Candidate for
Board Member; Marin Municipal Water District; District 4

I am running for the Water Board because I have the combination of expertise, leadership experience, community activism and passion for the watershed and the issues the Water Board is facing to be an effective and instrumental leader.

A San Francisco native, I have a lifetime love and passion for the Mt. Tam Watershed that began with a tour of the Audubon Ranch with Mrs. Terwiliger when I was 7 years old. Since then I have spent the last 30 years exploring its trails and have a deeply vested interest in protecting the watershed.

I graduated from the USF Law School with high honors in the top 10% of my class. Prior to committing my legal skills full time to environmental advocacy, I enjoyed a successful career advising all manner of businesses and boards of directors on a host of complex legal matters, including several that frequently come before the Water Board: capital contracts, employment, labor, financial accountability.

My expertise in water comes from working as a consulting attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council in their Western Water Project on water supply, water quality and water transfer issues throughout the West. While working there, I applied and was a finalist for this position a year and a half ago. In that capacity, I got to know the current Board of Directors, all of whom were impressed with my background, both in water law, business law and board leadership. I gained an in-depth understanding of the issues that the Water Board was facing and since that time I have stayed in touch, informed, and involved. When this seat became open again in March, I was encouraged to run by several community leaders, including two of the current Water Board Directors.

I have led and continue to lead organizations as a board member. In the women's community, I serve on the boards of organizations that promote women's health, reproductive freedom and women's electoral politics. I am a founding board member of Emerge, an organization that provides women Democrats with political leadership and campaign training; and I twice led efforts that raised over $1,000,000 for NARAL Pro Choice America. I have also served on the boards of for-profit organizations as well.

In my community of Marin, I serve as a member of the Marin Sierra Club Executive Committee, and as an elected member of the Democratic Central Committee.

This public office represents the perfect intersection of my commitment to my community, passion for the Tam watershed, expertise and leadership record. These qualities, combined with my plan for the future of the watershed and water policy in the County, make me the best candidate for the position.