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| Jeanne's Biography | |||||
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Jeanne (MacArthur) MacLeamy grew up in Flint, Michigan and earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the School of Architecture at the
University of Michigan in 1968. She became a licensed California architect in 1976. As Jeanne was launching her professional career,
she also initiated a lifelong commitment to volunteer projects that included Chair San Francisco Junior
League professional women, board member Exploratorium Museum, Board Chair Saint Mark’s School and various homeowner’s association positions.
Jeanne’s passion for education was exemplified when she and a friend initiated a science program at Dixie School
that ultimately won the Golden Bell award. Her commitment to preserving Novato’s precious natural setting was
demonstrated when she and her husband led a successful community effort, against the threat of development, to purchase and preserve 178 acres, including a spectacular waterfall, as permanent open space. In 1974, Jeanne joined Hellmuth, Obata & Kassabaum (HOK), one of the largest architectural and engineering firms in the world. She was the first woman promoted to the level of vice president. At HOK, Jeanne was project architect for the Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco and project manager for the Cecil H. Green Graduate Library at Stanford University. Jeanne met her husband, Patrick, also an architect, at HOK. Today Patrick is CEO of HOK and serves on the Novato Design Review Commission. Their daughter Elisabeth is married, mother of a new baby and works as the consumer correspondent for ABC’s Good Morning America and son Patrick is married and pursuing a doctoral degree in clinical psychology at Stanford University. Jeanne was inspired to start her own architectural firm to allow more flexibility when the children were young. She has been responsible for a variety of new buildings and renovations in Marin County and around the Bay Area. Most recognizable to Novato residents might be Rolling Hills Club, now the Meridian Sports Club at Rolling Hills, where Jeanne was the architect for 15 years. Jeanne was the design architect for the multi-purpose/gymnasium and the art, music and science classroom buildings for Saint Mark’s School. To her honor and amazement, Saint Mark’s named the latter the Jeanne MacLeamy Arts & Science Building. Jeanne and family moved to Novato in 1984, where she and her husband designed their own home in picturesque Pacheco Valley. Jeanne started her service to the City of Novato when she was appointed to the Design Review Committee in 1997. During Jeanne’s tenure, the Design Review Committee initiated the “work shop” process that involved neighbors and developers early on and recommended to the City Council that the hillside and ridge line ordinances be strengthened. Jeanne’s philosophy as a member of the Committee was that new developments should be appropriate for their sites, for their neighborhoods and for the people of Novato. In 2003, Jeanne ran for Novato City Council. She ran on a platform of protecting hillsides and ridge lines, maintaining the focus on Downtown and the Old Town Business District and on keeping Novato safe by reducing the high turnover in the police department. In Jeanne’s first month in office, the City Council approved a hillside and ridge line ordinance that has had a positive impact on adjacent neighborhoods. She realizes that more needs to be done to plot out specific ridge lines and hillsides for protection, as well as appropriate densities and land use in all areas of Novato. Early on in her term, the City Council hired a city manager and police chief. Soon a strategic planning process became the organizational tool to keep the City Council focused on long and short-range goals. Jeanne is a strong advocate of strategic planning that is laying the foundation for sound financial planning, capital and infrastructure improvements and maintenance and improved efficiency and effectiveness of government. Whether designing buildings or designing community programs, there’s one constant that is woven throughout Jeanne’s professional and volunteer career: When faced with conflicting points of view, she listens carefully and respectfully, and then works to make well reasoned decisions or proposes creative solutions. This open and fair-mindedness is a skill that has served Jeanne well in the past and will serve Novato well in the future. |