Jennifer Campbell: City Manager

Jennifer has over 30 years in local government experience. Jennifer Campbell has previously served as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Encinitas since July 2021.  She assisted with day-to-day operations of the city, oversight of department heads, communications, legislative programs, and various city projects. 

Jennifer joined the City in July 2016 as the Director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts. Before coming to California, Jennifer spent most of her career in Arizona.  Her career initially was in the field of Parks and Recreation.  Jennifer’s last position in Arizona was as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Glendale.  She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Recreation Management and a Master’s Degree in Education with an emphasis in Public Administration. 

Jennifer is an active member of the California City Management Foundation and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), where she is a Credentialed Manager. This designation signifies that she has met ICMA’s rigorous standards for education, experience, integrity, and a demonstrated commitment to continuous learning and professional development.

Jace Schwarm: Assistant City Manager 

Jace Schwarm started her career with the City of Encinitas in 1992 where she currently serves as the Assistant City Manager. She has dedicated multiple years of service in preventive measures to protect City-wide assets, employees, and other resources. As director of Administrative Services, Jace coordinates with the City Attorney's office to advise city-wide staff in contracts, claims, and employee relations. Jace Schwarm also oversees the Human Resources department facilitating labor agreements, recruitment, and employee health and welfare. Jace sits on the board of the Local Agency Worker’s Compensation Excess Joint Powers Authority (LAWCX JPA) and represents the San Dieguito Water District as an Association of California Water Agencies Joint Powers Insurance Authority (ACWA JIPA) director.

Mike James: Deputy City Manager

Mike brings over 27 years of public service experience, beginning his career as a Field Artillery Officer in the United States Army. Following his military service, he transitioned into local government, serving the Cities of El Cajon, Lemon Grove, and San Diego. Throughout his career, Mike has gained extensive experience across a wide range of municipal services, including the City Manager’s Office, Community Services, Human Resources, Public Safety, Public Works, and Risk Management.

Most recently, Mike served as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Pismo Beach, where he assisted with the daily oversight of the CAL FIRE Agreement, City Clerk’s Office, City Communications and Public Information, Community Development, Human Resources Office, Legislative Program, and Public Works.

Mike remains actively involved with local government professional development and leadership organizations. He is a member of the California City Management Foundation, the California International City/County Management Association (Cal-ICMA), and the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), where he has earned his Credentialed Manager designation.

He holds a Master of Public Administration from San Diego State University and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. He is also a graduate of the High-Performance Leadership Course through ICMA’s Professional Development Academy.

Scott Drapkin: Director of Development Services

Scott has over 30 years of experience in the planning and community development field and comes to Encinitas directly from the City of Costa Mesa where he worked as the Assistant Director of Development Services. Prior to Costa Mesa, Scott was employed for 24 years with the City of Laguna Beach. Scott has a Bachelor’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Cal Poly Pomona and a Master’s degree in public administration.

In Costa Mesa, Scott lead several significant Community Development efforts including the approval of the City 6^th Cycle Housing Element which included a RHNA of 11,760 units and over 40 housing programs, adoption of the City’s first inclusionary housing ordinance, adoption of an outdoor dining ordinance/program, implementation of a retail cannabis ordinance/adoption of a revised ordinance, a specific plan for the re-use of an approximate 100-acre State developmental facility for future development of approximately 4,000 new housing units and a State emergency operational facility, re-zoning of the City’s commercial corridors to allow for housing, the development of a 70 unit 100-percent affordable senior housing project at the City’s senior center, and negotiated several Development Agreements for significant private projects. Scott also assisted in returning the Costa Mesa Development Services Department to full staff, from approximately half-staff when he started. During his stay in Costa Mesa, Scott also worked directly on improving Department permitting efficiencies including reducing permitting time, implementing a new on-line permitting system and creating a portal capable of issuing certain permits 100% on-line.

In Laguna Beach, Scott lead/worked on many of the City’s most important planning efforts between 1997 and 2021, including multiple housing element certifications, adoption of a revised Downtown Specific Plan, adoption and development of the Montage Resort Specific Plan, adoption of an updated open space element, creation of the City’s Multi-Modal and Complete Streets Plan, adoption of an updated historical resource protection ordinance, adoption of the City’s native habitat protection ordinance and development of the Ranch at Laguna Beach Resort. Scott served as the City’s Floodplain Administrator and also directly assisted with the recovery efforts after several natural disasters including the 1993 Laguna Beach fire that destroyed over 400 homes, several major flooding events and the Bluebird Canyon landslide that destroyed 24 homes.

Dan Nutter: Director of Engineering

Dan Nutter brings two decades of experience leading multi-disciplinary teams in the management, design, and inspection of over half a billion dollars of Public Works Infrastructure projects. His career spans both the private and public sectors, working with local agencies across multiple states and various federal departments on complex municipal infrastructure and long-range planning initiatives. 

A Registered Civil Engineer, LEED Accredited Professional, and licensed attorney, Dan combines engineering expertise with a deep understanding of policy and law. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil Engineering from Cal Poly, SLO where he was inducted into the Tau Beta Pi Engineering Honor Society, Chi Epsilon Civil Engineering Honor Society, and Mortar Board National Honor Society. He also holds his Juris Doctor from the University of San Diego School of Law. 

Dan is recognized for his collaborative leadership style and commitment to delivering common-sense, community-centered solutions. His approach emphasizes strategic planning, stakeholder engagement, and the seamless integration of technical and regulatory considerations.

