Gina at 14 at The Sea Ranch
I arrived at TSR with my family at the age of twelve, visited every chance I could for twenty years, purchased a 1974 William Turnbull house in 1988, and worked with him to renovate it. Now I live at TSR full time with Bingley, my mixed-breed rescue dog.
I received my B. A. from Stanford and my J.D. from Northwestern. I practiced corporate law at a premier international firm, Sidley & Austin in Chicago, for five years and then accepted a position at Credit Suisse, a global investment bank, in the Finance Division. There I designed solutions for complex financial issues and modeled the risks and rewards of different financing strategies. I then joined Guggenheim Partners, a private financial services company where, over the last decade, I worked as a Senior Managing Director structuring financial transactions. Hiring and working with lawyers, I took financial ideas from conception to fruition. I know how to identify tough issues and propose good solutions.
With an appreciation for TSR’s history, I want to preserve our inheritance of forests, meadows, beaches, and wildlife. TSR needs Directors who see protection of our Commons and preservation of our coastal landscape as priorities. Neglecting ecological factors in our initial discussions of initiatives like solar array leads to faulty outcomes. The Board with Staff should seek input from experts and incorporate solid scientific evidence into all decisions. The new environmental planner position will enable the Board and Staff to better explore and implement new ways to address the effects of climate change.
My hard work extended beyond private firms. I currently am working on a capital investment project that would develop multi-generational low-income housing for old and young alike, including three local sites. As a patron of the arts and a pianist, I have served on the Board of the American Society of Composers and want to see all the arts cooperate and flourish within our coastal region. As a believer in education, while on the Board of Girls Leadership, a non-profit, I supported the organization’s mission of teaching young, underserved women the complex social skills necessary to thrive in multi-gender, multi-racial environments.
My time on the TSRA Finance Committee has educated me about what TSR needs to stabilize within a shifting financial environment. If I am be elected to serve you, I will work to uphold rigorous TSRA Board oversight of TSR’s financial and legal affairs. I will advocate for strict scrutiny of TSR expenditures and will demand careful selection and use of attorneys.
I support a careful, thorough evaluation of TSR’s budget process and its budgets. TSR needs a strategic plan for the long term that prioritizes our values to make coherent and cohesive choices during budget deliberations about expenses and, consequently, our fees. I agree with our Community Manager that developing our annual budget should be an ongoing process throughout the fiscal year, not simply an annual evaluation of operational costs. Together the Community Manager, Finance Committee, and Board can construct a cohesive, rational budget that prioritizes long-term objectives and minimizes short-term expenses. Excess cash over the fiscal year should be used as a financial tool to reduce costs and address contingencies. Our financial resources cannot come solely from increasing dues. We must seek other available sources, such as grants and philanthropy.
I favor a frugal Sea Ranch that devotes its fiscal resources to the preservation of its environment and infrastructure. I recommend simplicity in governance for the simple reason that I want all of us to sleep at night.
The Sea Ranch deserves a Board that is informed, transparent, independent, and act with diplomacy and collegiality. Members should be able to trust the diligence and impartial judgment of our Directors, whose role it is to understand what is at stake, articulate alternatives, insist on collaboration and, whenever appropriate, compromise.
Our founders’ mantra, “living lightly on the land,” still encapsulates our values. TSR’s mission encompasses a reverence for our environment, a devotion to simplicity in governance, and the encouragement of true community. The Sea Ranch was designed with half of our lands held in common, and homes clustered to encourage a communal perspective. We desperately need a consistent vision to create and maintain a community with shared values that embraces diversity. I want us to foster a spirit of cooperation, both within TSR, and with our neighbors, north and south.
I am a listener who practices thoughtful problem solving that incorporates many points of view. I want to include everyone in future discussions.
