Norma Santiago was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico. In fact, Norma’s entire family was born in Puerto Rico. A daughter in a Navy family, she temporarily moved to the United States as a 5-year-old, returning after only a year to Puerto Rico to attend grades 1-5 at Roosevelt Roads Naval Air Base.  She returned to Florida in the late 60’s where she experienced first hand the complexities related to integration. Norma finished high school in Alameda, California, graduating 10th in her class and served as the senior class president, and was very involved in the speech club. 

Norma graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, (Go Bears!) with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in marketing and organizational behavior in 1977.

She moved to South Lake Tahoe in 1982.  In 1989, she worked for a busy obstetrician and gynecology office where she eventually became a patient advisor and surgery scheduler.  She worked in this capacity until her election as county supervisor in November of 2005, in a special election.

This is Supervisor Santiago’s first elected position, although she has been very involved in social and political issues through her many volunteer activities.  She has been a member of Soroptimists International of Tahoe Sierra since 1985, served as club president in 1993, and District II Director for the Sierra Nevada Region from 1996-98.  She has also served on the board of directors for the South Lake Tahoe Women’s Center from 1988-2003. Her political interests stem from playing an active role in state Democratic organizations.

Supervisor Santiago was re-elected overwhelmingly (78.5%) in June, 2006.

She is the proud mother of two, a son and a daughter, who are both currently attending the University of California at Berkeley.

Lakeview Commons

Tahoe Regional Planning Agency's presentation [.pps] [1.97 MB]
on the Pathways 2007 community process.