Jeniffer Alcantara, a 25-year veteran of California trial court administration who started her career at the San Mateo County Superior Court, is the court's new top administrator.

The court announced Monday, Oct. 12 that it appointed Alcantara as court executive officer (CEO), the position that oversees day-to-day administrative operations, budgets and staffing, under the presiding judge’s direction, as outlined in California’s court rules. She succeeds Chad Peace, who departed the role. The announcement did not state a reason for Peace's departure.

The appointment is an internal promotion. Alcantara first joined the San Mateo court in 2001, spent more than a decade at the San Francisco Superior Court as a staff attorney and alternative dispute resolution (ADR) administrator, and returned to San Mateo in 2018. Since then she has held progressively broader leadership roles: ADR Program managing attorney, senior managing attorney, interim HR director, deputy CEO and interim CEO.

Her responsibilities included supervising administrative departments, managing budgets totaling millions of dollars and conducting negotiations with employee unions, according to the court.

"She is deeply invested in the Court's role within the community and will ensure that our services remain responsive to the people we serve and accessible to all who rely on us," Presiding Judge Stephanie Garratt said in the announcement.

Garratt cited Alcantara's record of advancing equal access to justice and strengthening public trust. Alcantara has worked alongside 10 presiding judges and five CEOs over her career, according to the court.

Alcantara also supported the court's Firearm Relinquishment Program, which uses grant funding to enforce civil restraining order prohibitions. The program has led to the removal of hundreds of firearms from prohibited individuals since its launch, the court said.

During her time away from San Mateo, Alcantara taught as an adjunct professor in the University of San Francisco School of Law's Mediation Clinic.

The court said Alcantara’s priorities include making court services accessible, improving how the institution operates and keeping the public informed.

The court’s judicial leadership will change Jan. 1, 2027, when Judge Rachel E. Holt takes over as presiding judge, succeeding Garratt. Judge Jeffrey R. Finigan will serve as assistant presiding judge.