I feel blessed to have lived for 32 years in this beautiful, family-oriented town, with open space and rural traditions that support the mental and physical health of us all.  After searching for a home with acreage, my husband, John, and I found what Wallace Stegner dubbed “God’s Little Acre” and purchased our home in Los Altos Hills in 1987.

I was born in Alabama and grew up in Scottsdale, Arizona.  After I graduated from Arizona State University with a B.S. in mechanical engineering, I decided to follow the California dream and  moved to San Jose and began working for GE.  As part of an engineering training program, GE sent me to the University of California at Berkeley to get my M.S. in mechanical engineering and then my M.B.A. at Santa Clara University.  Analytical and business oriented,  I oversaw the building and testing of mechanical equipment for power plants and then oversaw the design and building of training hardware for NASA Space Shuttle astronauts.

I began volunteering in LAH by working on the Town float for the Festival of Lights Parade and the first Town picnics.  I was president of the Los Altos Hills Historical Society and wrote grant applications to the Packard Foundation and the Santa Clara County Historical Heritage Commission to secure funds to build a packing shed to house the Town’s historic farm equipment at Town Hall.

I was the last president of Friends of Westwind, a not-for-profit organization that ran Westwind Barn from May 1977 until the Town took over the barn and renovated it in 2008.  I oversaw the transition to Town management and the closure of the not-for-profit organization.

In order to be prepared to respond to emergencies in town, including fire and earthquakes, I trained to be member of the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT).

Over the years, I have had a wide range of interests and love learning new things.  I have a pilot’s license and interestingly, my first time in an airplane was my first flight lesson. I got a real estate broker’s license to fully understand investing in real estate.  I have also run the San Francisco marathon, starting from the point of thinking that I could never run three miles.

I believe that all of my experiences and the knowledge I have gained and the endorsements I have received show that I am well qualified to take on the job of Council Member.

We live in the innovation capital of the world, so we should have world-class town services.  I will act thoughtfully, responsibly, and with integrity to insure the strong financial position of the town is put to its best use for the residents.

Wildfire prevention and insurance cancellations are the most urgent issues facing the town.  We must act proactively to prevent these issues from negatively affecting us.

We need to insure that Town Hall is managed efficiently, so that lapses like the lack of planning in renewing the garbage contract are avoided.

I will set priorities, focus on them, listen to residents, and help lead Los Altos Hills into the future.

I am running for City Council because I believe we need a Town government which:

Insures fairness, honesty and transparency in governance


Listens to, understands the needs of, and serves the interests of residents

Prioritizes being good stewards of all of our resources

Supports the Founding Principles of our town, as expressed in the Green Sheets and preserves the semi-rural environment and the uniqueness that brought us to Los Altos Hills

Encourages public engagement, fosters community, and participation, and supports the social network of the Town

Recognizes the Committees and their benefits to the Town

If you agree that we can make Town Hall operate better and more efficiently, please support me.

I am an engineer and executive. I have loved working for startups since I graduated from the University of Texas and moved to Silicon Valley. I’ve participated in numerous startups including 4 with successful exits. Steve and I are now working together on our most important startup: Home Energy Analytics. We are building it to make the world a better place.

Seven years ago I moved my family to Los Altos Hills because of the extraordinary community and natural beauty of our Town. My parents immigrated to the US with little more than intelligence, a willingness to work hard, and dreams of a better life. I hope to pass on to my own children the same qualities I observed in my parents: perseverance, industriousness, respect for education, and the importance of close-knit community.

Following their example, I studied hard, graduated from Harvard, and worked my way up in Silicon Valley from entry-level engineer to executive. In my career in high-tech, I have built large teams, managed multi-billion dollar budgets, held leadership roles in both large companies and startups, and confronted challenging issues while seeking to build consensus.

These same skills serve me well in my volunteer activities. I advise the Town and other elected officials in our region on airplane noise, help prepare for disaster as a member of the Emergency Communications Committee, and regularly attend meetings of the Pathways and Parks & Recreation Committees.

Our Town must serve our residents by: proactively addressing fire risk and improving emergency preparedness; improving our infrastructure (roads, undergrounding, internet connectivity, etc.); retaining our strong financial position; preserving our beautiful, semi-rural environment; and truly listening to residents’ needs and concerns.

I oppose wasteful spending which does not serve the needs of our residents like the $3M Town Hall expansion and the $500k “snack shack”, and I want to see the Town fix the internal procedures which led to our 15-year $55M non-competitive garbage contract with Greenwaste.  I care deeply about retaining Los Altos Hills’ strong financial position, unique character, and semi-rural environment–the reason why so many of us moved here in the first place. 

If elected, it would be my honor and privilege to put the people of Los Altos Hills first, and I pledge to work tirelessly to ensure we have a responsive government and to preserve our Town for future generations.

I have been in the Energy and Utility business for over thirty years. My experience includes corporate management, mergers and acquisitions, and business development. I have advised and successfully implemented business strategies for global development, energy resources, and utilization in the electric power industry. I have proven leadership in the deployment of energy products and services in global energy markets.   

My corporate experience includes various management positions with the Nuclear Division of General Electric Company and project management functions with the Power Division of Bechtel Corporation. I served as Vice President of Business Development at Kenetech Corporation (Wind Energy Company) and as the Managing Director for Kenetech Asia Ltd. I have also served as Executive Product Line Manager, Renewable Energy and Distributed Generation at the Electric Power Research Institute (“EPRI”).

I established a wholly owned subsidiary of Kenetech Corporation in Asia and created an infrastructure to develop turn-key power projects including operations and maintenance services. I have a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering and an M.B.A.