About Kris

I’m Collaborative and Community-Focused with a proven track record of bringing people together to solve problems. I’m ready to apply my skills and experience and to serve the people of Paso Robles.

  • EPA Award

  • Street Cleanup

  • Glen Speck

  • Traffic control

  • My Son and Me

  • Legislative Outreach

  • Farmworker Education

  • Point in Time Count of Unhoused

  • Scholarships for First Generation College Students

  • Battle of the Books

Meet Kris

My family came to Paso Robles in the 1970s when I was a young girl. I was a 4-H member, a Pioneer Player, and a Paso Robles High School graduate. I earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cal Poly. I was a single mom, a baseball mom, and a Bearcat mom. 

A few years after graduating from Cal Poly, I led the Vineyard Team, a local non-profit dedicated to sustainable farming in six Central Coast counties. As its founding Executive Director for over 20 years, the board entrusted me with the nuts and bolts of budgets, staffing, and research and education programs. We listened to stakeholders and fostered collaboration among people with different viewpoints: government agencies, community members, environmentalists, and large and small farmers. I’m especially proud of our Spanish language education programs for vineyard workers, and a college scholarship program for the children of those laborers.

You might see me volunteering in the community in different ways: set up, clean up, serving at community and non-profit events; community education and outreach; or connecting to the schools through committees and volunteering.

  • Paso Robles High School, ‘83

    Cal Poly, Political Science Bachelor of Arts, ‘90

    Cal Poly, Agriculture, Master of Science, ‘94

  • 1994 - 1998 | Research Assistant, Irrigation Training and Research Center

    1994 - 1999 | Instructor, Cal Poly Agricultural Engineering Department

    1998 - 2021 | Executive Director, Central Coast Vineyard Team

    2021 - Present | Consultant — I currently consult with a non-profit on a grant funded project conducting dry-farm education throughout the Central Coast (meetings, website, videos). I do not have a financial stake with any landowners in the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin, nor does the non-profit. The City Attorney advised me on potential conflicts of interest and concluded that I do not have a conflict regarding the basin.

  • Profile in Leadership, California Agricultural Leadership Program (Selected by Peers)

    SLO County Wine Industry Person of the Year (Selected by Peers)

    Environmental Stewardship Program, US Environmental Protection Agency

    California Agricultural Leadership Program (Class 31)

    IPM Innovator Award, CA Department of Pesticide Regulation

  • Led the Vineyard Team, a local non-profit dedicated to sustainable vineyard practices, for 23 years where I represented 300 members in 6 counties

    Initiated Spanish language farmworker education with the Vineyard Team

    Negotiated regulatory recognition for sustainably certified farmers with Regional Water Quality Control Board

    Participated in Paso Robles Joint Unified School District committees

    Volunteer for several local organizations: ECHO, Paso Robles Education Alliance, Juneteenth, Dia del Nino, Boys & Girls Club, and more

    Created scholarship program for first generation college students

    Contributed to the SLOCO Master Water Plan (1997)

  • I’ve heard concerns regarding a potential conflict of interest I might have regarding the Paso Robles Groundwater Basin. I currently consult with a non-profit on a grant funded project coordinating dry farm vineyard education throughout the Central Coast (meetings, website, videos). I do not have a financial stake with any landowners in the Basin, nor does the non-profit. I consulted the City Attorney soon after I was sworn in, and they concluded that I do not have a conflict regarding the basin. All of my disclosures as a candidate and council member are public record. Obviously I will consult with the attorney if my circumstances change. I am in a position of public trust, and I take my obligations and responsibilities as a City Councilmember seriously