My entire career in business and community and civic leadership has been focused on advancing human potential and wellbeing. 

I look forward to the opportunity to offer my skills and passion to further the health and wellbeing of Sequoia Healthcare District residents. I know the strength, compassion, and energy of our community. I also know that many residents struggle to meet basic needs, and some are hiding in plain sight.

I have 25 years of human resources and organizational development experience in the insurance, health plan administration, and medical device industries, along with governance experience developing organizational strategy, overseeing budgets and fiscal management, ensuring financial sustainability, and keeping consistent focus on the quality and efficacy of programs and services. As a Board Director of the following local nonprofits, Caminar Behavioral Health Service, Peninsula Conflict Resolution Center, Green Foothills, Healthy Cities Tutoring, and the Redwood City Education Foundation, I have learned deeply about the needs of our community and built strong networks of colleagues and experts in the areas of mental health, conflict resolution and violence prevention, education, and open space preservation and environmental protection.

I have worked for well over a decade supporting the SHD’s Healthy Schools Initiative, encompassing the Menlo Park, Las Lomitas, Portola Valley, Redwood City, Belmont-Redwood Shores, San Carlos Elementary, and Sequoia Union High School Districts, impacting over 30,000 students and school staff annually. This program funds school nurses, therapists, counselors, and PE coaches and supports mental health, suicide prevention, alcohol, tobacco and other drugs education and prevention, and nutrition, among other programs. Additionally, I sat on the Executive Committee of the Sequoia Union High School District Wellness Advisory Council, along with representatives of Kaiser, Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and Dignity Health and community health and wellness leaders for the purpose of providing input and feedback on school district health and wellness policies and programs.

In 2016 I founded Transform Collaborative, a largely pro bono consulting practice specializing in nonprofit organizational and leadership development. I wanted to use my experience in business, nonprofit governance and management, and civic leadership in partnership with San Mateo County’s bold and forward thinking nonprofit leaders who want to refine and sharpen their strategy and operations to serve more people, make a larger and greater impact, and create lasting change.

My inspiration to work in and with community comes from a long family history of public service.

It started when my great-grandfather, a trades laborer, became a town councilman who won and succeeded on a platform of securing the most basic of necessities such as adequate food and subsistence wages for his fellow workers and their families. Hundreds lived together in workhouses under the control of the local governmental authority, the Board of Guardians; an unfortunately ironic name, for sure. Two generations later, my parents immigrated to the U.S. to build a brighter future for their family. I grew up in Pacifica and have lived in San Mateo County nearly my entire life. My husband, Rod, and I have two wonderful daughters, Caitlin and Kelly, who attended public elementary and high schools in Redwood City, Menlo Park, and Atherton.

Education, Professional Certifications, Civic Leadership

• M.A. and B.A. degrees in Speech Communications Studies; B.S. in Business Administration, San Francisco State University 

• Rotary International Scholar and Peace Ambassador to New Zealand, promoting cross-cultural understanding; studied cultural anthropology and linguists at the University of Auckland

• Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE)

• Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR)

• Completed Standards for Excellence, Ethics & Accountability Program, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University

• Specialized Studies in Nonprofit Management certificate, U.C. Irvine Extension Program

• Human Resources Management certificate, U.C. Berkeley Extension Program

• Graduate of the San Mateo Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program

• Graduate of the Community Advocates Leadership Academy, through Green Foothills

• Adolescent Mental Health Aid certified by San Mateo County Office of Health

• Yoga Alliance certified yoga instructor

• Appointed member of the Atherton Planning Commission

• Appointed to San Mateo County Civil Grand Jury

• Appointed to San Mateo County Office of Education 7-11 Advisory Committee to advise on the disposition of surplus property