Small business owner.
Community builder.
Joy maker.

Manny Yekutiel’s story begins in Los Angeles, in a modern Orthodox Jewish family that shaped his resilience and drive.

• Manny’s mother was a fierce Brooklyn-born attorney who broke barriers in her field.

• Manny's father was an immigrant from Afghanistan who taught himself English, pumped gas to stay afloat and eventually became a helicopter pilot.

• Manny was always “a little extra” – a curious, musical kid who also knew early on that he was gay, something his community didn’t celebrate.

• Coming out young taught Manny to stand up for himself and others, a lesson that guides his leadership today.
  

Manny has always chased possibilities and looked for ways to serve.

• At 14, Manny applied to transfer to Harvard-Westlake, a top high school to pursue a bigger life.

• He later earned a scholarship to Williams College, where he studied political science and became a campus organizer. 

• After college, he received a Watson Fellowship to travel to six countries and study the LGBTQ+ movements under way in each to bring back lessons learned. 
  

Manny started his career in national politics, interning at the Obama White House and working on Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign.

After that election, Manny asked the question: “What do we do when the protest signs come down? Where do we go to stay engaged?” That question led to Manny’s. In 2018, Manny opened Manny’s – a cafe and event space where people come together to be heard, connect and feel like they belong.

• Manny’s has hosted over 2,000 public events, from debates to drag shows to town hall meetings. It has welcomed artists, organizers and presidential candidates.

• Manny didn’t just open a business. He created a civic home for San Francisco.

• Manny learned firsthand what it takes to get something off the ground and keep it going – managing employees, payroll and permits.
  

Manny didn’t stop once he created a space for civic engagement in SF. He stepped up to take action and solve problems.

• Appointed to the SF Small Business Commission, Manny helped lead Prop H's passage, making it free and easier to open a small business in San Francisco.

• As a member of the SFMTA board, he spearheaded a new towing reform policy called Text Before Tow to prevent San Franciscans from losing their cars over minor infractions.

• Manny took it upon himself to raise funds to string lights across 10 dark blocks of Valencia Street to create safe spaces for people to shop and gather. The idea was so successful that he expanded it to twelve other corridors citywide.
  

Manny lives in the heart of the Castro, next door to Harvey Milk’s camera shop.

• He wakes up every day thinking about how to make San Francisco more joyful, more connected and more inclusive. He doesn’t just show up for the community—he builds spaces for it to thrive.

• When the wildfires hit Los Angeles, he transformed Manny’s into a distribution center for food, clothing, and home goods to help those who lost their homes. 

• He co-founded the Civic Joy Fund, a nonprofit that has paid artists to paint utility boxes and has funded successful night markets, free celebrations around the city, and block-by-block neighborhood cleanups.