Personal Statement

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I met my now husband serendipitously at the bar at Farmstead, two architects geeked out on terra cotta tile details of the 1926 historic skyscraper my office was rehabilitating at the time as it laid empty for many years. He is who brought me here to St Helena. 

 

We own a home in the Crinella neighborhood.  Our five-year-old son was born at the St. Helena Hospital and attends public school here. This is our home, our only home, and we are fully invested in this community. 

 

I graduated with High Honors in Architecture at UC Berkeley’s College of Environmental Design and received a Master in Architecture from CCAC.  I am a LEED accredited professional – since 2009, (Leadership in Energy and Environmental design). I earned my Architects license in 2011 before I turned 30.  I am a GET Up Grad from the Garden for the Environment, an organic farming program in San Francisco.  For a summer, I taught a design studio at a juvenile hall for teenage boys 14 to 18—a role that showed me how design has the power to connect and inspire people.  Many of the students couldn’t read or write, but I graduated the most students the program had ever graduated in one class, and they received scholarships for their education.  I have been part of the AIA SF mentorship program for many years, I have captained softball teams for an Architects, Engineers, and Contractors league in SF.  I was a house manager and kitchen manager during my undergrad days at a co-op in Berkeley.  I was team captain of the tennis team in high school. 

 

Professionally, I’ve worked on diverse commercial and residential architectural projects for the last 20 years in multiple jurisdictions in the Bay Area.  I help guide clients through complex planning and permitting processes (which are ever changing) while keeping their goals front and center.  Some projects have even earned design awards. 

 

Born and raised in the Bay Area, in a low-income household in Oakland, I remember the bars on my bedroom window—they were meant for safety, a way to keep people out. I tried to change the way it looked by using black glue and paint to create a stained-glass window. 

As a 5-year-old kid, I remember lying in bed, thinking: what if there was a fire? How would I get out? I planned elaborate escapes. 

That moment stayed with me, questioning the design of something that was just “accepted” as normal. It taught me that just because something exists a certain way, doesn’t mean it’s right—or that it can’t be improved.

 

Throughout my career, one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is that: respect and listening go a long way. Being able to hear people out and work through tension without escalation is a skill I’ve carried with me. 

 

When I first moved here, to live with my partner, I left my friends, my network, my community that I had spent cultivating for many years.  I was really scared.  He has his friends in town, and I wasn’t quite sure how I was going to make new friends here.  Someone asked me to play tennis, introductions were made, and quickly I was adopted into the USTA Crane park tennis team. I also played Bocce and we all know how that goes. I took pottery classes at Nimbus Arts and fell in love with clay, as well as the supportive artist community we have here.  We got a dog, and that pretty much sealed the deal on meeting people.  When I was pregnant and walking around my circle over and over to get some exercise, I met a lot of people who enjoyed watching my belly grow.  And when my son was born, I’d stroll him around, I realized then that I had again cultivated a beautiful village of friends. 

 

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Why I applied. 

The beauty and character of St Helena comes NOT ONLY from the built environment, but from the people who make this such a supportive welcoming community. It’s how we help each other during stressful events like the fires and covid. It’s how we celebrate with each other at the pet parade and harvest festival. It’s when my son – at 11 months old, during covid, had to have brain surgery, and my neighbors came to support us, decorated our door when we returned from the hospital, bringing us food, and words of support and comfort. 

 

Over the past several years, I’ve tried my best to stay engaged with what’s happening in our town—whether through city newsletters, town hall discussions at the Cameo, or simply through conversations with friends and neighbors.  One thing has become very clear to me: we are part of an incredibly smart, thoughtful, and deeply caring community. People here want the best for this town—and they’re paying attention.

 

I know how fortunate we are to live in Saint Helena. In taking my son to school, watching kids play so carefree, I see in their smiling faces our future. We need to make this town a place where they want to stay and raise their own families and continue the traditions. 

 

That’s why I’ve applied to serve on the Planning Commission.

 

I want to contribute to the thoughtful work of addressing the complex challenges we face—many of which have been inherited from decisions made in the past.  I have met with all of you now and am proud to have you as our council. You are an intelligent caring group and I think we share many of these skills that I have to offer.

• Critical Thinking: I have experience breaking down complex problems and turning them into clear, actionable steps.

• Communication: I know how to have productive, respectful conversations—even when perspectives differ. It’s about listening, not ego.

• Deep Listening: I take time to really hear what others are saying, and I aim to understand them before forming my own opinion.

• Problem Solving: I approach challenges by looking at them from multiple angles to find balanced, effective solutions.

• Objectivity: In my profession, I’ve had to coordinate large teams with very different areas of expertise. That’s taught me how to stay objective and focused on shared goals.

• Macro and Micro Thinking: I enjoy zooming in on the details, but I also know how to step back and see the broader picture. I think about today and ten years from now, the forest amongst the trees. 

• Real-World Understanding of Code: I work in that critical space where policies meet the built environment. I understand how code affects real people—and I know how to bridge the gap between those who write it and those who live with it.

 

Planning for the future means we have to embrace a certain level of uncertainty. It asks us to look back at where we've come from, understand our history, and make space for change—without losing what makes this town so special. 

I believe that’s why so many people care so deeply. We want to protect the soul of St. Helena. Through thoughtful, honest analysis—and by engaging with the community—we can better understand what’s working, what’s not, and chart a more balanced, inclusive path forward.

 

So I offer my help.

 

Thank you

Michelle Liu Covell