Gail Eastman

Born in Kalamazoo, Michigan, Gail grew up in Portage, Michigan. In 1979, she and her family moved to Orange County and in 1982, settled in Anaheim. Gail attended Western Michigan University and after moving to Orange County, earned her AA degree from Fullerton College.

Over the years, she has worked in a variety of professions, from being a small business owner to holding executive management positions. She has a wide variety of interests, ranging from gardening and decorating, to researching and writing historic surveys of Anaheim's buildings for the City/State/National Historic Registry.

Gail has always been involved as a volunteer in church and civic activities, which lead her to be a part of the group responsible for creating Anaheim's first recognized historic district in 1997. That began her education in Anaheim's history.

"After purchasing a historic house in 1990, my husband and I became involved in the creation
of our city's first recognized historic district. Both my love for historic research and the
documentation of historic homes was triggered by that experience."

She has served on the board of directors of the Anaheim Historic Society and has worked for the City of Anaheim, documenting and photographing historic houses in support of historic preservation. Her work helped lay a foundation with the city for a full-time position to oversee historic preservation in Anaheim.

After leaving her job with the city in 2001, Gail was appointed to the Anaheim City Planning Commission and served two four-year terms through 2009, with three consecutive years serving as the Chairman. She was honored by State Senator Lou Correa as the 34th District "Woman of the Year" for her active role accomplishments in the community.

While serving on Anaheim's Planning Commission, Director Eastman wrote "Anna's Home by the River," a children's book that tells the 150-year history of Anaheim. For four years, she helped raise funding for the Mayor's Gift of History event at the Anaheim Convention Center, where the book was presented to thousands of third grade students who attend. In 2011, she became the chair of the Board of Directors for the Orange County Children’s Education Foundation, which took the Gift of History concept to the next level by sponsoring and moving the event to Angel Stadium. That first year, a Guinness World Record was set with the history lesson for Orange County third graders being the largest ever held with over 15,000 students. They all left with a history book written to make local history come alive as they study it, thus fulfilling her vision to support children’s education in Orange County history.

After serving on the Planning Commission, Gail successfully ran for elected office and served on the Anaheim City Council for four years.

Gail enjoys antiques, old houses and old cars, especially traveling and discovering them in interesting places. All things historic rate high on her scale of fun activities.

Gail currently lives with her husband, Ron, in an original California ranch house built in 1912 and relocated to the Colony Historic district in 2006. They enjoy spending time with their three sons and their families, including six grandchildren.