Candidate for
Democratic Party County Central Committee; County of San Francisco; Assembly District 13

Jordanna was born in Berkeley, CA, and has worked to promote Democratic values throughout her life. As a child, Jordanna was first inspired to become a Democrat by Walter Mondale's 1984 selection of Geraldine Ferraro as a running mate. As a teenager she volunteered doing national park cleanups and worked in Yosemite National Park for the City of Berkeley's Tuolumne Camp. Her experience working in the natural world fostered her lifelong commitment to environmentalism. While working in Hawaii after college, she started a local chapter of the Organic Consumers Association and advocated for environmental justice for families living near fallow sugar cane fields.

Since 2001, Jordanna has worked to enhance the small business climate in San Francisco. In 2004, she worked tirelessly to bring the Marina Farmers Market to Chestnut Street so local residents could enjoy organic produce and merchants could enjoy more pedestrian traffic. A local small business owner, she has been a board member of the Marina Merchants Association since 2001, as she believes that all merchants should be stewards for their communities and assist in keeping neighborhoods clean and safe.

Believing that the world cannot exist without art, Jordanna volunteers regularly at New Langton Arts, helping to promote appreciation of experimental and innovative contemporary art. She also volunteers for VisualAid, which provides materials to artists with life-threatening illnesses so that they may continue their work.

Jordanna graduated from the University of San Francisco School of Law in 2004, and was admitted to the California Bar in December 2004. In law school, she co-founded the USF chapter of the Equal Justice Society, served as Vice President of the Student Bar Association, organized forums on voter registration, the 2003 mayoral election, and the Patriot Act, and undertook extensive research on electronic voting machines. Since 2002, Jordanna has worked at the San Francisco Superior Court, first as a Court Mediator and now as a Research Attorney. After law school, Jordanna began working at the Law & Motion Department, for the Hon. Ronald Evans Quidachay. She is a Local 21 (IFPTE/AFL-CIO) member.

In March 2004, The Board of Supervisors appointed Jordanna to San Francisco's Small Business Commission for a four-year term. Her fellow Commissioners elected her to serve as President in February 2006. She has promoted green business, and chaired the Community Outreach Committee and the Shop Local First and Small Business Week Initiatives. Jordanna has also recently been selected as a board member of Community Awareness & Treatment Services (CATS), which provides services to homeless adults.

Jordanna's mother, a single parent, was on disability throughout her childhood and struggled to support the family. Jordanna started working as a dishwasher at age 13; she graduated from high school at age 16 and was accepted to UC Davis. Though still a minor, she worked two jobs in the restaurant industry to support herself and went on to graduate with a degree in American history. Building on her experience working for small businesses, Jordanna started her own small business, Mask Italia, Inc., in 2000, and set about developing the US market for imported Italian masks. Today, Mask Italia is a thriving small business and celebrates its fifth anniversary in San Francisco in July 2006. Jordanna plans to develop a new venture beginning in September 2006.

Jordanna has lived in multiple cities around the country, but she always considered San Francisco her home. As a child, she frequently visited her beloved uncle Jay Orr. Although Jay passed away from AIDS in 1995, his life and his commitment to the City inspired Jordanna's deep and abiding love for the City.

Jordanna writes a weekly column for the online San Francisco Sentinel (http://www.sanfranciscosentinel.com) on important issues affecting San Francisco politics and government. This year she will also collaborate on a photographic essay on San Francisco backyards to highlight the diversity and character of our City.