Testimonials

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Most change happens incrementally, at a pace so slow that it is sometimes difficult to perceive.

Marti is a different kind of leader, inspiring and delivering big leaps forward leaving in her wake a citizenry that thinks differently about themselves, and takes hold of their right to self-determination.

Marti is a natural policy strategist. She easily sees and implements the policy steps necessary to move a project or policy objective forward. And if that doesn't work, she regroups and tries another approach.

Marti has that rare combination of vision, planning and execution. She knows how to get things done.

Marti would be a valuable asset to any management team, especially in government. I recommend her highly.

Marti is no stranger to making tough fiscal choices. 

During  her tenure on the Vallejo City Council she had to choose between a  sustainable future that the city could afford and one that would send it  straight back into bankruptcy. It meant reducing employee salaries,  health care and pensions; closing fire stations; and reducing city  staffing levels in order to keep the doors of city hall open. 

It  takes experienced leadership to make difficult yet responsible  financial decisions especially when they aren't popular. And Marti's got  it!

Marti  Brown is one of those very rare individuals who combines cutting edge  vision with world-class substanitive action and achieves sustaining  results. 

Her  remarkable track record as a civic leader in the city of Vallejo,  California is a stunning series of achievements empowering citizens with  legislative and grassroots tools that create positive change in  Democracy and government.

In  2010, then City Councilwoman Brown called out of the blue and asked if a  Sonoma State planning class could update Vallejo's entire general plan -  for free. 

Wishful  thinking, I thought, not yet knowing that Marti was a super determined  force of nature undeterred by shoestring budgets. 

Fast  forward to today, Vallejo has adopted its first climate action plan,  received a large grant and is comprehensively updating the Vallejo  General Plan and other planning documents. 

Marti is an optimistic policy wonk who knows how to get things done!

Leadership is one of the key factors in how we select Code for America (CfA) Fellowship Partners.

It  was evident what an incredible leader Marti was after speaking with her  just a few times. Her ability to see the big picture, influence and  bring others along with her vision was even more evident when the  Vallejo City Council made partnering with CfA a key priority for  improving how the city delivers public safety services to its citizenry.

Marti is a proven leader, civil servant and she’ll always stand out in a crowd! 

Marti is one of the most dedicated, energetic, emotionally intelligent and positive people I've ever worked with. 

We worked closely together over a period of years on a major community campaign in Vallejo that required extensive organizing, planning, teamwork, and public relations, as well as the willingness to take a stand for a vision for the City against tough odds. 

Though we had the community's support, we were volunteers working against a strong tide of well-funded legal and political opposition. Due in large part to Marti's leadership, we prevailed and the result was a huge win for Vallejo. 

Despite the challenges of politics, Marti saw the potential to serve the community as a city council member, and there she chose to take the high road and initiate campaigns that brought residents together to shape the future of Vallejo. 

I would highly recommend Marti for any position, especially in communities that want to go from languishing to thriving.

Marti Brown has the skill and insight to identify and address multi-faceted problems that would confound many. 

For example, food insecurity in Vallejo is well documented to include 5 food deserts affecting the lives of thousands of residents.  Not satisfied with the way our City was addressing this situation, Marti focused on creative solutions to bring the community together to begin a more inclusive conversation.  It was thru her visionary leadership that the stage was set to deepen the conversations that impact the way we address hunger in our community to this day. 

Marti is a rare combination of energy and steely resolve to make positive change happen in a sustainable, well thought out fashion.   It is and always will be my pleasure to work with her as I hold her ideals in the highest regard. 

There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not? 
~ Robert Kennedy

Marti not only dreams of things that never were, but, when she sees things that could make a difference in her Community, she becomes a disrupter.  A disrupter is a person who makes life different because she acts. And she brings others along with her.

For more than 40 years, no elected City of Vallejo official could be fiscally responsible.  Virtually all of the City’s revenue was spent as dictated by labor contracts written through Binding Interest Arbitration (BIA).

For Marti and her City Council colleagues had the opportunity to spend the City’s money for the benefit of the entire Community and not just for the benefit of the City employees, to act fiscally responsibly, she recognized that BIA must be removed from the Vallejo City Charter.

Despite the fact that there had been a number of unsuccessful attempts to do this in the past, Marti knew it had to happen.

Marti will be the first to point out that she didn’t do it herself.  She brought together a number of concerned citizens who were willing to join in her efforts and, against, enormous odds, they succeeded in bringing the Measure to the vote of the people and BIA was removed from the Charter.

The City is still burdened by contracts that were negotiated under BIA, but future City Councils have the opportunity to act with greater fiscal responsibility.

This would not have happened had it not been for Marti’s efforts. 

Marti is a smart and principled planning professional with tremendous energy and enthusiasm for city planning and management.

She is a skilled advisor and negotiator, who is both politically savvy and extremely practical. She works hard and knows how to build consensus and community to get results.

I recommend her highly.

I met Marti through our work as Redevelopment Planners at SHRA. We quickly became friends because I trust her. Marti doesn't wait for things to happen, she moves forward to make them happen.  She is observant in her interactions socially & politically.  I admire her continued dedication to the community on all levels. 

 Marti’s vision for the City of Vallejo [e.g., Participatory Budgeting] and her practical way to implement it inspires and emboldens current and future leaders to continue aiming for greater heights and more courageous public policies.

When it comes to government, Marti has an aptitude for re-awakening people’s right to self-determination and their call for higher levels of government accountability and transparency.