City Council Committees-
Santa Rosa Violence Prevention Partnership – Chair
As chair of the Violence Prevention Partnership (VPP), I lead a group of over 70 nonprofits and organizations committed to supporting the youth in our community. The mission, vision, and guiding principles of the VPP are listed here. This past year we have been focused on completing our five-year strategic plan as well as our year-one implementation plan.
Mission
We lead, mobilize, and align resources in our communities to create a safe and healthy environment where all youth are empowered to reach their full potential and all community members thrive.
Vision
Santa Rosa emerges as a strong, resilient, and interconnected community where all residents are safe, healthy, and thrive.
Guiding Principles
- Build Safe Communities – We commit to building safe communities for all community members. We advocate for place-based programming, enhanced student engagement, and collaboration with school districts, parents, and community-based organizations to ensure access to age-appropriate pro-social activities by expanding after-school, evening, weekend, and summer programs.
- Commitment to Equity – We strive for equity for all residents of our community. We are committed to achieving racial and social equity by contributing to a more just society where all community members, including our youth, can realize their full potential.
- Community Response – We commit to providing parents, educators, public safety professionals, care providers, and public health professionals with the capacity to engage all our youth in overcoming challenges and reaching their potential through a coordinated community response.
- Shared Responsibility – We will align our efforts with other local, county, state, and national initiatives aimed at building safe and healthy communities for youth and families. We do this by utilizing a culture of evidence-based practices, trauma-informed approaches, excellence, data sharing, and shared accountability to guide our work.
- Trusting Relationships – We value trust-based relationships that reflect productivity, accountability, and mutual respect. We will continuously evaluate and assess relationships with internal and external partners and stakeholders, focusing on shared accountability, efficient alignment, leveraged resources, data sharing, and shared measurement.
- Value Our Youth – We are committed to ensuring youth have safe and healthy communities, attend safe schools, and are valued as contributing community members. We value the voice of our youth and recognize their contributions to the community today and in the future.
VPP’s five-year strategic plan
Long-Term Financial Policy and Audit Subcommittee (LTFPA)
Meets to address fiscal strategies for the City’s long-term pension obligations and the City’s long-term financial goals. We review the budget quarterlies as well as review options for budget stabilization and forecasting.
City of Santa Rosa 2023-2024 budget
League of California Cities, North Bay Division – Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations Policy Committee
The Governance, Transparency, and Labor Relations Policy Committee reviews issues and legislation related to transparency, technology (open data), healthcare, elections, and political reform. Additionally, the committee oversees pensions and workers’ compensation reform, as well as other labor-related issues.
Past City Committee Work
Zero Waste Sonoma Board of Directors
I served on the Zero Waste Sonoma board as a Director from 2022-2023. Zero Waste Sonoma is a local government entity, specifically a joint powers authority (JPA), for the unincorporated area and nine cities and towns in Sonoma County. Zero Waste Sonoma exists to serve and help the residents and businesses of Sonoma County reduce, reuse, recycle, and discard all materials in the safest and most environmentally responsible way possible.
This website is meant to serve as the best go-to resource for answering any and all recycling or disposal questions.
https://zerowastesonoma.gov/
Board of Public Utilities (BPU) – Council Liaison
As the liaison to the BPU, we meet with the board to discuss the policy direction of the BPU. The BPU manages a massive innovative system supply of recycled water and wastewater, in addition to the City’s drinking water and all our facilities. Major infrastructure improvements for our water treatment facilities are being planned for the near future. As a liaison, I give direction and feedback as a city council member, before items coming before the council. I also report back to the Council during our bi-weekly Councilmember reports.
Climate Action
Climate Action
As a member of the Climate Action Subcommittee (CAS), I help provide guidance and oversight of the City’s Climate Action Plan. The goals of the CAS and the City of Santa Rosa are to reduce local greenhouse gas emissions and ensure long-term sustainability for climate resiliency. The full Climate Action Plan can be found here:
Open Government and Community Engagement
The Open Government and Community Engagement Subcommittee is established to facilitate input from our community and guide staff on how to implement best practices for an open and transparent government. This committee is part of the implementation process from the former Mayor’s Open Government Task Force. The ordinance for the City of Santa Rosa can be found here: