Jennie Gerard, Chief of Staff
Jennie comes to Councilmember Kernighan’s office after 23 years at the Trust for Public Land, where the program she built brought land trusts to the West and helped launch a quarter of the nation’s 1200 trusts. She worked closely with Pat Kernighan and former councilmember Danny Wan to develop and implement Measure DD, the $198 million Safe Parks, Clean Water Bond.
Jennie has been a leader in building the Oakland Parks Coalition, and she is a board member and the former chair of the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy. She is a board member and the former vice-chair of the Conservation Campaign. Jennie graduated from Wellesley College and holds a Master’s degree in City & Regional Planning from the Illinois Institute of Technology. She and her husband have lived in Oakland for the past 28 years.
You can reach Jennie at jgerard@oaklandnet.com or (510) 238-7023.
Mandalyn Mendoza, Council Aide/Scheduler
Mandalyn Mendoza has lived in the Bay Area since her teens. She is a graduate of San Francisco State University and brings 8 years of experience resolving issues and delivering services for clients, particularly through children's services agencies in the Bay Area. Mandalyn overseas the San Antonio community in District 2 and staffs the Public Works and the Life Enrichment Commitees. She also oversees parking issues and public safety concerns. She can be reached at (510) 238-7021 or mmendoza@oaklandnet.com, Monday - Thursday.
Sarah Lin, Council Aide/Executive Assistant
Born in Hong Kong and raised on the San Francisco Peninsula, Sarah came to the East Bay to study and pursue a career in the helping professions. In addition to serving at the District 2 Council Office, Sarah is a case manager for the OSCAR program under the Department of Human Services’ Senior Companion Program, where she partners with the Oakland Fire Department’s Fire Prevention Bureau in conducting bilingual Fire Safety Training workshops, CORE training, and the 9-1-1 Disaster Registry. Sarah is actively engaged in constituent concerns and surveys for community needs to raise awareness about issues that impact constituents. She believes in bridging cultural and language differences to achieve common goals and improvements in the community. Through her involvements with District 2 and Department of Human Services, Sarah has gotten to know various communities throughout District 2. In her spare time, Sarah volunteers for the Equal Access Office and Chabad of the East Bay. Sarah speaks fluent Cantonese and Mandarin. She can be reached at (510) 238-7246 or SLinD2@oaklandnet.com. She works in the Council office mornings from Monday through Wednesday, and afternoons from Thursday through Friday. If you would like to schedule a meeting with Pat, please contact Sarah.
