Community Resume

  • Treasurer and Board member of the Board of the Richmond Emergency Food Pantry, which provides over $100,000 in food annually to the community
  • El Cerrito Community Garden steering committee member
  • Member, and Former President and Treasurer of the El Cerrito Historical Society
  • Treasurer and member of the Board of the Latina Center in Richmond

I have been active in the community for many years.

I have always focused on expanding local organizations, giving a voice to marginalized populations, handling the compliance and financial reporting for small nonprofits, and bridging differences to create solutions that benefit everyone. 

I am honored by the support I’ve received from the community; In recognition of the nature and duration of my service, the El Cerrito City Council elected me to the city’s Wall of Fame in 2014.

I am the Treasurer and a member of the Board of the Friends of the El Cerrito Library. which contributes over $20,000 each year, and I volunteer regularly. I am one of the original eight members of the El Cerrito New Library Committee and am a director of its successor, the El Cerrito Library Foundation. 
I worked for almost 4 years to obtain funding for an LGBTQ+ collection at the El Cerrito library, which led to a new collection, the DeLoach and Troy Trust LGBTQ+ special collection at the Contra Costa library. It will continue and be expanded over the coming years at the El Cerrito branch.

My investigation and research on the Japanese and Chinese presence in West County has led to the unveiling and documentation of largely ignored but highly significant parts of our local cultural history. I initiated and drafted the City Council resolution that established “Fred Korematsu Day” in El Cerrito as well as most of El Cerrito’s “Chung Mei Home for Boys Day” City Council Resolution.
     I have worked for many years to bring together the community to create projects that are economically viable while respecting the history of El Cerrito. This has resulted in one site that I was able to successfully place on the list of places eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places  (Chung Mei Historic Register letter PDF)  and two 

sites that will be eligible for the California Register of Historical Resources.
      My work to collect and catalogue historic images and documents for the Society has made the El Cerrito Historical Society a renowned primary repository regarding the Chung Mei Home for Chinese Boys and its successor institutions; the family and adobe of Victor Ramon Castro; the settlement of Rancho San Pablo; and the Japanese nursery community in West Contra Costa County. I researched, wrote, and assembled the book Images of America – El Cerrito and I designed, edited, and published Harem Scarem in El Cerrito, Neva Carpenters’ book about growing up in El Cerrito.

Professional Background

I am now retired from a career in which I was a CPA and later a CFO of a technology company. I  was also the Product Manager of the leading software product used to track, monitor, and report on bonds issued by cities, counties, and other governmental entities. I continue to use my expertise in technology and business to modernize and streamline the District’s work.