Like many folks, my volunteerism followed the trajectory of my children’s interests so I spent years serving on Parent Boards, Booster Boards, Budget Advisory Committees, with Boy Scouts, and providing leadership for a series of successful Parcel Tax campaigns to secure the funds our students require for a high-quality education. After two independent structural engineering reports identified school buildings that would likely pose life safety risks in the event of a major earthquake on the nearby Hayward fault, I co-chaired the 2006 Seismic Safety Campaign securing a $56M general obligation bond to upgrade Piedmont schools for current and future generations. From 2007-2012, I served on the Piedmont Education Foundation board working to bridge the gap in school funding to ensure exemplary public education for every PUSD student. Between 2008-2014, as my 3 children advanced through football, baseball and volleyball, I spent 4 years on the PHS Boosters Board. In 2008, I began to embrace City issues when I was appointed to serve on the City’s Budget Advisory Committee. In the years that followed, I served on the Piedmont Recreation Facilities Organization (PRFO) and provided leadership on the 2012 City Parcel Tax campaign. I joined the Piedmont Sports Hall of Fame Board in 2015.  In 2017, I was appointed to a seat on the Recreation Commission. With the help of a well-organized group of pickleball enthusiasts, our sub-committee on Tennis and Pickleball was able to establish home courts for a previously underserved group of senior athletes. Now serving on the Recreation Commission and on the Capital Improvement Projects review committee, I attended presentations, community conversations and studied the infrastructure needs of our town. Years of deferred maintenance and coping with outdated facilities is untenable in light of the changing needs of our residents. It is time for important community conversations challenging us to define our vision of Piedmont for present and future generations, and to determine how we will act upon that shared vision. I have the skills, the experience, and the motivation to lead Piedmont now, with an eye toward a prosperous future.

I am running for City Council because I have the ability and experience to lead Piedmont through the planning and management of limited resources for the benefit of Piedmont now and into the future. I’ve spent 25 years volunteering to benefit both City and School projects. I have served on two City Commissions. I've led parcel tax campaigns. I know from my work in grassroots organizing the importance of giving community members the opportunity to provide input. I will facilitate large conversations among all stakeholders. I will make fiscal decisions from a personal understanding of the hard work and sacrifice required to make the economic investment to live in Piedmont. I support Piedmont’s climate goals and will work to ensure Piedmont does its part to protect the Earth’s climate. I want safe streets. I support highly trained police officers who work to maintain public safety while protecting all persons’ civil rights. I support a highly trained fire department.  Overall, I will work to make Piedmont the place where our children want to raise their own families and where newcomers from diverse backgrounds know they are welcomed and wanted. 

I humbly ask for your vote October 5 to November 3.

Piedmont has been my home for 51 years. I feel very lucky to have lived the majority of my life in our incredible City. 

My early years were spent travelling and living in Japan and Thailand. When my dad retired from the Army, we moved to Oakland for a short time before settling in Piedmont in 1969. I attended Piedmont Middle School, graduated Piedmont High in 1975 and still have close friendships from our high school class.

After Piedmont High, I earned my BA  at the University of San Francisco where I was valedictorian of my class. A few years later, I went back to USF and earned my MBA in corporate finance and statistics. 

My husband Mark and I purchased our Piedmont home in 1992 and are fortunate to have neighbors who we’ve known for over 25 years. Our son Matt attended Beach Elementary, Piedmont Middle School and graduated from Piedmont High in 2009. We are proud to have two PHS Highlanders in the family.

Shortly after we moved into our home on Greenbank, I had my first experience with breast cancer. I discovered acupuncture then and was amazed at how effective it was in reducing the side effects of chemotherapy and radiation. It made a huge impact on me and I fell in love with Chinese medicine.

I ended up leaving corporate America, went back to school and earned my Master of  Science in TCM, sat for the medical boards, became a LAC in CA and Hawaii, and have been in private practice for over 12 years. 

Volunteering is a huge part of my life. As a full-time working mom, I was a Beach classroom helper, gave presentations on wellness and Chinese Medicine to middle school and high school classes, drove for all the fieldtrips, soccer and water polo games, and served as a medic for our soccer team. 

My main volunteer efforts for the past 25 years have been focused on the Charlotte Maxwell Clinic in Oakland. We provide integrative cancer care for low-income, underserved Bay Area women with all types of cancer. 

Running for Council was a decision I made more with my heart than my head. Living in unprecedented times has not been easy for any of us. Every day we face challenges to our health, safety and financial stability. So I felt that If there was ever a time to step up, contribute and effect positive change, it was now.

I thought about the skills I’ve amassed over a 40 year career and realized that my financial expertise, operational experience and solution based project management approach would well serve our City. And, as a longtime Piedmonter, I have an unwavering dedication to maximizing every dollar we pay in property taxes. 

Most of all, I have a strong desire to give back and a deep commitment to volunteerism and civic duty. That is the root of why I feel a strong pull to serve and run for office.