Judith Hasko

I am originally from Connecticut and spent several years in each of New York, Wisconsin and England during my undergraduate and graduate education.  I first moved to the Bay Area to work while writing my Master’s thesis and was fortunate to secure a position in biotechnology research at Genentech.  During this time, I lived in Berkeley and Oakland.  I became fascinated by the complexity of developing new treatments for diseases and decided to pursue a law degree to complement my scientific training.  My husband, Philip Reilly, and I moved to Madison, Wisconsin, during which time I studied law and he fulfilled a post-doctoral commitment.  
 

We both realized that we missed the Bay Area immensely, with its great natural beauty and wealth of talented and diverse residents.   When we returned from Wisconsin, we moved to Palo Alto, where I started my law practice, and my husband transitioned to a legal career, attending Stanford Law School.  In my law practice, I combined my legal and scientific interests and now advise life sciences companies in structuring and negotiating collaborations with other companies to discover and develop new treatments or cures for disease.  My husband pursued other paths, including as a law firm associate, in-house counsel and, notably, as sole proprietor of Portola Valley Breads for several years.

We moved to Portola Valley in 2007, after spending innumerable hours hiking, running, bicycling and horseback riding in the Town.  We were attracted by the sheer physical beauty of the Town, its peaceful environment and its residents' clear appreciation of the Town's trails and paths.  With a nearly equal number of miles of paved roads and trails and paths, Portola Valley offered a perfect environment in which we could settle.  After moving to the Town, we learned about its unique history (thank you, Nancy Lund, for your authoritative history of the Town), and came to know many of its residents.

After several years of traveling back and forth to the east coast to assist my aging parents with various matters, I decided to volunteer for the Town and was appointed to the Trails and Paths Committee, the Portola Road Corridor Plan Task Force, the 2013 Ad Hoc Affordable Housing Committee and the Ad-Hoc Committee on Housing on Town Owned Property.   For the last 8 years, I have served as a Commissioner on the Planning Commission.  Through my 12 years of service for the Town, I have had the opportunity to help navigate issues important to Town residents and have had the chance to meet and listen to many community members during meetings of these bodies.  These experiences have made me appreciate how involved members of this highly informed and engaged community can be.  Through this experience, and based on my educational and professional training, I am well-qualified to serve on the Town Council.