Kathleen DeFEVER for Tiburon Town Council

Vote November 2, 2021

Kathleen has been active in the Tiburon community for over ten years – service to her community is not only a priority in her life, but also a pleasure. She has served on the Tiburon Planning Commission for nearly 4 years – and as Chair for the past year. She’s President of the Tiburon-Belvedere Rotary Club (a service organization), and has co-chaired the creation of a pioneering FireWise community in her neighborhood.

During Kathleen’s tenure with the Planning Commission, she has approved many new downtown businesses for operations. As a result, downtown Tiburon is now undergoing an unprecedented, much-needed revitalization. Kathleen is also actively working to integrate diversity and inclusion requirements into the town’s General Plan for 2040. Kathleen loves her work on the Planning Commission and is able to claim a nearly perfect attendance record for the meetings for the past four years.

Kathleen prioritizes fire safety and emergency preparedness. In her private law practice, she advocates for California fire victims. In her free time, she successfully certified her neighborhood as a nationally-recognized Firewise community – proving that Kathleen does not just talk about the need for fire safety – she actively works toward fire prevention.

Kathleen is also the President of the Tiburon-Belvedere Rotary, an organization dedicated solely to service to the community. Most recently, she and her club participated in the first annual Juneteenth celebration, supporting local black-owned businesses.

When she is not serving her community, Kathleen is a successful, internationally-recognized consumer insurance attorney, most recently assisting dozens of fire victims every year in their pursuit of recovery from the devastating California wildfires.

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Kathleen’s Work

Defever Law & MisInsured

Kathleen has run her own law firm since 2013, and opened her own consulting company called MisInsured in 2021 – both dedicated to assisting people with disability, fire, and flood claims against their insurance companies.

Writing & Documentation

Kathleen started a blog called MisInsured in 2013, to assist insurance consumers. She has been published in prestigious legal journals, is a speaker at international conferences, appears on local radio, and recently wrote a chapter for an Insurance Law book in the EU.

She continues to author scholarly materials for international publication, while researching for her book about economics, ethics, and sociology.

Public Service

Kathleen has served on the Tiburon Planning Commission for nearly four years, and as Chair for the past year. During Kathleen’s tenure, she approved many new downtown businesses for operations, and the downtown is now undergoing an unprecedented revitalization.

Kathleen and her neighbor successfully certified their neighborhood as a nationally-recognized Firewise community – proving that Kathleen actively works toward fire prevention.

Kathleen is also the President of the Tiburon-Belvedere Rotary, an organization dedicated solely to service to the community.

While on Town Council, Kathleen will promote continued downtown revitalization, improved traffic management, additional diversity and inclusion initiatives, better fire prevention and emergency preparedness, and the preservation of Tiburon’s beautiful, world-class open spaces and village-like character.

About Kathleen

Kathleen grew up on a beautiful farm in Michigan. She adores nature, and learned a true sense of honesty and community from her humble, small-town MidWestern roots.

Kathleen loves working with people and has a track record of truly listening to people, caring about their needs, and finding solutions in high-conflict environments. She represents individuals and small businesses and is skilled at reaching a solution which is fair and agreeable to all parties.

Kathleen began her law career defending federal criminals with the prestigious Federal Criminal Defender’s Office in Chicago, Illinois. From there she shifted to a nationwide practice in Plaintiff’s Insurance Litigation, helping both the disabled and those who lost their homes to fires and floods – most recently victims of the Tubbs and Glass Fires in Napa and Sonoma County. She also dedicates her expertise to scholarly works advocating for better insurance consumer rights around the world, as well as serving on the Town of Tiburon Planning Commission.

Kathleen loves to read about history, sociology, psychology, and economics – and is working on an exciting book which combines these passions. She also loves the opera, great wines, track & field, French and Italian food, and learning new languages. So far she is proficient in French and Spanish – with Italian, Dutch, and Bahasa Indonesia next on her list.