Meet Mandy

          Mandy serves today as a community organizer– she is an elected member of the Peninsula Community Planning Board, serving as chair or co-chair of the Park, Transportation, and Environmental Committees. 

• Mandy is a member of Sunset Cliffs Natural Park Council, which serves the largest park on the peninsula. She has publicly advocated for more resources and better care for preserving this iconic park. 

• Mandy is a member of Kate's Trees, a new group named after horticulturist Kate Sessions dedicated to restoring San Diego's urban forest. Within Kate's Trees, Mandy has served as a partner in establishing a pilot program to train interns to become "Tree Ambassadors." This program trains interns on the environmental and economic benefits of trees and prepares them to advocate for the preservation of existing trees and plant new trees. 

• Mandy's leadership on the Transportation and Traffic Committee has focused on identifying dangerous intersections and opening safe routes for bicyclists. She has corresponded with city hall on behalf of concerned residents to find viable remedies to several traffic and transit issues throughout the peninsula. 

• Mandy has worked closely with Ocean Beach Elementary and helped to organize a school garden. She introduced a "Garden to Cafe" program which allowed students to plant, care for, and harvest organic produce to share with the entire school community in the school cafeteria.  

• Mandy has been a force in Save Famosa Canyon to keep five acres of land at Nimitz and Voltaire boulevards as open space and a passive park. The San Diego Housing Authority owns the land but has been unable to do anything with the almost unbuildable site in 40 years. The San Diego Housing Commission, a quasi-city agency, threatens to sell the site for less money than it has said it is worth. Residents of Point Loma and Ocean Beach oppose the building of condos on what is a designated wetland with reparation money going to a North County city. 

• Mandy believes in the rule of law. She fought to keep the Coastal Height Limit, something the incumbent championed overturning in the Midway District. Since then, a judge has ruled that a citywide vote on Proposition E was illegal because the City never conducted the necessary environmental impact study. Similarly, the effort to redevelop the Sports Arena area came to a halt because San Diego violated state requirements in declaring the land surplus. 

• Community involvement is what she is all about. Early in the pandemic, Mandy worked with Todd Gloria making Dewey Elementary School a food distribution site. 

• While serving on the Environmental Subcommittee with the Peninsula Community Planning Board, she helped facilitate a new student liaison program in which any high school student living or attending school within the peninsula was eligible to participate. Mandy believes in the power of inclusion and the importance of listening to different perspectives and voices from diverse backgrounds.