New Parks and Recreation commissioner Cayley Jenner is not only a long-time Malibu community member, her father Dermot Stoker has been on the commission for about 12 years and was honored with the Jake Kuredjian Memorial Citizenship Award in 2012. Now 10 years later, Jenner has kept the tradition going with her appointment.
Born and raised in Malibu, Jenner is the granddaughter of the late and great Joan and Paul Almond, and growing up with her siblings, Patrick and Paige, Jenner attended Our Lady of Malibu and Malibu High School.
“I’ve been here my whole life and I love it. It’s the best place in the world and now I have a family,” Jenner said. “I have three kids, my twin boys, and my stepdaughter, Eva, who’s almost 7 and my husband, Brandon (Jenner) who’s also born and raised in Malibu. So we’re very fortunate that we have all of our families very close by, especially through the whole pandemic. It was really nice to have everybody just down the street.”
Jenner said she has also grown up with other commissioners such as Dane Skophammer and Alicia Peak and was interested in being involved.
“I care a lot about the community and the resources that the kids and the families have, but also know our natural landscape and protecting what needs to be protected like bringing in recreational things for our families,” Jenner said. “Mikke Pierson reached out to me and we had a great conversation. He knows my dad, he lives in Malibu West, he’s a neighbor of my dad and I feel very honored to even be considered.”
Growing up in Malibu, experiencing wildfires are common. Jenner recalls evacuating for various fires, but remembers the Woolsey Fire since it was close to home.
“I can remember evacuating for various fires, thankfully we were never directly affected by any, we didn’t have any damage, but the Woolsey Fire was the first one that really felt very close to home,” Jenner said. “It got very close to our house here in Ramirez and also my parents’ house in Malibu West.”
Jenner’s father started the Malibu West Volunteer Fire Brigade in 2012. The brigade is volunteer and community service-based organization and was instrumental in helping fight the Woolsey Fire, making Malibu West one of the neighborhoods that fared best in the fire.
“So when Woolsey hit, they were able to take their training and say, ‘OK, it’s go time, let’s do this,’” Jenner said. “They really saved a lot of the homes in the West.”
“And now he’s implementing that in different neighborhoods throughout Malibu, which is fantastic and I’m super supportive and very proud of all the work that he’s done towards that,” Jenner said. “Woolsey was really traumatizing for all of us here and I’m hoping that we never have another fire like that.
“It’s just a natural thing that does occur, but wanting to make sure that just as a community, we’re really prepared, the next time it happens. And I think that after Woolsey, we’ve been able to really see what we need to have in place, so that we’re better equipped to face something like that, again, God forbid, knock on wood.”
Jenner was sworn in at the last Parks and Rec meeting on April 19 and said hopes to contribute new ideas.
“It was really nice to meet the other commissioners and I just feel excited to learn the ropes,” she said. “I got a little gist of what they’re all working on and I think I’ll be able to maybe bring some new, fresh ideas.”
With ideas such as a community facility, and agreeing with the rest of the commissioners for a community pool, Jenner said she also wants to make sure wildlife is being preserved and respected.
“I think it’d be great to have a space to be able to have classes and programs for everyone from toddlers, up to seniors, to be able to do swimming classes for toddlers and swimming aerobics for the seniors. We really need programs like that,” Jenner said. “I’m really into hiking and we have so many beautiful spots around Malibu, and it’s really important to me to properly maintain those spaces and to make sure that they’re not being trashed and to make sure that the wildlife is being respected and taken care of.”
With her twin boys, Bo and Sam, Jenner said she loves the skate park at Malibu Bluffs Park.
“It’s fantastic, I think it’s great that they did that,” Jenner said. “That was a long time coming and that’s a great victory for the parks and rec committee.
“So I’m proud of my fellow commissioners for doing that because that’s just great for our youth. I know my boys pretty soon will be shredding it up over there.”
For the past few weeks during City Council meetings, public speakers have questioned who Georgia Goldfarb’s replacement will be. Jenner said although she hasn’t met Goldfarb, she looks forward to working with her. Jenner said Goldfarb will be replacing Judy Villablanca on the commission, after Villablanca announced her departure during the Parks & Rec meeting on April 19.
“I’m open to her point of view,” Jenner said. “I am going in the dark, I haven’t met her yet and I think it’s just important for commissioners to be open to each other and open-minded when it comes to putting the needs of the community first and not just pushing one’s own agenda.”
“Dane and I grew up together too. We used to play volleyball together, so I’m excited to be working side by side,” Jenner said. “It’s a powerful thing, when you get people together who have a common goal and to be able to see what we can bring to fruition I’m really excited about it.”
With her family’s history of community involvement, Jenner hopes to join in a positive light.
“I have such a positive connection to the parks and rec commission because my dad was on it for so many years,” Jenner said. “Again, I’m really proud of the work that he’s done and I’m hoping that I can follow in his footsteps in some way, in terms of getting really awesome things installed and implemented and just working in our community for the kids, for the families and everyone else too.”
Growing up in Malibu as a kid and now having kids of her own, Jenner said she’s aware of the different age groups and needs of the community.
“I’m also coming from a neutral place and hearing everyone’s point of view and being able to decide what is truly best for the community as a whole, keeping in mind our natural environment and landscape here is very special, beautiful and parts of it definitely do need to be protected, but I think that it should also be used and explored and be kind of a natural playground for everyone,” Jenner said. “And give the opportunity for people in the community and even people outside of the community, to be able to come and get to experience and interact and appreciate nature. I think there’s an opportunity for education there, to be able to teach us what’s important and why it’s important to protect this, why we need this and why this is important and how we can all work together.”
