Mayor Pam O’Connor Santa Monica, California

Pam O’Connor was first elected to Santa Monica City Council in 1994, and is currently in her fourth term as Mayor. Throughout nearly two decades of continuous service, Mayor O’Connor has championed policies and partnerships that enhance community livability. She is particularly interested in issues that advance mobility, transportation and sustainability.

Mayor O’Connor has served on the Los Angeles County Metro Board since 2001, steering the planning, coordination, design, construction, and operation of the transportation/transit system for the nation’s most populous county. In this capacity, she leads Metro’s Sustainability Committee. Pam O’Connor is also the Vice-Chair of the Exposition Metro Line Construction Authority Board that oversees construction of the light rail line that extends from Downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica.

Mayor O’Connor has also served as president of the Southern California Association of Governments, a metropolitan planning organization representing six counties. Pam O’Connor led the 84-member regional council in the unanimous adoption of the region’s first Sustainable Communities Strategy in 2012.

Pam O’Connor also served on the California Coastal Commission as an alternate from 2010 to 2012. This quasi-judicial regulatory body oversees land use issues that impact California’s coastline, with the goal of protecting and conserving the environment and preserving public access to this natural resource.

Mayor O’Connor works with cities throughout the world on environmental, sustainability and climate issues as a member of ICLEI Local Governments for Sustainability-USA Board. She is on the Board of Directors of the Local Government Commission and the California Transit Association. Mayor O’Connor is also on Advisory Boards for the Santa Monica College Public Policy Institute, UCLA’s Lewis Center in the Luskin School of Public Affairs, and the University of California Collaboration on Sustainable Communities. She is an active member of the National League of Cities and the US Conference of Mayors.

Mayor O’Connor’s achievements have been recognized by the Southern California coalition Mobility 21’s Public Sector Leader of the Year (2012), Move LA Award (2012), LA League of Conservation Voters Environmental Champion Award (2012), Los Angeles County Chair’s Green Leadership Award (2008), American Planning Association—LA Distinguished Leadership Elected Official (2006). Pam O’Connor was also recognized as one of the 25 Most Influential Women in Transportation in Southern California by the Women’s Transportation Seminar (2010).

As a professional urban planning consultant, Ms. O'Connor specializes in historic preservation. She has worked on significant historic buildings throughout Southern California including the Los Angeles City Hall Seismic Rehabilitation, and at institutions including the University of California Los Angeles, University of Southern California, California State University campuses, Los Angeles Community College, and Occidental College. Her expertise includes environmental review and rehabilitation of historic resources. Other previous positions of note: include: Director of the National Trust for Historic Preservation's Northridge Earthquake recovery partnership program; Planner for the City of Pasadena, and Research Associate at the Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research at the University of Michigan.

Pam O’Connor holds Masters’ degrees in Planning and in Technology Management from Eastern Michigan University and a B.S. in Communications from Southern Illinois University.

Mayor O’Connor views community wellbeing as the natural next step in the evolution of local government, as well as a way to advance the connection between mobility and sustainability issues by looking their impact through the lens of human flourishing.