Cari Templeton has lived in Palo Alto for 19 years, and enjoys giving back to her city however she can. She was first appointed to the City of Palo Alto’s Planning & Transportation Commission in December 2018, was elected its Chair in January 2020, and was appointed to a second term in 2023. She also volunteers with local nonpartisan organizations that focus on voter education and empowerment, including the League of Women Voters.

She is active in politics. She has been a delegate to the California Democratic Party since 2017 and became an Executive Board member of the state party in 2023. She sits on the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee since 2017, where she serves on the endorsement committee. In 2020 and 2024, she was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention.

After over a decade at Google working on products such as Google Analytics, Doubleclick, and Nest, in 2017 Cari left technical program management to complete her master’s degree at Stanford, after which she dedicated seven years to public service. In 2018, she graduated from Emerge California, the premier incubator program for current and future women candidates. She also ran for Palo Alto City Council in 2020 & 2024. For two years from 2021-2023, she worked as a district staff member for State Senator Josh Becker Now, she works on state and local political campaigns in digital strategy helping elect progressives Democrats and women.