“Part of the goal is to, in our county, elevate poetry and get people excited about everyday moments.”
Warren Slocum, County of San Mateo Supervisor District 4
Former San Mateo County Supervisor Warren Slocum was elected to the Board in November 2012 and represented the Fourth District which includes East Palo Alto, a portion of Menlo Park including Belle Haven, Redwood City, and the unincorporated community of North Fair Oaks. He was Board President prior to his retirement in 2024.
When he was elected by his peers as President of the Board in January 2020, Supervisor Slocum set as his top priority to honor the diversity of the county by making advances through the lenses of equity and social progress. He focused on improving the quality of life for all people on the Peninsula, on issues of transportation, housing, immigrants, veterans, and youth. He is a fierce advocate for social justice and introduced and co-sponsored legislation to establish a Language Access Policy, the Veterans Commission, Office of Community Affairs, Office of Immigrant Affairs, Office of the Chief Equity Officer, and the Poet Laureate Program.
Warren is a proud Vietnam veteran who earned his degree from San Diego State University, and previously served as the San Mateo County Assessor-County Clerk Recorder & Chief Elections Officer. He and his wife, Maria Diaz-Slocum, a former member of the Redwood City School Board, call Redwood City home. Warren is a technology enthusiast, an amateur photographer, a dog lover, and coffee aficionado who believes in the concept “#DreamBig.”
Along with Supervisor Carole Groom, Supervisor Slocum established the San Mateo County Poet Laureate program in 2013.
The Poet Laureate program was initially staffed by the San Mateo County Libraries. Members of the San Mateo County Poet Laureate Advisory Committee from 2013 to 2019 included Supervisor Warren Slocum; Supervisor Carole Groom; San Mateo County Poet Laureate Emerita Caroline Goodwin; San Mateo County Poet Laureate Emerita Lisa Rosenberg; Board Member of the San Mateo County Libraries JPA Governing Board and Council Member of Portola Valley Maryann Derwin; Office of Arts and Culture Executive Director Robin Rodricks; East Palo Alto Poet Laureate Kalamu Chaché; Editor and Publisher Christopher Wachlin; Visual Arts Columnist and Founding Board Member of City Arts Bonny Zanardi; Poet and retired educator Rosemary Ybarra-Garcia; Poet and Skyline College Professor Kathleen McClung, and Director of Library Services for San Mateo County Libraries Anne-Marie Despain. As of 2022, the San Mateo County Poet Laureate program is staffed by the newly formed Office of Arts and Culture.
Speak Poetry in San Mateo County 