About me: Jackie Speier was born in San Francisco and grew up on the Peninsula. Her father, Fred, a teamster, and her mother, Nancy, a seamstress, raised Jackie and her brother to be independent and hard working.
While attending public schools in South San Francisco, Jackie learned judo from legendary Cahill's Academy in San Bruno where she achieved the level of brown belt. She graduated from Mercy High School in Burlingame, and received her BA from UC Davis and her JD from UC Hastings College of the Law.
After becoming legal counsel to Congressman Leo J. Ryan, she accompanied him in November 1978, to Jonestown, Guyana to investigate the People's Temple. The Congressman was assassinated, and Jackie was shot five times and left for dead. As she has said many times, those 22 hours of waiting for help to arrive, alone on the tarmac, molded her philosophy, her zest for work and life, and proved to her that no one is guaranteed a tomorrow.
After returning home, Jackie became the youngest person ever elected to the San Mateo County Board of Supervisors. After six years as a Supervisor, Jackie went on to serve 10 years in the California State Assembly. In 1998, she was elected to the State Senate, where she represented San Francisco and San Mateo County for eight years. During her tenure in the legislature Jackie achieved an impressive record with over 300 pieces of legislation signed into law by both Democratic and Republican Governors. She has authored groundbreaking legislation in privacy and consumer protection, child welfare, and healthcare. Many of her bills have become templates for other state and national legislation.
Jackie received "Legislator of the Year" honors from many groups, including the League of California Cities and the California School Board Association. The American Medical Association has given Jackie their national award for outstanding government service. Vote the Coast recognized her with their Coastal Steward Award. Other accolades have come from groups as diverse as the Professional Association for Childhood Education, the California Certified Organic Farmers, the California National Organization for Women, the San Mateo Business and Development Group, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, Mobilization Against AIDS and Planned Parenthood of California.
Jackie's first husband, Steve Sierra, was killed in a car accident, leaving her a single mother for eight years. Jackie is now married to Barry Dennis. She has two children, Jackson Sierra, a sophomore in college, and Stephanie Sierra, an eighth grader. She is currently of counsel at the law firm of Hanson Bridgett LLP, in San Francisco.
