Kate Sears served as a Marin County Supervisor, representing southern Marin, from 2011 until January 2021, including two stints as President of the Marin County Board of Supervisors, in 2014 and 2019.  During her tenure as a County Supervisor, Kate served on numerous county and regional boards and commissions, including the Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC), the Golden Gate Bridge, Highway and Transportation District Board, the San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority Governing Board, and was chair of the Board of MCE Clean Energy.  Planning for sea level rise and climate change were priorities for Kate.  She served on the County’s Climate Action Plan Implementation subcommittee, lead the County’s BayWAVE sea level rise vulnerability and adaptation initiative, and in October 2017 launched “DRAWDOWN: Marin” – a campaign to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions community-wide.

A hallmark of Kate’s work in local government was bringing people together to find common ground and develop collaborative, creative, and effective solutions to the myriad issues we face: working to create healthy and equitable communities, improving public transit options, taking care of Marin’s aging community, addressing the housing affordability crisis, enhancing renewable energy, and protecting our environment.

Having retired in January 2021, Kate is now focusing on dog walks, Buddhist mediation, reading and music. Her care and commitment to addressing climate change and equity issues is ongoing.

Prior to serving as a Marin County Supervisor, Kate was an attorney in private practice and then in the Consumer Law Section of the California Attorney General's Office, where she investigated and filed lawsuits on a wide range of fraudulent conduct related to the financial crisis.

Ms. Sears holds a BA from Carleton College, a MA from the University of Washington, a PhD in Political Science from the University of Michigan, and a JD from Harvard.

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