Our Board of Directors

Gloria Chun Hoo has been a League member since 1995 but did not become actively involved until she retired in 2010. She has served in various leadership roles, including president of our local League, on the Bay Area LWV Board, and on the state board where she chaired the LWVC legislation committee for a number of years. A graduate of Boston University where she earned a degree in journalism, Gloria grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii and has a wide range of interests. While a student she volunteered in Boston’s Chinatown and was founding editor of a bilingual newspaper, the SAMPAN, and later produced a weekly public affairs TV program “Asian Focus.” She was a member of the YWCA national board and various other nonprofits. Her public service locally included serving on the San Jose Planning Commission and as a member of the Santa Clara County Open Space Authority’s Citizens Advisory Committee, among others. Career-wise, she worked in corporate and museum PR and marketing.

Dr. Beth Polito has lived in San Jose for 27 years. She is originally from Ontario, Canada and came to the Bay Area for college. Beth has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership from the University of San Francisco, a Graduate Degree in Educational Administration from Santa Clara University and a Bachelor’s of Science in Social Science from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She recently retired after 14 years serving as a Superintendent in both Woodside Elementary School District and Las Lomitas Elementary School District. Since her retirement Beth has serves as a Court Appointed Special Advocate for a foster youth, co-leads the Association of California School Administrators as President Elect for Region 8’s Retiree group and consults with the Stanford Graduate School of Education in their Superintendent and Principal Learning Communities. Beth joined the League a year ago and has served on the Membership Committee as well as helped with candidate forums, legislative interviews and voter registration.

Vernette Drake has resided in San Jose for the past 35 years. She graduated from Sacramento State University with a BS degree in Biological Science. Vernette worked for State Farm Insurance both as a Claim Representative and Office Manager for a total of 36 years. Her passion for voting and civil rights fueled her to join the League in 2023, and then again in 2025. She is currently a part of the Membership Committee and has also volunteered with the Voter Service Committee.

A League of Women Voters lifetime member, Susan first joined the League in 1976 in St. Charles, Illinois where she served in several capacities including president. In 1982, after a two year stay in Germany, she and her family moved to San Jose at which time she joined the League of Women Voters San Jose/Santa Clara. She became an Enrolled Agent in 1985 and started a business with a friend in 1994. For 30 years their business provided tax and financial services to individuals and small businesses. The business was sold in January 2025 allowing both to retire while still having the energy to enjoy it.

Elizabeth is a native of San Jose and received her B.A in Sociology with a concentration in Community Change and a double minor in Chicano/a Studies and Child and Adolescent Development from San José State University. Currently employed as an Associate Director at a higher education nonprofit and previously a community organizer in East San Jose, she continues to enjoy her free time participating in development programs and community events. Elizabeth joined the League of Women Voters in summer 2024 and was involved in the Pros and Cons team during the 2024 General Election.

Julie is British and two years ago became a naturalized citizen of the U.S. so that she could vote! She joined the League two years ago after meeting other members and because Julie is a strong believer in democracy and equal justice for all. She is also a member of the Assistance League of San Jose, where she reads to kids in San Jose schools and tests the eyesight of preschool children. At home Julie manages her website of black and white fine art photographs - Redwoodgalleryca.com. Julie is currently co-chair of the Membership Committee.

Tom joined the League in early 2023 after getting to know LWV members around the state through his involvement in the ranked choice voting (RCV) reform movement. He works on our League's technology infrastructure and enjoys the voter education aspect of the League's work. He's a father of two young children but makes time to volunteer because he believes systemic change at all levels of government is the durable way to improve our politics. He co-founded the California RCV Coalition in 2021 and is active in the effort to expand RCV and Proportional RCV around the state.

Michelle grew up and attended school in the Bay Area, earning her BA in Political Science with a Minor in English from UC Berkeley. Shortly after graduating college, she moved to San Jose, where she now resides. After working on a voter registration project, various elections, and the BART to San Jose Project, she eventually dedicated her career to public service at the Santa Clara County Probation Department, serving as a Deputy Probation Officer and later a Supervising Probation Officer in various assignments in both the adult and juvenile divisions (however juvenile justice was the primary focus of her career and where her heart is). After retiring in 2022, Michelle was excited to return to her first passion of voter registration and education. Aware of the League of Women Voters, its reputation and commitment to an informed electorate, Michelle sought to join the league. She is currently Co-Chair of the Voter Services Committee with Sandy Mory and thus far has served in the areas of voter education, voter registration and candidate forums. Michelle believes the League's dedication to an informed, engaged electorate and public policy advocacy are more important than they have ever been, and she is proud to be a part of this work.

