Mayor & Council

Stephen Zollman

Mayor

As an Army Veteran and a former San Francisco Juvenile Public Defender, Stephen continues to provide representation and advocacy to secure mental health resources for youth facing complex mental health traumas, especially those who are low income, BIPOC, Queer and differently abled. He has ongoing meetings with our Analy High School Principal and others within our county educational system.

He currently serves as co-chair of our county’s childcare planning council and on our county’s Nurse Family Partnership Advisory Board. He also serves as a council appointee to various regional and county bodies and as a liaison to many of our nonprofits. As a past library commissioner, he continues to serve in various roles that look to explore ways to increase library services.

Additional volunteer work includes serving as a small claims court judge pro tem and as a volunteer at our local Humane Society. None of this would be possible without the love and support of his partner, Jim, and their rescue cat, Ben.

Pronouns: He/Him

Term Expires: December 2026

Jill McLewis

Vice Mayor

Jill has an abundance of leadership experience in the Bay Area. With a passion for giving back to the community, Jill served as executive director and board chair for multiple nonprofits and community boards over the years. In these roles, she’s worked in collaboration with both state and local governments to secure maximum funding through grants and annual budgeting initiatives.

Jill holds a Bachelor of Science and a Master of Information Systems in addition to the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification. Using her prior experience in real estate and medical device sales, project management, and information systems implementations, Jill has had great success developing strategic operational and financial plans for organizations. Prior to relocating to Sonoma County, Jill worked in healthcare as a clinician and eventually transitioned into working for a Medical Device startup.

Jill also holds a Baking and Pastry Management degree and is co-owner of a chocolate shop in Sebastopol. As a local realtor and member of the business community she served on the board for the Sebastopol Downtown Association.

Term Expires: December 2026

Phill Carter

Councilmember

Phill Carter is a former business owner and consultant for social enterprises, an independent business consultant, and the founder of a nonprofit open-source database of environmental projects and organizations. He holds an MBA in Finance and Marketing.

Full bio to come.

Term Expires: December 2028

Neysa Hinton

Councilmember

Neysa Hinton is a fourth-generation Sonoma County resident. Born in Petaluma, Neysa grew up in Sebastopol. After graduation, Neysa attended college in Idaho and pursued a career in radio that would span 25 years. She moved back to Sebastopol in 1997, got married, and started a family. Her two grown children, Jordan and Jered, are Sebastopol natives who currently live in Sonoma County.

In 2012, Neysa made the decision to pursue a career in service and became a licensed administrator. She has served as the Executive Director and licensed Administrator for two locally owned Marin County Assisted Living facilities in San Anselmo and San Rafael. The work is both challenging and gratifying and has given Neysa the opportunity to serve our seniors. On any given day, you could find Neysa engaged with staff, residents, and their families, to address a diverse array of needs and help to facilitate happy, fulfilling lives. As a front-line worker, Neysa works tirelessly to serve the residents and staff in the ever changing fast-paced world of healthcare.

Neysa has always had a passion to serve her community. Over the course of her life in West County, Neysa has devoted countless hours volunteering on projects that have benefitted Sebastopol and people who live there.

Neysa’s past projects include helping launch Sebastopol’s Farm Market and serving as its first chairperson. In 1990 Neysa was one of the first women invited to join the Sebastopol Rotary Club. For 21 years she aspired to embody the Rotary Club’s “Service Above Self” motto, participating on various committees that include, “Learn to Swim,” “Read to Me,” Community Grants, Student Exchange, and fundraising events like the popular Lobster Boil and Cajun Festival.

One of Neysa’s most rewarding volunteer experiences came in 2007 when she was selected to lead a team of young professionals on a group exchange focused on health services and education in Guanajuato, Mexico. Living with local families to improve community services strengthened her faith in the ability of ordinary citizens to work together to create positive change.

Neysa is currently serving as a Sebastopol Councilmember through 2024. Neysa previously served as mayor in 2019 & 2023, as vice mayor in 2018 & 2022, and was elected to Sebastopol City Council in 2016.

Neysa is a Fellow of the Leadership Institute For Just and Resilient Communities, Class of 2022.

Neysa currently represents Sebastopol as a Director on the Board of Sonoma County Transportation Authority (SCTA) and the Regional Climate Protection Authority (RCPA). The SCTA acts as the countywide planning and fund programming agency for transportation. RCPA is committed to work on countywide climate protection efforts. Neysa also represents Sebastopol as a Director on the Santa Rosa Plain Groundwater Sustainability Agency (GSA) which was formed in 2017 to manage groundwater in the Santa Rosa Plain groundwater basin. Neysa is also the Primary Member representing Sebastopol on the Board of Directors to California Intergovernmental Risk Authority (CIRA). Locally in 2024, Neysa serves as the alternate to both the Sebastopol Senior Center and the Sebastopol World Friends, as well as a joint member on the Sebastopol Fire Ad Hoc committee. She also serves as 5th District Supervisor, Lynda Hopkins’ appointee as a Director on the Sonoma County Fair Board.

Previously, Neysa has served on the Budget Subcommittee, CalPERS, Park Village, and the Staffing Assessment Subcommittee. She represented Sebastopol on the Russian River Watershed Association and the Mayors and Councilmembers Association of Sonoma County Legislative Committee. Additionally, Neysa was appointed to the Sonoma County Agricultural Preservation and Open Space District Advisory Committee from 2017-2022, by the Mayor and Council Members Association.

Term Expires: December 2028

Sandra Maurer

Councilmember

Councilmember Sandra Maurer is a 36-year Sebastopol resident and the former founding director of the EMF Safety Network. She has been engaged with the Sebastopol City Council since 2007. She helped create public policy on reducing EMFs (electromagnetic fields and wireless radiation) in Sebastopol and beyond. Sandra worked at the California Public Utilities Commission with a legal team and helped obtain a smart meter opt-out for all Investor Owned Utility customers in California. She established two art businesses, one with national distribution. She obtained a $60K grant and contributed to several local projects including the downtown coyote mural, Plaza Occupy bench, Toolbox Project, Pomo Project, Land Paths, Shoes for Kidz, Farm to Pantry, and more. Sandra coordinated and worked on Walk and Roll to School projects whose efforts helped create infrastructure improvements and a Class 1 bike trail for children’s safety. Her activism and experience has given her the tools to best serve the community.