Jessica Ho

I am proud to serve the residents of the Sunset District as a  legislative aide to District 4 Supervisor Katy Tang. My focus is on enhancing neighborhood and merchant corridor vitality, increasing public safety, providing housing that families can afford and improving transportation and pedestrian safety.

I work every day to make the Sunset a vibrant and welcoming community for everyone.

My roots in the Sunset trace back to my grandmother, who immigrated here and settled in the Sunset in 1980. After graduating from UC-Berkeley, I lived in our family’s home and I fell in love with the Sunset. I found my home in this unique slice of the City and was wooed by the charming mom-and-pop shops, the many cultures and mixed generations of my neighbors and the ever-changing, but always dramatic, weather.

I stayed in San Francisco and began my career in public health by becoming a registered dietician at UCSF. It was from the vantage point of working with patients on their individual health goals that I saw firsthand the impact of public health policy and became a passionate advocate for public health system changes.

I then pursued a master’s degree in public health and health policy from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health while also gaining on-the-ground legislative experience as an intern for former District 4 Supervisor Carmen Chu. I soon had the chance to affect policy statewide and took a position at the California Department of Social Services (CDSS), providing recommendations to Gov. Jerry Brown on proposed legislation that affected residential care facilities for the elderly and adults with disabilities, foster youth and child day care centers.

Before joining Tang’s office, I most recently worked as the senior health advisor to Los Angeles County Board Supervisor Janice Hahn, where I deepened my expertise on large scale public health issues. I advocated for programs to improve air quality and prevent Hepatitis A outbreaks; helped to launch the first mobile stroke unit on the West Coast; and identified new strategies to tackle the city’s homeless crisis.

Whether patients or constituents, my priority will always be people. I want to make sure our local policies and programs support people and their communities to be the best that they can be. That’s why my top priorities for the Sunset are: building more housing that is affordable so families and working people are able to continue to live here; ensuring safe and clean streets that residents and merchants can be proud of; and addressing homelessness and its frequent root cause, mental illness, by providing housing, services and stability for homeless individuals.

My life’s work is caring for those in need. I will continue this important pursuit as I focus on improving the quality of life for all residents of the Sunset.

www.jessicaho.org