Candidate for
Board Member; East Bay Regional Park District; Ward 1

My education and professional life has been dedicated to environmental conservation and community sustainability. As a student at UC Berkeley's College of Natural Resources I trained to be a naturalist, teaching courses in native California plants and interning at Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

I served 8 years on the Berkeley City Council and was elected on a platform of waterfront protection and waste reduction through recycling. I helped lead the effort to preserve Berkeley's waterfront that later resulted in the establishment of the Eastshore State Park. As a Councilmember, I also introduced Berkeley's groundbreaking laws to ban the use of styrofoam in fast food outlets and to stop the sale of chemicals that were destroying our ozone layer.

In the 1990's I founded a non-profit organization, ICLEI, dedicated to helping cities become environmental leaders. At ICLEI I worked with nearly 500 local governments worldwide to stop climate change and limit the emissions causing global warming.

A longtime community activist, at Cal I helped organize the labor union that now represents graduate student employees. As a board member of our local chapter of the National Women's Political Caucus I have championed women candidates and worked to protect women's reproductive rights.

In March 2006 I was honored to be unanimously appointed by the Directors of the East Bay Regional Park District to fill the seat of long time Park Director Jean Siri. Jean leaves an important legacy and I will work to ensure that Eastshore Park is fully open for public use, that the Eastbay portion of the Bay Trail is completed and that funding is maintained for open space acquisition and increased recreational opportunities.