SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. – South Tahoe Now emailed all 13 South Lake Tahoe City Council candidates the same questions so voters could get to know them before deciding on the November 3, 2026 ballot. They will be published in the order received along with photos they provided. South Tahoe Now also emailed the two candidates for City Clerk with their own set of questions. Not all candidates replied, so the public will be unable to read their responses.
Name: Dyna Boen
How long have you lived full-time in South Lake Tahoe? 4 years
What is your occupation? Business Executive
What is your education? Bachelor of Science in Business from Oregon State University (Go Beavs!), Graduate School at Stanford Graduate School of Business
What makes you qualified to be on City Council? The Heart of a Neighbor. The Experience of an Executive.
I bring more than 25 years of executive leadership experience solving complex challenges, managing budgets, building high-performing teams, and delivering results. As an EVP and Managing Director, I lead a $30 million business and help organizations use data, technology, and innovation to make smarter decisions and operate more effectively.
My career spans startups, public companies, private equity, and entrepreneurial ventures, giving me firsthand experience with fiscal responsibility, strategic planning, economic development, and navigating change. I’ve built businesses, created jobs, managed through acquisitions, and worked with diverse stakeholders to find practical solutions. Just as importantly, I believe leadership starts with listening. Throughout my career, I’ve built collaborative teams, led through transparency and accountability, and focused on bringing people together around shared goals. Those are the same values I will bring to City Council. Combined with my commitment to South Lake Tahoe and my track record of solving problems, I
offer the experience, judgment, and leadership needed to help our city navigate challenges and build a stronger future.
What is your level of understanding of the Brown Act and other council procedures? Do you feel agenda item deliberations could be streamlined? Protecting Transparency. Improving Efficiency.
The Brown Act is fundamental to government transparency and public trust, and I am committed to continuing my education on all council procedures to ensure I serve effectively. I do believe meetings can often be more efficient through better preparation, clearer agenda materials, and focused discussion. Residents want their voices heard, but they also want a city government that is organized, transparent, and effective. My approach is to protect transparency while improving efficiency.
Have you ever served on a commission or committee for the City of South Lake Tahoe? If so, what was it? Or, have you served other communities in this capacity in the past? Not a Career Politician. A Proven Leader.
No, I have not served on a City of South Lake Tahoe commission or committee. However, I have extensive experience serving on industry boards, advisory groups, and leadership committees, including roles with the Insights Association and WIRe. Throughout my career, I’ve worked collaboratively with diverse stakeholders, managed budgets, built consensus, and led organizations through complex decisions. Those leadership and governance experiences have prepared me well to serve on City Council. AND As a resident, I have also been actively involved in community issues, including publicly opposing Measure N because I believed it would have significant impacts on our city.
If you served in previous leadership roles, please name them. Is there anything you wish you’d done differently, and how would you use those lessons on council?
The Best Leaders Never Stop Learning.
I’ve served as an executive leader, entrepreneur, business owner, and advisor to industry organizations including the Insights Association and Women in Research (WIRe). One of the most important lessons I’ve learned is that successful leadership starts with listening. Earlier in my career, I was often eager to move quickly toward solutions. Today, I understand the importance of gathering diverse perspectives, building consensus, and communicating transparently before making decisions. Those are the leadership principles I would bring to the South Lake Tahoe City Council.
If elected, how do you plan on representing the community? If they don’t attend meetings in person, how will you know what they want? How would you get more citizens engaged? Great Ideas Live in Our Community.
In my professional career, I’ve spent more than 25 years helping organizations listen to and understand the people they serve. My expertise is gathering feedback from large communities through quantitative surveys, similar to SurveyMonkey, as well as qualitative research such as focus groups and interviews. The insights are used to help leaders make informed decisions, often involving investments of millions of dollars.
I believe the same approach can help strengthen local government. My job as a council member would be to represent the community by understanding what residents want and need. That means listening in person, but it also means meeting people where they are through online surveys, email, text messages, and social media.
We have more tools than ever to increase public participation and transparency. We can gather community input, measure priorities, share results publicly, and give residents opportunities to provide feedback before important decisions are made. We can also use technology and AI to capture meeting notes, publish information more quickly, and create easy-to-understand summaries and infographics. Partnering with local media can help ensure residents stay informed and engaged.
South Lake Tahoe is filled with smart, passionate people who care deeply about this
community. My goal is to help create more opportunities for residents to share their ideas, identify common priorities, and ensure every voice has a chance to be heard.
How important is an ethics policy and decorum policy for City Council, and why? What should these policies include? When Trust Grows, Communities Thrive.
When you run for City Council, every candidate signs a Code of Ethics pledge. I intend to honor that commitment, and I trust my fellow candidates will as well.
Recent events have made it clear that we have a crisis of confidence in local government. Rebuilding trust starts with how we conduct ourselves, how we treat one another, and how we represent our community. Decorum matters. Respect matters. Accountability matters.
