December 2, 2005

District 8 Report

Meet your San Jose District 8 council staff

By Dave Cortese
Special to the Times

Happy Holidays from the District 8 Staff. Here at District 8, we wish to continue to provide you with expedient and comprehensive service, advocate for parks and library projects in our district and expand opportunities for growth.

That said, I thought it prudent to reintroduce your District 8 council staff since we have undergone some changes over the past year, including an exciting move to the brand new San Jose City Hall.

Plus, when you contact our office, you will know exactly who to speak with based on your issue. Our new contact information is: San Jose City Hall, 200 E. Santa Clara St., San Jose, Calif., 95110. Phone: (408) 535-4908; Fax: (408) 292-6469. Individual e-mails for all staff members are included in this article.

Rabia Chaudhry, Chief of Staff
Rabia was born and raised on Long Island, N.Y. She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science and English from the State University of New York at Stony Brook.

Upon graduation she went to work as an analyst for the city of New York/Parks & Recreation–Work Experience Program and later as the Yankee Stadium Coordinator. Rabia has been with my office since August 2001.

Rabia is responsible for helping to oversee staff functions, manage and coordinate agenda items for the weekly council meetings and for supporting the budgeting process for the district. She works closely on the Evergreen-East Hills Visioning Project, land use, public safety, community centers and economic development issues.

Her e-mail is Rabia.Chaudhry@sanjoseca.gov.

Adrianna Cota, Administrative Assistant
Adrianna is a native of East San Jose. She has tremendous experience in fast-paced office settings gained in such places as Viking Freight, MCI, E*Trade, Anderson Consulting and Litton Applied Technology. Before joining the District 8 council office, she worked for Cisco Systems and prior to that, the Cortese Brothers.

Adrianna manages my schedule and is the gateway for inquiries to the office. She can help route your query to the appropriate staff person. Additionally, she manages the District 8 Web site, Hewlett-Packard Grants and several special events and projects.

Her e-mail is Adrianna.Cota@sanjoseca.gov.

Graham Grossman, Council Aide
Graham was born and raised in Glendale. He is a recent graduate of Santa Clara University where he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and Spanish Studies. He holds a minor in international studies.

Graham is a fan of the outdoors and likes to take advantage of the city’s parks and trail systems.

Graham has a strong focus on neighborhoods and community development and he works closely on the District 8 Community Roundtable, transportation, green space and trails, sports authority, parks and recreation, code enforcement, neighborhood clean-ups, environmental issues and arts issues.

His e-mail is Graham.Grossman@sanjoseca.gov.

The-Vu Nguyen, Community Outreach Coordinator
The-Vu was born in Vietnam and came to the United States in 1981. He attended Evergreen Valley College and San Jose State University and holds a master’s degree in Spiritual Human Yoga. Active in the community, The-Vu is the founder and president of the Vietnamese Ameri-can Community Action Team (VACAT) and works extensively with the Vietnamese Ameri-can Community on issues such as gang prevention, truancy and wellness.

As the Community Outreach Coordinator for the District 8 office, The-Vu works closely with the ethnic communities in Evergreen and around the city. He is responsible for neighborhood organizing, school safety, library issues and senior issues. Additionally he has taken a lead role in the District 8 Gateway Signage project.

His e-mail address is The-vu.Nguyen@sanjoseca.gov.

Michelle Pelayo, Council Aide
Michelle was born and raised in East San Jose. She attended the National Hispanic University where she received her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Studies with a Cross Cultural Emphasis.

She interned for the Institute for Non-Violence Conflict Resolution with the County of Santa Clara and served as a Liberal Studies Assistant at the National His-panic University. In addition, Michelle has been involved with many non-profit organizations such as the Dolores Huerta Foundation and the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) where she currently serves as a California Young Adult Commissioner.

Michelle has a strong focus on neighborhoods and community development, Strong Neighbor-hoods Initiative (SNI), Healthy Neighborhood Venture Fund (HNVF), code enforcement, education, Day in the Park and youth issues.

Her e-mail is Michelle.Pelayo@sanjoseca.gov.

Hiep Vo, Part-time Council Aide
Hiep was born in Vietnam and came to the Evergreen area in 1980. He attended the University of Santa Barbara where he received his bachelor’s degree in Law and Society.

Hiep has recently rejoined the District 8 staff after taking a short break to attend Law School at Lincoln Law in San Jose. In addition, he works for his family business in East San Jose.

Hiep has a strong focus on neighborhoods and community development, after school program/homework centers, school safety, childcare issues and is the lead for the Evergreen Farmer’s Market.

His e-mail is Hiep.Vo@sanjose ca.gov.

Kevin Liao, District 8 Youth Commissioner
Kevin was recently appointed by me to serve as the District 8 representative on the City’s Youth Commission. He is a freshman at Evergreen Valley High School and has a tremendous amount of volunteer experience. To contact Kevin, please call my office.


The District 8 Council Office exists to listen and respond to your concerns and advocate for you here at City Hall. I hope you will not hesitate in contacting my staff or me directly at (408) 535-4908 or Dave.Cortese@sanjoseca.gov on any matter.

There are many great things on the horizon for Evergreen, and I hope you will join us in planning a grand future for generations to come.