marin
Asian Americans for Civil Rights & Equality
Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice
Asian Health Services
Asian Immigrant Women Advocates
Asian Law Caucus
Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum
Asian Pacific American Legal Center
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Bay Area, Central Valley, and Southern California Nail Salon Workers & Owners
Black Women for Wellness
Breast Cancer Action
Breast Cancer Fund
California Pan Ethnic Health Network
Cancer Prevention Institute of California
Center for Environmental Health
Californians for a Healthy and Green Economy (CHANGE)
Coalition for Clean Air
Environmental Finance Center, Region 9
Environment California
Equal Rights Advocates
Health and Public Health Consulting
National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum
Orange County Asian Pacific Islander Community Alliance
Physicians for Social Responsibility – LA
San Francisco International College of Cosmetology
Teens Turning Green
UCLA Labor Occupational Safety and Health
United Food & Commercial Workers Div 5
United Hair and Nails Association
Vietnamese Community of Orange County
Women’s Voices for the Earth
Worksafe

Allies

• Alameda County Public Health Nursing
• CA Department of Public Health, HESIS
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 9