Candidate for
Mayor; City of Santa Barbara

Helene Schneider was first elected to the Santa Barbara City Council in 2003 and is currently serving her second term. Prior to this position, she was appointed by Mayor Harriet Miller to serve as Commissioner for the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara.

Helene's professional background is in Human Resources management and includes over 15 years working in this field, previously for the local Planned Parenthood affiliate and now as Senior Associate for HRxpress, a local human resources consulting firm. She earned her B.A. from Skidmore College, received a professional certification in Human Resources Management from UCSB Extension in 1997 and passed the Professional in Human Resources National Certification Examination in 1998. She served as President of the Santa Barbara Human Resources Association in 2001 and received the State Leadership Award from the CA State Council of the Society of Human Resources Management for her work.

Her involvement in the local political arena started in 1992 as a member of Jack O'Connell's campaign staff for his successful re-election to the State Assembly. She also joined the Santa Barbara Women's Political Committee, where she eventually served as President in 1999 + 2000 and was on the Board of Directors for seven years.

Helene continues her volunteer service within the Santa Barbara community. In addition to her City Council duties, she is on the Governing Board of Bringing Our Community Home: Santa Barbara Countywide 10-Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness; a member of Santa Barbara Foundation's Human Services Committee; and advisory member to Casa Pacifica, JUST Communities, United Nations Association + Santa Barbara Chapter, and COAST (Coalition for Sustainable Transportation).

Helene works on many important citywide issues as Councilmember. She is a member of the City's Finance Committee and serves as Chair of the Council Sustainability Sub-committee; Co-Chair of the South Coast of Santa Barbara County Homeless Advisory Committee; and as liaison to numerous city groups including the Metropolitan Transit District, the Arts Advisory Committee, Council Sub-committee on Commuter Rail, Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara, Lower Mission Creek Restoration Committee, Community Development and Human Services Commission, and three City Westside Neighborhood groups. Helene represents the League of California Cities Channel Counties Division as a member of their statewide Environmental Quality Policy committee, which reviews state legislation as it relates to environmental policy and municipal government.