Our Team

Photo Credit: Inspira Studios

We are Rise Together

Click Our Portraits to Read Our Stories

All portraits were taken by Devi Pride Photography.

Esabella Bonner

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Esabella Bonner is a long-time Santa Cruz resident, entrepreneur, visionary, and award-winning changemaker working to bridge the community. Bella is a Cabrillo College..

Gina Castañeda

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

When you hear my story, do not think of me as a victim or a survivor. I am a champion!

I do not remember most of my childhood. I just know I wanted to be loved. By age 11, my mom and I...

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(pronouns: he/him /his)

Kelvin Nivens is the founder and executive director of Project Daraja Inc., a nonprofit organization in Santa Cruz County working to ensure the smallest and lowest earning communities of our county are afforded the benefits of specialized health care and wellness programs.

Kelvin Nivens

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(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Lun Wang is a licensed clinical social worker and has been working with children and families that experience oppression for over 14 years. Throughout this time, she has worked with communities in different capacities —as a direct practitioner, a leader, and...

Lun Wang

Oscar Corcoles

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Oscar Corcoles was born and raised in Santa Cruz and has been involved in his community since his teenage years. Growing up, he discovered a passion for soccer, and the sport helped him cope with the inequities he faced.

Angela Chambers

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Angela Chambers, an Oakland native, was raised in Berkeley and is a long time resident of Santa Cruz County where she has established her role as a deeply rooted community leader, fierce youth..

Elaine Johnson

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Elaine Johnson is from the Bronx in New York City. From an early age, community, collaboration and making a difference in her community led her to do the work that she does...

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Ashlyn N. Adams

(pronouns: she/Her/Sir)

Ashlyn was once a young person in what felt like an impossible situation. She raised herself and her siblings in the Bay Area, and came to Santa Cruz for education and new opportunities

Janet Johns

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Janet Johns is the co-founder and artistic director/choreographer of the Mexican baile folklorico company Esperanza del Valle, which has been part of the Pajaro Valley arts scene since 1980.

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(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Jasmine Nájera is a proud, lifelong Santa Cruz County resident and a dedicated advocate for her community. She began volunteering at Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos as a teenager, helping solidify a desire to work with and support ...

Jasmine Nájera

Deutron Kebebew

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Deutron Kebebew is a devoted father, husband, and mentor to fathers, father-figures, and young people in the community. He is the Founder and Executive Director of MENtors Driving Change for Boys, Men, and Dads

Helen
Aldana

(pronouns: they/them/theirs/elle/le)

I am a proud child of la bella María Elena y Antonio el hermoso. In my parents’ search for home, they found each other in Boyle Heights, where they first...

Kara Meyberg Guzman

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

As the CEO and co-founder of Santa Cruz Local, a local newsroom, I focus on serving communities not otherwise served by local media. I’m passionate about producing fair, accurate, reliable news.....

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Dr. Rebecca Hernandez

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Rebecca Hernandez (Mescalero/Warm Springs Apache and Mexican American) is the inaugural Community Archivist at the UC Santa Cruz University Library. Her passion for preserving local history...

Jenny
Kurzweil

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

As the granddaughter of Jewish refugee factory workers and union organizers and the daughter of civil rights and feminist queer activists, I inherited a hard wired drive

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(pronouns: he/him/his)

Reggie Stephens is a former professional football player, coach, and mentor in Santa Cruz County. Originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, Reggie moved to Santa Cruz in 1990 where he became a three-sport athlete at Santa Cruz High School.

Reggie Stephens

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(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Yesenia Molina is a passionate community leader and a dedicated advocate for the arts. As manager for the Watsonville Arts Program at Arts Council Santa Cruz County, she works to elevate local artists and foster a vibrant, inclusive...

Yesenia Molina

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(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Yadira Flores is the Community Mobilization Director for County Park Friends (CPF), a local nonprofit working to preserve, protect, improve, and promote the use of Santa Cruz County parks. Yadira believes that educating local youth about...

Yadira Flores

Ruby
Vasquez

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

I am the daughter of loving parents who worked the fields, safeguarded traditions, served others, and emphasized the importance of education and familia. These values have...

Stephanie Barron Lu

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

I stand for courage, compassion, dignity, well-being, and joy for myself and all others. I am a proud daughter of immigrants, with Mexican, Guatemalan, and Chinese heritage...

Susan
True

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

As the CEO of Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, Susan oversees the stewardship of over $170 million in assets and mobilizes people, ideas and resources to...

Fe
Silva-Robles

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Fe Silva-Robles is an indigenous woman, native of Santiago Laxopa, Ixtlán, Oaxaca. She grew up speaking Zapotec, learned Spanish in elementary school, and learned English when she...

Consuelo
Alba

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Consuelo Alba is the executive director and co-founder of the Watsonville Film Festival (WFF). Under her leadership, WFF developed from a grassroots collective into...

Jorge
Savala

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Jorge Savala grew up in a migrant labor camp north of Santa Cruz. His mother asked the owner to address the inhospitable conditions, but he refused...

Jaime
Molina

(pronouns: he/him/his)
Jaime Molina is a longtime resident of Watsonville and comes from strong and proud Mexican roots. He is a family man who lives by family and cultural values. His parents come from....