South Lake Tahoe is so much more than the negative headlines. We are a smart, hardworking, caring community. We are neighbors who help one another, small business owners who invest in our future, and residents who deeply value the natural beauty that surrounds us.
I believe it’s time to focus on what brings us together and shine a light on what’s great about South Lake Tahoe. When we do that, we send a powerful message to residents, businesses, investors, and regional partners that this is a community worth believing in and worth investing in.
There is a concept in relationships called the “speed of trust.” When trust exists, people can work together more effectively, solve problems quickly, and accomplish far more. When trust is broken, everything slows down. Restoring trust won’t happen overnight, but it starts with leadership that listens, communicates openly, treats people with respect, and puts the community first. If elected, that is the standard I will hold myself to every day.
Is there anything in your past that could come to the surface if elected? If so, what is it? Do Your Homework on Me and All the Candidates.
I encourage everyone to do their due diligence on me. Google: Dyna Boen. Listen to podcasts I’ve been on. Look me up on LinkedIn, you can see what other people say about me. Here are recommendations about me that date back to 2007:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/dynaboen/details/recommendations/
Do you think a councilmember represents the City at all times, and why or why not? Council Members Serve Individually, Lead Collectively.
Council members always represent our city everywhere and all the time. However, while they represent, they should only speak for our city as a group. It is not the job of one city council member to speak for our community; it is the job of all city council members. We can disagree during deliberation, but once a decision is made we all need to be aligned and move forward.
When council divides up the list of assignments for council members, what boards would you want to sit on and why? Building Partnerships. Creating Opportunity.
Throughout my career, I’ve worked at the intersection of business growth, innovation, and stakeholder collaboration. I’ve helped organizations create jobs, attract investment, build strategic partnerships, and navigate complex challenges. I believe those skills can help South Lake Tahoe strengthen its economy, diversify opportunities beyond tourism, and build stronger relationships with regional, county, and state partners.
Many of our biggest challenges and opportunities, including workforce housing, transportation, economic development, and infrastructure, require collaboration across jurisdictions. I would welcome the opportunity to represent South Lake Tahoe on boards/committees where I can help build partnerships, attract investment, and advocate for solutions that benefit our residents and local businesses.
My focus would be on helping South Lake Tahoe grow responsibly, strengthen its economic future, and ensure we have a seat at the table when important regional decisions are being made.
What are the top concerns the council should be focusing on? Based on what I’ve heard from residents throughout this campaign, I believe the Council should
focus on five priorities:
- Restoring trust and transparency in local government. Residents deserve leadership that listens, communicates openly, treats people with respect, and earns the public’s confidence.
- Fiscal responsibility. We need to make the most of every tax dollar, focus on core
services, and ensure we are spending wisely before asking residents for more. - Public safety and infrastructure. Maintaining our roads, supporting emergency
preparedness, ensuring reliable snow removal, and keeping our community safe must remain top priorities. - Economic vitality and business development. We need to support local businesses, attract investment, diversify our economy beyond tourism, and create opportunities that help working families thrive year-round.
- Housing and regional partnerships. Addressing workforce housing, transportation, and environmental challenges requires collaboration with neighboring agencies, the county, the state, and regional organizations. We need a strong voice at those tables to advocate for South Lake Tahoe’s interests.
At the end of the day, my focus is simple: restore trust, strengthen our economy, maintain the services residents depend on, and ensure South Lake Tahoe remains a great place to live, work, and raise a family.
What is the role of a city council on economic development? Do you think we should be attracting new types of businesses, and if so, what are they? Creating the Conditions for Success. The primary role of the City Council in economic development is to create the conditions for businesses to succeed. Government doesn’t create jobs directly, but it can help foster an environment where businesses want to invest, expand, and hire. That means focusing on
efficient permitting, reliable infrastructure, public safety, workforce housing, and policies that encourage responsible investment.
I do believe we should be attracting additional types of businesses to South Lake Tahoe. Tourism will always be a cornerstone of our economy, but communities are strongest when they have a diverse economic base.
I would like to see us attract more year-round, high-quality employers that align with our community values and natural environment. That could include remote-work hubs, technology and professional services firms, outdoor recreation companies, healthcare and wellness businesses, environmental and sustainability-focused organizations, and small-scale innovation.
We should also be doing more to support and grow the businesses that are already here. Our local entrepreneurs and small business owners are the backbone of this community. Retaining and expanding existing businesses is often just as important as recruiting new ones.
Finally, economic development doesn’t happen in isolation. It requires strong partnerships with regional organizations, educational institutions, local employers, and neighboring jurisdictions. My career has been built on creating partnerships, attracting investment, and helping organizations grow. I would bring that same collaborative approach to helping South Lake Tahoe build a stronger, more resilient year-round economy.
What are your favorite things to do in Tahoe? Three things…yoga at OMNI, mountain biking near Paradise Park and Tahoe Mountain, and skiing at Heavenly.
Is there anything else you’d like to add? Just one thing…thank you for your consideration. If you vote for me, know that I’m an accessible leader, a fast learner, and I will not disappoint.