What initially prompted you to get involved with local government? 
I must admit that it took several twists and turns for me to realize that my passion was in local government. In retrospect this is interesting considering that my parents were community advocated in the town on Long Island, NY, that we moved to when I was in high school. I saw firsthand the benefits they were able to achieve for their community in securing sound wall along an eight-lane highway and in winning the passage of a local ordinance to control the hour in the morning that lawnmowers and other noisy equipment could be used. They achieved these initiatives by working with key officials in their town. Initially I started my career as a lawyer in state government headquartered in the capitol of New York. Although I enjoyed providing legal advice and counsel at the highest levels of state government, I eventually recognized that it would be more fun and challenging for me to be engaged on the policy side where I would have greater involvement in solving problems and creating programs. When I was offered an opportunity to work in the governor’s office on transportation policy and operations, I jumped at the chance. While there, I crossed paths with the New York City Mayor’s Transportation Advisor and was recruited to work in the mayor’s office in the city where I had grown up. It was my first taste of working at the local level where you engage more directly with the residents, and I loved it! I eventually became the Mayor’s Transportation Advisor, serving under two mayors. Following that, I was recruited to New Jersey to work as the Deputy Commissioner of the State Department of Transportation and subsequently moved to California to be Deputy CEO at LA Metro. While I enjoyed my work in both agencies, I knew I wanted to return to local government where I could have the broadest impact on the quality of life of residents. I was particularly interested in economic development, having seen how transportation initiatives could effectively be used as economic development tools. As it turned out, my transportation background is what got me my next job as the Assistant Executive Director of the San Jose Redevelopment Agency. As luck would have it, the Executive Director was looking for someone who could help manage their involvement in a big transit project that was underway – the extension of BART from San Francisco to San Jose. Several years later and just days after the birth of my daughter, I was recruited to be Assistant City Manager (ACM) for the City of Irvine. As much as I loved the ACM job, after 12 years I knew that I was ready for the top role in a city. I spent my next 3 years as the first female City Manager for the City of Carson, in the South Bay of Los Angeles County with nearly 100,000 residents and loved every minute!