San Diego City Wire

The Sonoma County Alliance president, Marlene Soiland, wants members to approach 2021 with a sense of enthusiasm following a difficult 2020.

"If it is true that what we put our attention on grows, I am excited to create an intention that inspires me every day to be happy and fully engaged in life," Soiland said on the alliance's website. "It is said a wise person loves and receives everything. Can I be that wise? Can I allow Divine inspiration to guide me? These are the questions that I will be pondering as 2021 unfolds."

Her enthusiasm and optimism for 2021 are driven by confidence in the alliance's leadership and future plans.

"We start 2021 with a new board of directors, a new advisory council and a new strategic plan," Soiland said. "Our Committees have new members and strong leadership with focused goals for the year. We have you, our dedicated members, who believe in our mission of a healthy economy to fuel a healthy environment and community. Thank you for being the foundation of the important work of the alliance in our community."

She encouraged members to face the upcoming year's challenges, saying that rising to meet those obstacles will make them stronger.

Soiland also laid out the alliance's goals for 2021, including establishing connections with new community leaders.

"This will be a fresh new year politically both at the federal and local levels with 14 new local council members and seven new mayors," she said. "The alliance will reach out to establish personal connections with each jurisdiction."

She discussed how the alliance has been analyzing public school funding and its impact on student performance.

"To understand equity in our educational system, our January general membership meeting looked deeply into public school funding," she said. "[California] spends more money on K-14 education than anything else in our budget, yet we still lag most other states in comparison. We heard preliminary estimates on 2021 budget impacts and potential school reopening."