Ms. Reva Feldman is an executive level leader with over 25 years of experience working in local government, city management, finance, budgeting, legislative matters, grant management, leadership development, special events, emergency preparedness, disaster response and recovery.
Ms. Feldman began her career in helping communities while working on a successful campaign to raise $1 billion in bond funds to build parks and preserve open space in Los Angeles County. Since that time, she has expanded her expertise to include strategies for effective land preservation and development, municipal management, public safety, emergency preparedness, disaster recovery, environmental sustainability, grant management and financial oversight.
Ms. Feldman served as the Chief Operating Officer and then as the Assistant Financial Officer for the Mountains Recreation and Conservation Authority, a joint powers authority with the Santa Monica Mountains Conservancy overseeing over 100,000 acres of parkland. In those leadership roles, she oversaw multiple departments including capital projects, grant management,
emergency operations, finance and public affairs. She assisted in obtaining funding for major land acquisitions throughout Southern California and developed an extensive network of relationships with elected and appointed local and state officials. Her commitment to environmental issues and the need to mitigate land development with open space preservation and emergency hazards was formed during her time with the Authority.
In 2005, Ms. Feldman joined the City of Malibu, first serving as the Assistant City Manager and later as City Manager. As the Chief Executive Officer for the City of Malibu, she was responsible for an iconic California coastal city with an annual visitor population of 15 million people and a propensity for natural disasters. Reva’s strong leadership skills, knowledge, experience, and profound dedication to the community spurred her many notable achievements. Her financial acumen helped propel the City’s General Fund reserves, providing for multiple high priority projects. During her tenure in Malibu, the City experienced multiple federally-declared disasters including mudslides and wildfires. Some of her major accomplishments include securing funding for and completing a state-mandated centralized state of the art wastewater treatment facility, securing tens of millions of dollars in funding for critical public safety projects, securing funding to purchase properties slated for major development, the creation of an award-winning stormwater treatment facility, the purchase and renovation of a City Hall facility, multiple cutting edge environmental laws including a plastic bag and plastic straw ban, development of public and private partnerships, and most notably, overseeing the City during and after the Woolsey Fire, the worst natural disaster in Los Angeles County. Ms. Feldman also successfully managed city operations during the COVID-19 pandemic while maintaining a balanced budget.
Ms. Feldman was born and raised in San Francisco and graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles. She has served as a mentor to young women in the Girls Today, Women Tomorrow Mentorship Program, as a trainer and leader to city managers through her work as a Trustee for the California City Management Foundation (CCMF) and as a department president and board member for Cal Cities. She frequently volunteers to provide mutual aid to cities and
states during times of crisis, including serving during the 2017 Tubs Fire in Sonoma County and in 2020 to the State of Oregon to assist with disaster recovery.
In 2019, Ms. Feldman was recognized by her peers for her disaster response and recovery work and was awarded the CCMF City Manager of the Year award. Ms. Feldman retired from public service in 2021 and opened a consulting firm that supports local government and the city management profession. She serves as a Senior Fellow at Portland State University and also works as an advisor to government entities and is a frequent speaker for public and private organizations.