Jennifer Sparacino

Jennifer was born October 13,1944 in Hood River, Oregon to Ralph Finkas and Virginia Mitchell.

She served as City Manager for 25 years during an era of tremendous growth and change. Jennifer is credited with breaking the glass ceiling for women serving in municipal government in Silicon Valley. Known for her calm demeanor, humor, unfailing politeness and inclusive leadership style, she created a special environment in City Hall that nurtured positive, collaborative relationships among elected officials, city staff and residents. As a result, Santa Clara was able to successfully launch many innovative municipal programs that garnered national recognition including winning “All-America City” status from the National Civic League in 2001.

Her list of professional accomplishments is long, but she was especially proud of Santa Clara’s work to build affordable housing, its highly-rated city electric utility Silicon Valley Power and the development of a municipal Code of Ethics & Values that became a model for cities throughout California and the U.S. She maintained excellent public-private relationships with businesses including the many international corporations that chose Santa Clara for their headquarters. Before her retirement in 2012, she negotiated terms with the 49ers for the construction of Levi’s Stadium, a massive $1.2 billion project that came in on time and on budget.

In 2004, Jennifer received the Award for Career Excellence from the International City/County Management Association, the highest honor in her field. She was always quick to share credit for Santa Clara’s achievements with city employees and elected officials.

She graduated from Notre Dame High School and received her Bachelor’s degree in social work and her Master’s degree in sociology from San Jose State University. In 1976 she began her 37 year career working for the city of Santa Clara, becoming Deputy City Manager in 1983 and City Manager in 1987.

She loved traveling the world with her family and she always knew where to find the best bakery in town. She was an avid Giants and Warriors fan and loved going to Spring Training.

Nothing mattered more in Jennifer’s life than her family. She was a devoted mother to her daughter, Bricken Sparacino and her son-in-law Michael Birch. She was married for 45 years to her loving and devoted husband, Thomas Sparacino, who passed away in 2011. She is survived by her daughter, Bricken (Michael Birch); her sisters, Deborah Winning (Gary) and Mary Finkas (Janet Sanchez); her brothers Anthony Finkas (Susan Kauffman) and Edward Finkas (Rowena); her nieces and nephews Kiprian Winning (Kathy), Maegan Pearson (John), Kyle Winning (Joanna), Ryan Finkas (Linda), Kirsten Finkas (Neil Gregor), Lindsay Finkas (Nicholas Harvey), Kevin Finkas (Christine), Jason Sparacino (Christine), Damon Sparacino (Trisha), Katrina Quinn (Brock), Erica Lovelady (Tyler); her great nieces and nephews Max, Ben, Ford, Hudson, Dylan, Nathan, Jasmine, Olivia, Colin, Aubrey, Everett, Sophia, Claire, Amelia, Mia, Christian, Naomi and Gavin.

She will be deeply missed.