Sophie Hahn

Berkeley City Council Member + Vice Mayor (Retired)

About

I am a public service and policy executive with deep experience leading complex initiatives, building coalitions, and improving outcomes for diverse communities. As a former Berkeley Vice Mayor and City Councilmember, I advanced major efforts in housing, environmental sustainability, early childhood education, community safety, small business support, and social equity. My approach centers on listening carefully, bringing people together, and guiding collaborative processes that lead to clear, durable results. I value transparency, thoughtful decision-making, and solutions grounded in real community needs. I continue to serve on advisory boards for mission-driven organizations, offering strategic guidance informed by decades of public leadership, nonprofit experience, and community engagement. I am open to opportunities where I can contribute meaningfully, including executive leadership roles and advisory work with organizations committed to equity, impact, and the public good.

Country

United States

City

San Francisco

Industry

Government Administration

Skill

Affordable Housing, Affordable Housing Finance, Board Development, Collaborative Problem Solving, Community Organizing, Crisis Management, Public Health, Policy Analysis, French, Fundraising, Legislation, Political Campaigns, Labor Relations, Spanish, Public Libraries, Strategic Planning, Leadership, Task Force, Committees, Industrial Relations

Experience

Berkeley City Council Member + Vice Mayor (Retired)

Berkeley City Council

2016-12 - Present · 9 yrs 10 mos

Served December 2016 - December 2024. Author/Sponsor of 550+ successful legislative items, ballot measures, and major reports addressing Affordable Housing, Homelessness, Public Safety, Climate, Health, Small Business, Equity, Financial Responsibility, and Good Government. KEY ACCOMPLISHMENTS: Reduced unsheltered homelessness by 45%. Authored blueprint for ending homelessness; passed two ballot measures providing critical funds; collaborated with staff and community organizations to rehouse more than 2000 individuals. Responsible for the largest increase in affordable homes since WWII, including traditional and land-trust affordable housing. Authored and passed the largest affordable housing bond measure in Berkeley’s history, providing $135M for more than 2000 units of affordable housing. Introduced and funded first-ever fiscal reserves, raising Berkeley’s bond rating, lowering financing and capital costs, and allowing the City to weather the COVID pandemic with no layoffs or service reductions. Authored and unanimously passed the most far-reaching anti-plastics legislation in the world, replicated in more than 30 U.S. jurisdictions and a model for international anti-plastics treaties. Led a complex, high stakes, eight-year battle to return land to the Ohlone people, resulting in the most significant urban land-back victory in the United States. REGIONAL & COMMITTEE APPOINTMENTS:  Chair, Council Health, Life Enrichment, Equity & Community Policy Committee  Chair, Council Land Use, Housing & Economic Development Policy Committee  Berkeley Public Library Board of Trustees  San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority  Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)  Alameda County Stop Waste  East Bay Community Energy Joint Powers Board  Council Agenda & Rules Committee  Council Budget & Finance Committee  Joint School Board/City Council Committee  Joint Task Force on Housing  Oakland Airport Noise Forum  League of California Cities, East Bay Division

Board Member

San Francisco Bay Restoration Authority

Oversee 9-County public grantmaking agency mitigating sea level rise through nature-based solutions

Trustee

Berkeley Public Library Board of Library Trustees

Governance and Oversight for the Berkeley Public Library

Board Member

City of Berkeley Zoning Adjustments Board

Quasi-judicial public board ruling on applications, appeals and other land use and permitting matters

Committee Chair

Sierra Club, Northern Alameda County Group

Leadership team for policy, advocacy, political endorsements, outreach, fundraising and governance

Chairperson

City of Berkeley Commission on the Status of Women

Initiated campaign to address trafficking, exploitation, and harassment of women in Berkeley, resulting in closure of local “massage parlors” operating as fronts for the sex trade

Co-Chair

15th CA Assembly District Environmental Task Force

Convene organizations, experts, and community stakeholders to shape environmental legislation

Founder

M3 Education Foundation

Organization addressing the needs of African American boys in Middle School Leader in developing organizational strategies, fundraising, and Board development

Boardmember

J. The Jewish News of Northern California

2025-7 - Present · 1 yr 3 mos

Vice Chair

Council of Friends of The Bancroft Library at UC Berkeley

2010 - Present · 16 yrs

Leadership, Fundraising and support for world renown primary source collections at UC Berkeley

Education

Stanford Law School

Co-Chairperson, Women of Stanford Law Human Rights and Immigration Law Clinics Externship at the Henry Dunant Institute, Red Cross (Humanitarian Law), Geneva, Switzerland

Rutgers School of Management and Labor Relations (SMLR)

Labor and Industrial Relations

Co-teacher, The Law of Employment Relations Coursework in labor relations, organizational behavior, workplace equity, social sciences, and statistical methodology