Michael Feinstein is a former City Councilmember and Mayor of Santa Monica. He served on the City Council for two four-year terms between 1996 and 2004, and as Mayor from 2000-2002. Born in Athens, Greece, Feinstein was adopted from a Greek orphanage by American parents and brought back to the United States when he was a four month old baby suffering from malnutrition. Raised in St. Louis Park, MN (a suburb of Minneapolis), he graduated from St. Louis Park High School in 1977, then majored in philosophy and received a Bachelor of Arts Degree in 1982 from Carleton College in Northfield, MN.
In between his second and third years at Carleton, Feinstein took a year off and backpacked in 15 countries in Latin America, Southern Europe, Northern Africa and the Middle East. That started a patten that has continued to this day, with Feinstein having traveled in over 40 countries, gaining knowledge and openness to possibilities as he's learned about different cultures and places all over the world.
Feinstein has also served on the following other governmental task forces and committees:
Regional
• Southern California Regional Comprehensive Plan Task Force, Southern California Association of Governments, 2004-2006
• Growth Visioning Subcommittee/Southern California Compass, Southern California Association of Governments, 2001-2004
• Energy & Environment Committee, Southern California Association of Governments, 1997-2004
• Westside Council of Governments, Santa Monica representative as Mayor, 2000-2002
• Integrated Policy Task Force, Southern California Association of Governments, 2009–2010
State
• Housing Committee, California League of Cities, 2001-2002
National
• U.S. Conference of Mayors, 2002
• Central Cities Committee, National League of Cities, 2002-2004
International
• ICLEI (International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives), Santa Monica representative, including presentations in Johannesburg, South Africa (World Summit on Sustainable Development, 2002) and Athens, Greece (ICLEI Global Congress, 2003).
