About Gail

Gail is an attorney in private practice in Monterey. She earned her Juris Doctorate from University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law, and Bachelor of Arts from Santa Clara University.

A Marina resident since 1999, Gail was elected director for Marina Coast Water District in 2022 after having been unanimously selected by the MCWD board to fill the director vacancy in February 2021. Previous to being elected to the MCWD board, Gail was elected to Marina city council in 2012 and reelected in 2016. Between 2013 and 2020, she represented the city as a director on the Fort Ord Reuse Authority Board.  

For many years, Gail has devoted tremendous energy and hundreds of hours to protecting Marina Coast Water District’s ability to provide safe, affordable water and wastewater services. She has the training and ability needed to examine every issue for opportunities, “gotchas,” and the long-range effects of decisions and actions, and is quick to recognize the harmful effects of inaction.

As a member of the Marina Coast Water District, Marina city council, and the regional Fort Ord Reuse Authority board of directors, Gail has demonstrated exceptional preparation and deep understanding of complex problems. Principled and professional, she is known for returning everyone to the bottom line when discussions become muddy and irrelevant.

Gail routinely fights powerful forces to protect our water supply. The ability of ratepayers to rely on an ever-ready, clean, and affordable water supply must be assured as the foundation of the economics, livability, and status of the five land-use jurisdictions served by MCWD.

A History of Contribution

Exercising her gift for strategy and grassroots leadership, Gail was instrumental in preserving extensive open space and recreation trails in and around Marina. Her signature projects include the Marina Equestrian Center (39 acres), Whispering Oaks (58 acres), No on Monterey Downs (650+ acres), besides easements and funding for the 30-mile FORTAG trail.

Gail‘s vision for the benefit of the community is inclusive and inspiring, with constructive ideas for promoting the good. Before relocating to Marina, she served as a board member of the Martin Luther King, Jr, Association of Santa Clara Valley and an organizer for the annual Freedom Train commemorating the historic 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama. She was on the board of Santa Clara University’s de Saisset Museum of Art and History for ten years.

Highlights from Gail’s leadership in education include her key contributions in resolving school closures and realignments for Monterey Peninsula Unified School District and serving on the district’s strategic-planning committee.  In her tenure as an officer of the PTA, as much as a quarter-million dollars was raised annually for a full-time music teacher, art instruction, America Reads, and classroom supplies. Gail served four years on the board of the Monterey Academy of Oceanographic Science (MAOS) academy at Monterey High School.