Jacalyn Annette MacDonald (‘Jackie’ to her law enforcement family) was a dispatcher for the University Police Department at Cal Poly State University.  On a November day in 1999 Jackie was stopped for a red traffic signal on a local highway when a drunken driver struck her vehicle from behind.

Jackie was severely injured and after months of hospitalization and treatment she succumbed to her injuries.

The impact on Jackie’s family was devastating. Adding to the family pain was the fact that much of the costs of Jackie’s medical care were not covered by insurance or other resources.

Jackie’s challenges and struggle, and those experienced by her family, became the impetus for the creation of SLO LEAF.