Candidate for
Council Member; City of Burlingame

My wife Marty and I moved to Burlingame in 1997. I had just resigned from a wonderful 12 year career in the US Foreign Service in which I had served our country as a diplomat in Syria, Washington DC, and Hong Kong.

I left diplomacy to take a job in venture capital. From 1997 to 2010 I was managing partner at the oldest US VC firm in China, called ChinaVest. There I became deeply familiar with the challenges of growing a business, and enormously respectful of an entrepreneur and his backers who are willing to try.

In 2010, I founded Total Impact Advisors with partners in Washington DC, New York and Geneva. TIA is an investment firm devoted to building "social enterprises," those companies whose goods or services create a social benefit -- clean water in India, more productive plants for poor African farmers -- in addition to earning a profit. It is heartwarming to work with passionate entrepreneurs who plan to not just make money, but to make the planet a better place.

I returned to public service in 2001 when I was appointed to the Burlingame Planning Commission,where I served for 8 years. In that time we ended a long running stalemate with Safeway and now have a wonderful new store and site; we approved the amazing $600 mm new Mills-Peninsula Hospital; and we approved countless remodels and commercial projects.

I ran for Council in 2009. I was the lone challenger facing three incumbents for the three seats. With hard work and your support, I earned a seat on Council. I am now your Vice Mayor.

I also serve on the Advisors Board of the non-profit Foundation for a College Education, an entity aimed at giving kids of color in East Palo Alto a chance to go to college and succeed.