Candidate for
Council Member; City of Chico

Thanks for stopping by to learn more about my city council campaign.

When I was elected to my first term on the Chico City Council in 2006, I made a commitment to represent the people of Chico with an open mind. As your council representative I strive to be fair-minded, thoughtful, and responsive to our diverse community. I take the time to listen to all sides, weigh all aspects of an issue, and then make decisions based on what I believe is best for Chico. On the council I currently serve as Chair of the city's Economic Development Committee and am a member of the council's Finance Committee.

I strongly believe in the importance of "giving back" to one's community, and I consider my service to Chico as a council member to be one of my most significant accomplishments.

Other Community Service I am a proud of my role as a founding board member and past Chair of the Chico Community Shelter Partnership, the non-profit that built and supports the Torres Community Shelter. Although I can no longer be as involved with the shelter as I once was, I currently serve on the Food and Beverage Committee for the organization's successful annual Christmas Tree Auction community fundraiser.

Other community service includes being a past associate board member of the Community Housing Improvement Project (CHIP) and a member of the Rape Crisis Intervention board of directors.

I am a long-standing member of the League of Women Voters of Butte County and have served as the co-Chair of the Annual Spring Wine Tasting as well as Chair of the League's Membership Committee. I am also a member of the newly revitalized Chico Women's' Club.

Professional Life My father was in the military, so I had the benefit of living in many beautiful parts of the world when I came to Chico 36 years ago to attend the university. I also had a deep desire to call one place "home," and once I arrived I knew Chico was that place. I worked my way through college at CSU Chico as a waitress, which led me to do some catering locally. I've also been a teacher in a number of different grades--3rd, 4th, 7th and 8th--and most recently I taught 9th grade math teacher at Chico High School, where I also managed a student mentorship program.

In the early 1990s I left teaching to work full-time on a grant+funded project at CSU Chico, a program designed to enhance the skills of a group of math specialists in grades 4 to 6. The curriculum materials developed as a part of this effort were so well received that we took the product to market.

This curriculum development experience opened new doors for me, and brought a private sector position in a large Bay Area educational publishing house. I had the opportunity to work in many different areas, including product development and marketing, and that broad company experience finally led to being named Publisher for the entire organization. In that position I was responsible for a 60-member team and oversaw the company's $40 million annual budget. Working for this innovative and entrepreneurial publishing house both broadened and deepened my skills in many important ways, and to this day I am grateful for that education.

Today I am proud to be the Program Administrator at Community Action Volunteers in Education (CAVE) on the CSU Chico campus. CAVE's mission is to provide students and community members with meaningful, broad-based volunteer opportunities. The CAVE motto, "Life is for Learning," supports our philosophy that the world supports a lifetime of hands-on learning. Each year more than 3,000 students, representing almost 20 percent of the campus population, come through CAVE's doors looking for a way to give back to this community. While some of these students are interested in fulfilling a service learning requirement for a course, most are driven by a spirit of pure altruism. I consider it an enormous gift to be working with these students as they begin to understand the power and lasting value of community service.

Private Life Still, I think Saturday is my favorite day. I love to get up early and go downtown for coffee and a bagel, read the paper, and people-watch. Then I usually swing through the Farmers Market for fresh bread, fruit, and vegetables, and to connect with people I don't always see during the week. I might spend the rest of the morning working in our small garden or catching up on reading. In the afternoon I love bike riding in Bidwell Park, looking forward to an evening meal with friends at our home near the foothills east of Chico.

In my spare time I am polishing up my business plan for producing and marketing sweet hot mustard from an old family recipe for. In fact, during the coming year I plan to begin a small-scale business operation here in Chico. Keep an eye out for me--and my snappy marketing materials!--at local Farmers Markets.

But I could not work full time and manage my extracurricular activities without the steady support of my wonderful partner, Michael Goloff. Before moving to Chico seven years ago, Michael, a retired physician, practiced medicine in the Oakland area for many years. Michael has a warm heart and an old soul, and he never ceases to amaze me with his capacity for new ideas. In fact, I knew I was going to fall in love with him from the moment he told me that he had five library cards. Michael enjoys science, photography, and politics. He is a fan of traditional jazz and is learning to play the bass.

With Michael, I share a parenting role for his three beautiful children. His oldest daughter, Lia, 34, is a global activist who lives in the Bay Area and works in the pharmaceutical industry. Alexa, 29, also lives in the Bay Area and is an avid animal lover who works in veterinary medicine. Aviva turned 11 in July and is starting the 6th grade. In addition to being the sweetest child on the planet, Aviva loves books and all kinds of music, plays violin, and is a truly wonderful photographer. She also loves going to summer camp.

The family also includes two very fortunate dogs, both named after beloved jazz icons. Satchmo is our seven-year-old chocolate lab, and Ella, a Maltese/Shitzu mix, is our new puppy.