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..
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...
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
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...
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..
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...
(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.”
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
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.....
(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....
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...
(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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Rebecca, Mescalero/Warm Springs Apache and Mexican American, believes that when we commit to truth-telling, we are all liberated. She earned her PhD in American studies, specializing in the...
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...
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 ...
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...
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...
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
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...
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...
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 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 ...
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