Kimiko Burton, Member

Kimiko Burton of San Francisco was appointed to the Board in 2012, and served as the Board’s President for 2017. After over 34 years with the City and County of San Francisco, the last 22 of which she spent as the manager of the San Francisco City Attorney’s Dependency and Mental Health Team, Kimiko retired in June 2025.

Prior to joining the City Attorney's Office, Burton was San Francisco's first female public defender. Her other posts with “the City” included leading the Mayor’s Office of Criminal Justice and serving as a Deputy Public Defender. Burton also served as staff counsel to Johan Klehs, an elected member of the State Board of Equalization.

Burton has worked on state legislation affecting child welfare and public conservatorships and CARE court. She has made multiple presentations at County Counsel Association trainings.

Burton serves on the Board of Directors of John Burton Advocates for Youth, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for California’s homeless children and developing policy solutions to prevent homelessness with an emphasis on children in foster care and emancipated foster children.

She is a native San Franciscan and a proud graduate of Lowell High School, the University of California at Davis, and UC Law San Francisco. She has two adult children and currently lives in San Francisco.