Candidate for
Board Member; Marin Community College District

Stephanie was the youngest of her parents' children. A tight-knit Irish Catholic family, the O'Briens raised their children on the Bay Area peninsula. Stephanie's father was an architect and her mother was a stay-at-home mom. When Stephanie was 12, her mother went to work as an executive assistant at the Stanford Research Institute.

After Stephanie completed high school at 16, her parents thought it would be best if she did not move away from home for college. She spent the next two years at Foothill College in Los Altos Hills. Stephanie fondly remembers these years as "wonderful and stimulating." Captivated by so many subjects she completed a wide rang of lower division classes, in courses such as child development, geology, and literature.

Upon completion of her transfer requirements, she entered CSU Long Beach to complete a degree in graphic design but realized later that she was better suited for interior design, and changed course, deferring her degree to later.

Stephanie took up the profession of interior design and worked for 3 years for Facilities at Bechtel. After Bechtel, she worked in interior design, sales and management for a large furniture manufacturer. She eventually built her own consulting business in 2003.

Stephanie and her team have over 9 years experience providing professional services to institutions. In her work with California's community college districts, her firm has saved the state hundreds of thousands of dollars in facilities, capital improvement and maintenance projects.

Stephanie takes pride in her detailed and thorough approach to service delivery and coordination. She enjoys the spirit of collaboration and finding common ground. A hallmark of her personal style is approaching problem solving positively and creatively.