Jennifer Lin named executive director of Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce

The Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce has a new leader: Jennifer Lin.

Lin replaces former executive director Catherine Somers, who held the job for seven years and oversaw the implementation of parklets, the popular summer Promenades and disbursement of the town’s American Rescue Plan Act funds.

Lin is a Bay Area native who grew up in Danville, but she always wanted to live in Los Gatos. She said after years of manifesting it, her wish finally came true and she’s lived in town since 2019.

“I love to hike and be outdoors. So that was another key reason that I love Los Gatos: the accessibility to the parks and the trails,” Lin said. “I have it on my bucket list to hike all the national parks, but I’m satisfied with everything we’ve got. So you’ll find me walking around Los Gatos and walking around the trails, probably with my dog Dashi.”

Lin’s first day on the job was July 5. While she’s starting with a completely blank slate after Somers and her staff members Randi Chen and Donna McCurrie resigned together earlier this year, she’s looking forward to bolstering membership and bringing fresh ideas to the Chamber. Her first order of business is hiring an events and marketing manager.

“That will be a big focus for me to make sure that I do re-establish and create relationships between the town, between the Chamber and all its members, and between all the organizations that we partner with,” Lin said.

She added that her career tagline is “problem solver.” She holds a master’s degree in public administration from Columbia University, gained leadership experience at Bay Area nonprofit organizations and has a background in management consulting and brand strategy and knowledge of marketing, strategic planning, operations and public relations.