Jeff, originally from New England, received a BA in History (US & European) from Lake Forest College (IL) and a master's degree in Organization and Management (nonprofit) from Antioch University New England (NH). He spent 41 years in higher educational admissions, career counseling and alumni work at Bennington, Williams & Occidental Colleges, UCLA, and the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey (MIIS – formerly the Monterey Institute of International Studies) before retiring in 2015. Immediately after his BA, Jeff ran a drug abuse center in New Britain, CT and was on the first management team of the Vermont Public Interest Research Group in the 1970’s.
Jeff moved to Carmel Valley from Pasadena, CA in 1985 and lived in Carmel Valley Village for nine years before moving to Mid-Valley in 1994. As a 2007 graduate of Leadership Monterey, Jeff is ready to serve the needs of CVA related to land use as chair of the Land Use Committee. He is the Past-President of the Los Cimientos Alliance, helping Kiche Maya in Guatemala (related to land, health, and employment issues), and the Past President/Treasurer of Ranch House Place HOA in Mid-Valley.
Jeff’s wife Kate retired in 2015 from 25 years of teaching elementary grades in the Monterey Peninsula Unified School District most recently in Marina. She has also taught at the All Saints Day School and volunteered at Tularcitos Elementary School in the Village.
The Woods have two children. Daughter Jory's family lives/works in New York City while son Tyler works in the international art world.
Jeff enjoys politics, tennis, golf, and fixing anything that is broken. He initially joined the CVA Board in 2019 to defend the Valley from over-development. He is very interested in issues related to protection of the Carmel River, traffic on Carmel Valley Road, vacation rentals, affordable housing and emergency preparedness.
