Jennifer received her BA in Political Science in 1990 from UC Riverside, and her JD in 1993 from McGeorge School of Law.  She currently serves as an Administrative Law Judge for the San Francisco Human Services Agency. From 1999 to 2012, she was a Deputy City Attorney for the San Francisco City Attorney’s Office. She initially served as trial counsel for the San Francisco Human Services Agency, and then became General Counsel to the Agency and served in that capacity for over 10 years.

She also handled all appeals and writs generated from the City Attorney’s juvenile dependency unit. As General Counsel, Jennifer provided legal advice regarding the administration of the dependency division, all public assistance programs, including General Assistance, CalWORKS, and Food Stamps, and the San Francisco Adult Protective Services division. She also worked with the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on legislation impacting the populations served under these programs. 

Jennifer began her career in 1994 in the Riverside County Counsel’s office handling child abuse and neglect cases at both the trial and appellate levels. She then worked for the Administrative Office of the Courts under a federal grant to improve statewide compliance with Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. There, she spent time in multiple California counties, working with social services agencies, probation departments, and juvenile courts, improving compliance with federal requirements in juvenile matters. She has argued before the California Supreme Court and on numerous occasions before California Courts of Appeal, and has provided statewide training for attorneys handling juvenile dependency matters. She continues to consult on dependency writs and appeals. Since 2010, Jennifer also has been a contributing author to Seiser and Kumli on California Juvenile Courts Practice and Procedure.