The next in our series looks at three public service employees in La Jolla and how they work to improve community collaboration and communication.

Welcome to the fifth installment of “This is La Jolla,” a lajolla.ca series highlighting the various micro communities within La Jolla and celebrating the diverse industries and lifestyles within this coastal jewel.

Aside from those elected or appointed to government roles are those hired to serve the public in administrative, managerial and other ways, providing essential services for the benefit of a community.

From recreation center employees and custodial workers to public safety officials and public works staff, there are numerous people in La Jolla dedicated to ensuring community life is as smooth and well-rounded as possible.

La Jolla is a neighborhood within the larger city of San Diego. We wanted to learn more about the microcosm of city employees who work primarily in La Jolla and endeavor to improve it.

Below, we selected three La Jolla public service employees and asked them the same five questions about their work in the community:

Officer Jessica Dishman of the San Diego Police Department has been a police officer for nearly four years, with all her experience in the department’s Northern Division, which serves La Jolla, University City, Clairemont, Bay Park, Mission Bay and Mission Beach.

Dana Sanchez is found at the La Jolla/Riford Library, which was established in 1894 but moved a few times and has stood on Draper Avenue since 1988 on land donated by Florence Riford. Sanchez has worked for the San Diego Public Library system for 10 years.

Joaquin Quintero has worked for two years in the office of San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava, whose District 1 includes La Jolla, Carmel Valley and Pacific Beach. Quintero previously served in the district’s northern communities but can now be found making the circuit of La Jolla meetings, among other duties.

How do you serve La Jolla and how long have you been in that role?

Dishman is the coastal community relations officer for the Northern Division, attending meetings and speaking with community members about their concerns.

Dishman began in that role in July, after being on the Community Orienting Policing Squad (COPS) for a year; Northern Division is the only SDPD division with this specialty squad.

Sanchez became the La Jolla/Riford Library branch manager in May 2024, overseeing the library’s operations, services and programming. 

Quintero serves as LaCava’s La Jolla community representative, taking on that position in July.

What do you love about working in La Jolla?

“I’m a San Diego native, and so I’ve always loved the beach, and La Jolla is very, very beautiful,” Dishman said, adding La Jolla residents have a strong sense of community pride and engagement.

“They’re very invested in maintaining safety, maintaining character, maintaining the beauty of all the neighborhoods in La Jolla.”

“La Jolla is full of art and culture and natural beauty, but most importantly, it’s full of people who are actively engaged in their community,” Sanchez said. “My absolute favorite thing about working in La Jolla is that people love … and support the library in this community.”

“I love the engagement,” Quintero said, noting La Jolla has “plenty of community groups” who work “to solve the issues they see going around in the neighborhood.”

What do you consider to be important about representing La Jolla within the larger city of San Diego?

Understanding La Jolla residents and “being a voice within the citywide conversations” is important, Dishman said.

To fully represent La Jolla, she said, she has to connect the neighborhood with the city’s policies and initiatives.

“La Jolla has a very long and storied history,” Sanchez said. “It is important for leaders in this community to honor that history and to take pride in it, and ultimately to contribute to that legacy” for both residents and visitors.

Whenever city workshops or surveys are available, Quintero believes it’s important to ensure city “stakeholders are aware of the number of groups that operate in La Jolla and serve as excellent forums and platforms to help spread those messages [and] solicit community feedback,” he said.

What’s one of your goals for La Jolla in the near future?

“I just want to continue strengthening the community police partnerships,” Dishman said, whether through events like “Coffee with a Cop” or the expansion of neighborhood watch programs.

SDPD is also working on collaborative safety projects for e-bike and other issues, she said.

“The library’s goals are to constantly strive to meet the changing needs of those that we serve and to encourage community building and lifelong learning,” Sanchez said, adding that one of her more recent goals is to reinvigorate the La Jolla library’s History Room and Idea Lab with “strategic changes and updates.”

“My ongoing goal is always to be eyes and ears for Council President LaCava,” Quintero said. 

With recent, growing concerns about a lack of traffic safety and signage in La Jolla, “when someone reaches out, I try to get the ball rolling on an evaluation to determine what signs are warranted,” he said.

What do you wish people knew about your job?

“Many people don’t realize just how much role involves collaboration, communication [and] problem solving, beyond traditional law enforcement,” Dishman said.

“I have to listen to the residents’ concerns, and then I have to connect them with the right resources,” Dishman said, adding she often needs to “ find creative ways to improve quality of life.”

“Being a librarian can be very challenging and very emotionally taxing,” Sanchez said, as “the library is one of the only remaining free public spaces that welcomes all people, regardless of their background, their circumstances, or their personal beliefs,” sometimes providing “life-saving support to underserved and at-risk communities.”

Library staff experience “the trauma of the community,” she said, “and we help support people through that.”

“I have the ability to reach out to virtually every department in the city and have contacts with my state colleagues, my county colleagues and federal representatives,” Quintero said, noting the council office is “a great one-stop shop to at least get pointed in the right direction, or at least get some assistance with issues. I wish more people would call in if they see something or want to report something.”

Curious about our previous “This is La Jolla” installments? Click to read about the biomedical, paraglider, underwater photography and visual artist communities.