Candidate for
Member, City Council; City of El Cerrito

Sandi Potter was born in 1960 in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, her mother was a social worker and her father was a Lt. Col in the U.S. Air Force (and later a teacher). She was raised in Los Angeles with her parents and six brothers and sisters. Sandi attended public schools in southern California, graduating in 1978 from Miraleste High School.

After graduation from high school, she attended University of California at Santa Barbara. Her senior year she participated in the Education Abraod Boragram and attended Stirling University in Scotland and received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from UCSB in 1981 and graduated Summa Cum Laude.

In 1984 Sandi returned to college to pursue a graduate degree. She graduated from Humboldt State University in 1988 with a Master of Science degree in Environmental Geology. Her research focused on earthquake hazards in Modoc County, northeastern California. During graduate school she served as a research assistant for the CALEEP earthquake education and preparedness program. She also worked for the Department of Interior, Redwood National Park, conducting studies of land use practices and stream erosion and sedimentation.

In 1988 Sandi moved to the Bay Area with her husband, Phil Martien. She has worked for several environmental consulting firms preparing environmental impact reports and general plan elements. She began at ESA in San Francisco in 1988 and since has worked in the East Bay for Baseline Environmental Consulting, Parsons Engineering Science, and LSA Associates.

In 1992 Sandi and her husband, along with their first child, bought their first house in El Cerrito. In 1994 her second daughter was born. Her children attend public schools in El Cerrito. She served on the El Cerrito Redevelopment Advisory Committee from 1995 to 1996 and was appointed to the El Cerrito Planning Commission in 1996, and served as chair in 2001. She is currently serving her second term as a Planning Commissioner. Sandi is co-chair of the Richmond Middle School Boundary Committee for the West Contra Costa Unified School District Board.

Sandi currently working for the S.F. Regional Water Quality Control Board, Planning Division, in Oakland. She conducts watershed assessments and sediment reduction plans for compliance under the Clean Water Act. Sandi is responsible for oversee state contacts for consultant services. She plays a key role in coordinating with various state, federal, and local resource agencies and the public. In 2001 she received a CALFED scholarship and attend the Watershed Partnership Seminar in Sacramento.