Danette is a lifelong resident of East San Jose and a committed community volunteer with Latinas Contra Cancer and the Farmworkers Caravan Program that each month delivers supplies and food to farmworkers in Santa Clara and San Benito counties and the Monterey/Salinas area. Professionally, she has more than 20 years of experience as an event planner for large and medium size organizations and is in the process of launching her own enterprise focused on home furnishings and one-of-a-kind home accessories. She joined the League in 2023 and has been an active member of the Membership Committee.

Leslie joined LWVSJ/SC more than 10 years ago as a result of an invitation by a long-time League member. She soon joined the Climate Change/Natural Resources Committee, later serving as its secretary and then served as the Board Secretary for several years. Her primary interest on the Climate Change Committee has been studying and reporting on the implications of sea rise to our local area. She retired from the City of San José and with her husband of 50+ years is enjoying their five (soon to be six) grandchildren, outdoor and community activities, and keeping up with local and national current events.

Diane McNutt is a native of San Jose with a B.A. in Journalism and M.S. in Mass Communications from San José State University. She owned her own PR/marketing communications business for more than 30 years and she founded and served as Faculty Director of the SJSU Certificate in Marketing Communications program. Diane also has experience as an elected official, serving on the Los Gatos Town Council for 12 years including two stints as Mayor. She joined the League in 2018 and became Communications Director in 2020, a position she still holds. She served as President of the League for four years 2021-2026.

After training as a particle physicist at Stanford Linear Accelerator Center (SLAC), Tom worked for 20 years in the tech industry. When he retired in 2017, he decided to focus his volunteer activity on civic engagement and oversight. Tom served on the Civil Grand Jury in 2021 and has served on the San Jose Board of Fair Campaign and Political Practices since 2022. The LWV seemed like a logical next step in 2023 and he is still looking for how best to apply his experience here. Tom has been active on the Action Committee and organizing the educational program around public financing. He has worked on legislative interviews, pros and cons presentations, and the Federal Judiciary Study. He has also been working with LWVC on legislative analyses and campaign finance reporting.

Teresa O’Neill is a native of the Santa Clara Valley who attended Santa Clara public schools before graduating from Stanford University. Teresa worked for many years at Hewlett-Packard Company in a range of capacities, finishing her career in HP’s Corporate Legal Department, where she negotiated major agreements with strategic partners and suppliers. While at HP, Teresa began volunteering at nonprofit groups, often in a leadership role. Teresa was an elected member of the Board of Education of the Santa Clara Unified School District, where she was also involved in regional and state public education issues. She later was appointed to the Santa Clara Planning Commission and then elected to the Santa Clara City Council. While on the City Council, she also served at other various public agencies, including as Chair of the Valley Transportation Authority and the Northern California Power Agency. She continues to serve on several nonprofit boards. Teresa was introduced to the League of Women Voters as a child through the involvement of her mother and her mother’s friends who volunteered with the League. Teresa strongly believes in the mission of the League of Women Voters to build an informed and engaged electorate here locally and throughout the United States.

Laurel Prevetti has been a local government professional for almost 40 years. She worked 28 years for the City of San Jose in the Department of Planning, Building and Code Enforcement. She spent 10 years with the Town of Los Gatos, of which she served nine years as the Town Manager. Laurel also taught for about 14 years in the Master’s Program of Urban and Regional Planning with San Jose State University. Now retired, Laurel enjoys volunteering with local and regional nonprofits and continuing to coach, mentor, and train government professionals. Laurel has both her Master’s and Bachelor's degrees from the University of California at Berkeley.

Carol joined the League in 1993 after retiring from IBM while living in Los Altos. She served on the board of LWV Los Altos/Mountain View for several years including two years as president. She worked on the first or very early editions of several League web sites: local, state, SmartVoter, and League Easy Web. Moving to San Jose in 2004, she joined our League. She was honored to serve as president from 2019-22 and as chair of the Leagues of Women Voters of Santa Clara County from 2024-26. She updates our web site and administers our online work. She enjoys working with such a talented and dedicated board and serving on the Membership Team.