Candidate for
Council Member; City of Palo Alto

Marc grew up in Palo Alto and is a proud graduate of the Palo Alto public school system. At Paly, Marc was elected senior class president, served as advertising manager of The Campanile student newspaper and was the goalkeeper on the CCS Champion soccer team.

Committed to Serving Palo Alto

Driven by his passion for service and for the city where he grew up, Marc has been actively involved in many organizations and efforts in Palo Alto and the surrounding community. Most recently, Marc served on Palo Alto's Infrastructure Blue Ribbon Commission, a City Council appointed citizen commission whose charge was to review Palo Alto's vast infrastructure system and advise the Council how to address the growing backlog. In 2010, Marc served on the campaign committee for Measure A, a parcel tax proposal to raise additional money for Palo Alto schools.

Marc serves on the Independent Monitoring Committee (IMC) for the Santa Clara Valley Water District's Clean, Safe Creeks and Natural Flood Protection Program. As chair of the communications sub-committee, Marc has led the effort to simplify the IMC's communications to residents, drastically cutting down on costs and making it easier for residents to understand the status of the projects being paid for with their tax dollars.

Motivated by his belief that government has a positive role to play in society, Marc has become a leader in numerous civic organizations, including serving as President of the Peninsula Democratic Coalition. Marc is also a founding member of the Advisory Board of New Leaders Council + Silicon Valley, a non-partisan, non-profit organization that annually identifies and trains 15 to 20 civic-minded young professionals and provides them with the tools they need to make positive change in our community.

Deep Roots Here at Home

Marc began his public service in Palo Alto, working in Congresswoman Anna Eshoo's district office after his freshman year in college. Marc got his first taste of campaigning the following summer when, as an intern for Congressman Mike Honda's campaign, he often spoke to students at local high schools about the benefits of community involvement and encouraged the students to get involved themselves.

Marc graduated from Georgetown University with a degree in Political Science. While in DC, Marc spent one summer serving as an analyst in the Voting Section of the Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department. Marc went on to graduate from law school at the University of Southern California, where he was elected president of the Student Bar Association and served for two years on the Southern California Law Review.

An attorney with Merino Yebri LLP, Marc has successfully represented pro bono clients seeking protection under the Violence Against Women Act, asylum in the United States due to political persecution in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and has served as pro bono counsel to Spark, a national youth development non-profit based in San Francisco.

A resident of the University South neighborhood, Marc is a passionate fan of the 49ers, Giants, Warriors, Sharks and Georgetown Hoyas basketball.