Sacramento native Jan Schori heads one of the largest municipal utility districts in the country. Schori received her BA from UC Berkeley, in 1975, and her law degree in 1978 from UC Davis. She began her career as a staff attorney for Sacramento Municipal Utility District in 1979, working her way up through the ranks to become general counsel. As general counsel, Schori was responsible for advising SMUD and its directors on a wide range of legal issues, including the 1989 decommissioning of the Rancho Seco nuclear generation facility.

In February 1994, after five years' service as general counsel, Schori became SMUD's general manager. As general manager, she reports directly to the board of directors and oversees a work force of over 2000 employees. Under Schori's direction, SMUD provides electric service to over 500,000 customers (including 1.1 million residents) over a 900-square-mile area. Since 1996, one of Schori's biggest challenges as general manager has been to position SMUD to successfully compete in the deregulated energy environment without compromising a historically strong commitment to customer satisfaction and community service.

Schori said that her work as an attorney has helped her fill the general manager's role. "My time as an attorney, and later general counsel, for SMUD, gave me the broad experience I needed to become general manager," she said. "I had exposure to almost every facet of SMUD and the electric utility industry by the time I was appointed general manager."

Schori is past president of both the National Business Council for Sustainable Energy and the California Municipal Utilities Association. She serves on the executive committee of the American Public Power Association and is vice chair of the Large Public Power Council. She is also vice chair and member of the board of the Western Electric Power Institute.

In addition, Schori serves on the boards of the Sacramento Urban League, the United Way of Sacramento and the McClellan Air Force Base Re-Use Action Team. She remains an active member of the California State Bar.