Prior to joining the Council, she was a teacher, an artist, a geophysicist, an oil and gas industry scientist,[3], a small business owner and an environmental engineer with the U.S. E.P.A.

Her writings on water policy, affirmative action, environmental justice and sustainable development have been published in journals and periodicals.

Nadel began her political career on the board of directors of the East Bay Municipal Utility District, where she served two terms.

[8] This explanation was decried as "absurd" since other council members said it was "ridiculous" to expect youth centers to be open at 2 or 3 AM and that there was no good reason for minors to be out that late at night.

[11] In 2008, Nadel attempted to unilaterally approve her pet project, the West Oakland Youth Center,[12] which was finally built for a cost of 8 million dollars and remained empty in 2013 due to the inability to produce operational funds.

[13] Nadel's official City Council staff of three full-time public servants included a scheduler, a constituent liaison, and a policy aide.

For several years, Nadel scheduled monthly "Constituent Coffee Hours" at World Ground Cafe in the Jack London District.