If you’re like my mother, you might be wondering, what is the Water District Board? What qualifies someone for this role?

 

The role is one of governance, policy, and accountability for safe, clean and dependable water supplies now and into the future. Water district directors hire and fire key staff (the CEO, General Counsel and Clerk), set the overall direction (as expressed through policy, programs and budget), and then hold those key staff accountable. This page outlines my career and accomplishments so that you can come to understand that I am the most qualified person for this unique role of governance in a government context, backed by real successes and experience.  

 

The bulk of my career, 15 years, was spent as Vice President of Housing and Community Development at the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business trade association founded by David Packard. There, my focus was on anticipating and planning for the economy and region's infrastructure needs and to address those needs by bringing the private sector and government together. Next came my dream job leading the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition’s work for safe, healthy communities. All through my tenure, I’ve established a reputation as a bridge builder who successfully brings different sectors together to find consensus. Below are some of the accomplishments in these roles:

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• Measure S: As Co-Chair of Santa Clara Valley Water District’s 2020 renewal of the 2012 Safe, Clean Water and Natural Flood Protection Program, helped win passage by 75% of voters.

• Green Building Standards: Convinced the Santa Clara County Cities Association to prioritize and develop uniform green building standards that were adopted by all Santa Clara County cities and the County, including reductions in water use for public buildings.

• Measure B: Secured the inclusion of $250 million in bike and pedestrian infrastructure funding in the County’s 2016 transportation sales tax, passed overwhelmingly by the voters at almost 72% support. 

• Safe Streets: Successfully lobbied to change the transportation planning mindset of Silicon Valley cities to prioritize safety, not just speed, leading to the long term reduction in fatalities and major injuries on our roadways. 

• SV@Home and Measure E: Co-founded Silicon Valley at Home, the County’s leading voice on affordable housing policy. As a board member, supported the city of San Jose’s successful measure to raise money for affordable housing, Measure E. 

• Executive Leadership: As the Bike Coalition Executive Director, I doubled the Organization’s budget and staff over an 8-year period, growing the organization to one of the largest bike coalitions in the Country. Under my tenure, the organization’s advocacy led to a decrease in crashes from 1,100 in 2015 to 880 in 2019 (the last “normal” year before Covid) with the number of bike fatalities cut in half. We now have 2,000 miles of bike facilities of all kinds in Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties.

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In addition, I was appointed to and served in multiple roles where I gained invaluable experience in governance and leadership:

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• Environmental Stakeholders Working Group, Santa Clara Valley Water District

• State of California Environmental Quality Act Working Group

• Chair of the San Jose Planning Commission

• Association of Bay Area Governments Regional Planning Committee

• San Jose General Plan Task Force 

• San Francisco Bay Area Great Communities Collaborative Advisory Board

• Station Area Advisory Group for High Speed Rail

• City of San Jose Anti-Displacement Task Force

• Appointee, The Grand Boulevard Initiative

• And, I was recently appointed to the Water District’s Environmental Water and Resources Committee