MariaElena
De La Garza

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Born and raised in Watsonville, I bring over 30 years of nonprofit experience to my work as executive director of the Community Action Board (CAB) of Santa Cruz County...

Cat
Willis

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Cat Willis is the founder and executive director of the Tannery World Dance and Cultural Center in Santa Cruz. She is originally from Rochester, New York, where she began her...

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Justin Cummings,
PhD

(pronouns: he/him/his)

As a child growing up in Chicago, IL, I was very passionate about diversity, social justice, and protection of the natural environment. This inspired me to become very active as a college student...

Brenda Griffin

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

I was born and raised on the East Coast. My family moved to the North to escape the Jim Crow South. I was raised by my grandmother. Although she did not have a high school education

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Carmin
Powell, M.D.

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Born in Monterey and raised in Santa Cruz through the ’80s and ’90s, I know that my life today as the director of pediatrics at Watsonville Community Hospital is the reality of...

DeAndre'
James

(pronouns: he/him/his)

I came from very humble beginnings, growing up in East St. Louis, Illinois—a place rivaled by street gangs and poverty. I am the son of a schoolteacher and a construction worker...

Jacob Martinez

(pronouns: he/him/his)
“When you create an environment where youth feel respected, like they belong, and have a supportive community, they can envision a different future for themselves.”

Keisha Browder

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Keisha Browder has a legacy of breaking barriers to pave the way for communities of color - from her early years as a member of one of the first African American Girl Scout Troops in Compton...

Erica
Padilla-Chavez

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

I was born in Watsonville, the first U.S.-born daughter of Mexican immigrant parents. As a small child, I remember vividly the day that Cesar Chavez came to our home...

Jennifer Herrera

(pronouns: she/her/hers)
Jennifer Herrera was born and raised in California with her three sisters, by a family that emigrated from the Philippines. She grew up in a tight-knit family around the Filipino-American communities in...

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Kevin spends most of his days hanging out at the intersection of giving and action for the greater good. Each passing day is a chance to learn from and assist generous souls and community problem..

Kevin
Heuer

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Kevin spends most of his days hanging out at the intersection of giving and action for the greater good. Each passing day is a chance to learn from and assist generous souls and community problem solvers...

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María Ramos Bracamontes

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

I am a Mexican Indigenous certified nurse midwife in Watsonville. I was born at home in the Coca territory of Ayotitlán, Jalisco, and raised between Ayotitlán and the beach flats in the coastal Awaswas territory...

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Dr. Nereida
Robles Vásquez

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

Dr. Nereida Robles Vásquez is a co-founder of Senderos, a non-profit organization created in 2001, as a folklorico dance group for disenfranchised youth. She was inspired to...

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Chairman Val Lopez

(pronouns: he/him/his)

Valentin Lopez has served as Chair of the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band since 2003, and the President of the Amah Mutsun Land Trust since its inception. Valentin is a Native American Advisor to the University of California...

Stacey Marie
Garcia

(pronouns: she/her/hers)

I come from a bicultural family, composed of teachers, Cuban immigrants, environmentalists, athletes, organizers, and poets. They taught me how to...

Thomas Sage Pedersen

(pronouns: he/him/his)

When Thomas was a child, one of his first phrases was “friendly conversation”. Ever since, the driving force in Thomas’s life has been his ability to have deep and transformational ...

Our Team

Photo Credit: Inspira Studios

We are Rise Together

Click Our Portraits to Read Our Stories

All portraits were taken by Devi Pride Photography.

Esabella Bonner

Gina Castañeda

Kelvin Nivens

Lun Wang

Oscar Corcoles

Angela Chambers

Elaine Johnson

Ashlyn N. Adams

Janet Johns

Jasmine Nájera

Deutron Kebebew

Helen Aldana

Kara Meyberg Guzman

Dr. Rebecca Hernandez

Jenny Kurzweil

Reggie Stephens

Yesenia Molina

Yadira Flores

Ruby Vasquez

Stephanie Barron Lu

Susan True

Fe Silva-Robles

Consuelo Alba

Jorge Savala

Jaime Molina

MariaElena De La Garza

Cat Willis

Justin Cummings, PhD

Rise Together Fellows

Brenda Griffin

Carmin Powell, M.D.

DeAndre' James

Jacob Martinez

Keisha Browder

Erica Padilla-Chavez

Fellows are no longer active members but remain an important part of the broader coalition

Jennifer Herrera

Kevin Heuer

María Ramos Bracamontes

Dr. Nereida Robles Vásquez

Chairman Val Lopez

Stacey Marie Garcia

Thomas Sage Pedersen

Helen
Aldana

Jenny
Kurzweil

Ruby
Vasquez

Susan
True

Fe
Silva-Robles

Consuelo
Alba

Jorge
Savala

Jaime
Molina

MariaElena
De La Garza

Cat
Willis

Justin Cummings,
PhD

Carmin
Powell, M.D.

DeAndre'
James

Erica
Padilla-Chavez

Kevin
Heuer

Dr. Nereida
Robles Vásquez

Stacey Marie
Garcia