Outside of the office, Dan enjoys spending time with his wonderful wife and their red lab, Maverick. Around town, you can find him at the dog park, the gym, or Home Depot preparing for his next DIY home improvement project.

Josh Gordon: Fire Chief

Josh Gordon has over two decades in Public Service in both public and private sectors. He started in the Encinitas Fire Department as a firefighter and has held every rank. He holds a master’s degree from Colorado State University – Global in Organizational Leadership with a specialization in Project Management.  

Josh has deep family ties to the City of Encinitas and values the unique communities within. He is honored to give back to the community that gave him so much. 

Josh believes in building collaborative relationships that help the City of Encinitas and the Fire & Marine Safety Department move forward in an innovative and professional direction to better serve the people within the community.  

Josh is blessed to have a wife and two amazing children that have supported him through the obstacles and celebrations that life brings.  

Kathy Hollywood: City Clerk

Kathy has worked in local government for over 35 years beginning her career with the City of Encinitas soon after the City’s incorporation in 1986.  Since that time, she has also worked for the Cities of Dana Point (City Clerk) and Vista (Assistant City Clerk), but has always returned to the City of Encinitas, most recently in 2011 where she has served as the City Clerk since 2012.  She grew up in Oceanside and has lived in Vista for the past 25 years, where she and her husband raised their two daughters.  She enjoys spending time with family and friends, walking, gardening and reading.  

Sylvester Mabry Jr.: Director of Public Works

Sylvester Mabry Jr. has over 28 years of experience in Public Works in both public and private sectors.  He has worked his entire career in almost every capacity of Public Works.  He has extensive experience in operations, project management, and engineering.  He holds a bachelor’s degree from Colorado State University in Civil Engineering and is a LEED Accredited Professional.  Sylvester values a team approach that capitalizes on strengths.  He believes in open communication and has a collaborative management style.  He is highly dedicated to being responsive and providing continuous quality customer service.  Sylvester enjoys working out at the gym, hiking, and watching sports in his free time.  

Dave Knopp has over 34 years of public service in Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts including the past 9 years for the County of San Diego.  His career includes special event management, environmental stewardship and the creation of a volunteer ranger program.  Dave holds a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State U. in Recreation Management, a Masters degree from California State U. East Bay in Recreation and Tourism Management, and is a Certified Park and Recreation Professional.  He believes that Parks, Recreation and Cultural Arts enhance the health and vitality of the community.  In his recreation time Dave enjoys the outdoors, especially the beach, with Anne, his wife of 30 years and their pet corgi, Parks.

Jessica Contreras: IT Director

Jessica’s career expands 29 years in both the public and semiconductor sector traversing the landscape of IT between operations, engineering, cybersecurity, and application development.  She has worked for the City of Encinitas for over a decade implementing technology to improve process efficiencies and online services.  While in the private sector, she led teams of computer scientists and engineers to implement automation for companies such as Cymer and 3M using software, data analytics, machine learning, and robotics. 

Jessica serves as a mentor for the Municipal Information Systems Association of California, as San Diego Cybersecurity Sector Chief with the Infragard, and on various committees for the Gov AI Coalition.  She has her Masters in Information Systems and Bachelors in Chemical Engineering along with post-graduate education and certificates in cybersecurity, geographic information systems, Six Sigma, and machine learning to stay current with technology from universities including UCSD, Stanford, and Rutgers.

 Jessica enjoys spending time with her family and friends surfing, reading, volunteering, or in the garden where she and her husband grow tropical fruit.  

Tom Gallup: Director of Finance

Tom has nearly 30 years of experience with the City of Encinitas and has extensive knowledge of our city and finances. Prior to his appointment as Director of Finance and City Treasurer in March 2025, Tom served as Interim Director of Finance since December 2024 and Assistant Director of Finance beginning in September 2020. Previously, he was the Finance Manager responsible for managing the City’s budget from February 2016 to August 2020, consistently preparing balanced budgets for adoption. Tom joined the city in 1996 and has held various management analyst positions in the Fire and Public Works Departments before moving to the Finance Department.

Tom holds a Bachelor’s degree in political science from Loyola Marymount University and a Master’s degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University. He is an active member of the Government Finance Officers Association and the California Society of Municipal Finance Officers. His professional certifications include Labor Relations, Public Sector Employment Relations, and Certified Emergency Management Specialist from the California Emergency Management Agency (Cal EMA).

Tom is honored to have served the Encinitas community in various roles throughout the years.

Judy von Kalinowski: Human Resources Director

Judy von Kalinowski joined the City of Encinitas in March of 2025 as Human Resources Director. Judy oversees the Human Resources Department staff responsible for human resources, labor relations, recruitment, classification and compensation, benefits administration, workers compensation, employee relations, compliant training, and education and development programs.

Judy has spent most of her career in the public sector in administration, human resources, and labor relations serving in all facets of human resources and labor relations working with a broad range of employees including elected officials, legal, fire, police, utilities, and a myriad of public and contract employees. She values building strong and inclusive partnerships/environments through strategic thinking, effective communication, and collaboration.

Judy holds a master’s degree in Business Management with a specialization in human resources, bachelor’s degree in Business Management with a specialization on education, training, and development, and is an International Coaching Federation Professional Certified Coach, and holds numerous professional certifications as a Brain Leadership Coach, Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner, Core Dynamics Leadership, Transitions, Performance and Wellbeing Coach, Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching Professional Coach, Advanced Mediator, Labor Relations Academy Masters, and has several certifications in diversity, equity, inclusion, and cultural awareness for global business.

Judy actively participates in a broad range of professional organizations to stay up to date of the dynamic areas of human resources and labor relations.