Get to know kimberly

Kimberly Sullivan Gray was born in the Greater Los Angeles area spending the first 11 years of her life in a small town in Kern County. Kimberly had entrepreneurial parents who owned restaurants and she grew up busing tables, and talking with customers. In 1989, the family moved to Modesto where her father started a full service landscape construction company. This ultimately led to the creation of Creative Water Gardens, in Escalon, in 1996.

Kimberly graduated from Fred C. Beyer High School in Modesto, in 1996. After graduation, Kimberly attended the University of California-Santa Barbara to begin her studies as a Vocal Performance Opera Major.

Kimberly initially wanted a vocal performance career, but quickly realized that her passion was beginning to feel more like “work” and even after all of the studying, she was not guaranteed steady employment. So, she changed her focus to a double major in Law and Society and Sociology. While in Santa Barbara, she had the opportunity to become a legal intern doing research and compiling chronologies for criminal appeal case files. Kimberly graduated from UCSB with honors in 2000.

Upon graduation, Kimberly moved back to Northern California, to be closer to her family while attending the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. During her time at McGeorge, Kimberly volunteered at the Community Legal Services Clinic, representing indigent individuals in a wide array of cases. She was hired as a law clerk at Mullen, Sullivan and Newton, in Lodi, where she continued after graduation in May 2003, practicing Civil Litigation. Kimberly passed the bar that November.

In August, 2005, Kimberly moved to the law firm of Gianelli and Fores, in Modesto, now Gianelli and Nielson. Kimberly focused on civil litigation, estate planning and transactional law. During this time she married the love of her life, Owen.

In March, 2007, Kimberly took a hiatus from the law to work in the family business, Creative Water Gardens. Kimberly and Owen augmented their family when their beautiful, spunky daughter, Brenna, was born July, 2008. The family eventually relocated to Escalon, for the small town atmosphere and schools. With Brenna about to start Kindergarten, Kimberly wanted to go back to law. Kimberly found her new position with a previous mentor from the Gianelli firm, in Brett Dickerson at Dickerson Law Inc.

Kimberly is an avid advocate of volunteering and making a difference in my community. To this end, she has spent many hours working with various organizations locally and on a larger, global scale. In law school Kimberly was a member of the McGeorge Women’s Caucus which held a yearly wine tasting fundraiser, proceeds benefiting a local women’s shelter and supporting breast cancer research.

Kimberly is a board member of the ASTRO Foundation animal rescue in Oakdale. Kimberly continues to volunteer and as a participant on the Membership Committee of the Oakdale Chamber of Commerce. Kimberly is also involved in the local chapter of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and is a member of the 2013 Class of Leadership Oakdale.

While living and working in Lodi, Kimberly became a member of the Lodi Sunrise Rotary, and when she moved to Modesto, joined the Modesto East Rotary club. Kimberly is a member of the Oakdale Rotary Club and Foundation Chair 2013-2016. Kimberly also was involved with Interfaith Ministries Annual Fundraising dinner and silent auction and was a sobriety bracelet sponsor for a woman living at Redwood Family Center, a program for mothers (recovering from addiction) and their children. Kimberly has participated in one way or another in annual ACS Relay for Life events.

In her spare time, Kimberly still enjoys singing, reading, and being surrounded by her friends and family.