Mar 16 – Monthly Meeting – Council President Sherri Lightner

March 16, 2015

This month we are delighted to have San Diego City Council President Sherri Lightner address the club.

Studies show that women do not put themselves forward as candidates at rates equal to men. As we aim to increase the number of women in elected office, one of the first places to start is in increasing the pipeline of women seeking office. Women need access to successful female elected officials and role models to further increase women’s political involvement.

“The models indicate that there is overwhelming support for the hypothesis that women citizens in states with competitive and visible female candidates increase their political engagement. These results suggest that descriptive representation matters in important ways.”

Please join this conversation with Sherri on Monday 16 March, 7pm at the Women’s Museum of California.

For more than a decade, Sherri Lightner has been a tireless and effective community volunteer and leader, serving on multiple community planning organizations and committees. She has served as President of both the La Jolla Town Council (LJTC) and La Jolla Shores Association (LJSA), and as the Secretary of the La Jolla Community Planning Association (LJCPA). Over the years Sherri has become a knowledgeable expert in the planning and development process, the application (and abuse) of the San Diego Land Development Code, the applicable sections of the San Diego Municipal Code relating to community planning and development, and the California Environmental Quality and Coastal Acts.

Sherri was born in Western Pennsylvania but moved with her family to San Diego while in grade school. After attending public school in San Diego, Sherri graduated from the University of California at San Diego (UCSD), first with a B.A. degree in both Mathematics and Sociology and later with a M.S. degree in Applied Mechanics and Engineering Sciences. She is a licensed Professional Mechanical Engineer (Lic. No. M20020).

Sherri worked in private industry for 23 years: 18 years at General Atomics and 5 years at Rohr Industries. After “retiring” from the engineering profession about 10 years ago, she formed a small consulting business with her husband. She and her husband have owned and lived in the same home in Council District 1 (in La Jolla Shores) for over 16 years. Before moving to La Jolla the Lightners were homeowners and residents of Scripps Ranch for 17 years.

She has served as the Councilmember for District 1 in the City of San Diego since December, 2008 and Council President since December, 2014.

We’re pleased to announce a new permanent venue for club meetings at the Women’s Museum of California. Thanks to generous support from clubmember Anne Hoiberg and the board of the museum we’ll be meeting every third Monday of the month at:

Women’s Museum of California2730 Historic Decatur Road, Suite 103 (map)San Diego, CA 92106