Environmental policy organizer, lobbyist

Dina Louise Biscotti died Tuesday, December 9 at her home in Davis, California, due to a rare and aggressive form of uterine cancer. After receiving a diagnosis of leiomyosarcoma on her 41st birthday, Ms. Biscotti fought this painful disease courageously and with an incredible amount of peace and acceptance, her family expressed.

Dina Biscotti was born in Chicago, Illinois, spent her early childhood in St. Louis, Missouri, then moved to southern California with her family at the age of seven. She graduated from Claremont High School in 1991, received a bachelor’s in sociology from the University of California, San Diego in 1996, and her PhD in sociology from UC Davis in 2010.

For the past year and a half, Ms. Biscotti lobbied for climate change and green jobs as a California Policy Organizer with the BlueGreen Alliance. Prior to that, she was a Postdoctoral Scholar at the UC Davis Energy Efficiency Center and a lecturer at UC Davis. A resident of Davis for 14 years, Ms. Biscotti was known and loved on and off campus. She served on the board of directors at the Davis Food Co-op from 2010 to 2013 and was an active member of Lutheran Church of the Incarnation.

Dina is survived by her father Dr. Louis Biscotti of Claremont; by her mother, Shirley Biscotti and her partner Donald Stillman of Fairfield, California; by her sister Bridget Biscotti Bradley and brother-in-law Kirk Bradley of Menlo Park, California; by her brother Michael Biscotti of San Diego; and by her nephew Keegan and niece Grace, who will be born in January. Ms. Biscotti is also survived by her current partner Zane Starkewolf; her former husband Siva Gunda, whom she separated from in 2012; and many close friends.

Dina will be remembered for her generosity of spirit, her devotion to family and friends, and for her tenacity in fighting for what she believed in, her family remarked.

The funeral was held Wednesday, December 10 at the Davis Cemetery District and Arboretum. A Celebration of Life will be held Saturday, December 13 at 1 p.m. at the Davis Community Church, 412 C Street, in Davis, California. A reception will follow.