New Year, New Board

Welcome to 2023. Perhaps you have conjured up resolutions for the year ahead. We make resolutions because the New Year serves as a marker or reminder for us to step back and reevaluate our lives, then identify any changes needed to improve them.

At Santa Cruz Works (“SCWorks”), one of our resolutions was to create an energetic new board of directors (“Board”). The formula we used to select our board has five (5) values we deemed essential for our community’s vibrant tech ecosystem.

Our Values

1. Mission - since our inception in 2007, our mission has been to build a vibrant tech ecosystem for everyone by providing skills, opportunities, connections, and resources. Our new Board believes strongly in this mission, and is committed to protecting our organization’s long-term future.

2. Skills - as represented in the ecosystem graphic below, our Board members embody skills and leadership abilities from each segment of our economy and community.

3. Financial - all organizations, whether they be for-profit or non-profit, require a financial engine to support leadership and mission activities. Our Board provides financial guidance and support for our expanding goals and activities.

4. Respect, trust, candor - in any size community or organization, members develop mutual respect and trust for one another in their individual and group contributions. They are willing to respectfully challenge one another’s conclusions, with spirited give-and-take, and adjust their opinions in response to intelligent dialog.

5. Attendance - an engaged Board not only attends the quarterly Board meetings, but is also available as needed to help define the organization’s character and strategy. For occasional strategy sessions, our collective preferences are “Walk & Talks” on West Cliff Drive while enjoying the ocean and other sights.

2023 Board

Please welcome our esteemed 2023 Board of Directors! And, you can meet our 2023 Board of Directors on Wednesday January 11 at the first New Tech event of the year: Top Santa Cruz Companies to Watch in 2023.

• Alexi Sevastopoulous - Alexi holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and is part of the founding teams at Armature Systems (F2000 technology integrator) and the Santa Clara University Venture Accelerator, and Santa Clara Ventures - a venture capital firm that invests in the top start-ups founded by Santa Clara University alumni, graduate-level students, faculty, and staff. Ex Officio.

• Allison Steitz - Allison serves as Head of Growth for Paystand, a venture backed fintech company that leverages blockchain technology to make commercial payments instant, automated, fee-less and open for businesses in the US and Latin America. She is excited to bring her experience as a startup operator and venture capital investor across the US and emerging markets to help mission-driven organizations in Santa Cruz grow. She earned her degree in Political Science and Mathematics from Wellesley College.

• Andrea Pesce - Andrea works at UCSC facilitating industry relationships, and IP commercialization. She is passionate about supporting faculty and student success in innovation and entrepreneurship to enable significant social, economic and environmental impact on our community, our region and the world. Andrea has been on the Board for 4 years.

• Annabelle Rodriguez - Annabelle is the Dean of Career Education & Workforce Development at Cabrillo College. She oversees a portfolio of cross-agency initiatives focused on developing innovative strategies utilizing an equity and social justice lens and bringing effective approaches to scale, using technology and data to enhance the delivery of community based services.

• Bonnie Lipscomb - Bonnie is the Director of Economic Development for the City of Santa Cruz. Bonnie’s work aims to make Santa Cruz a place where people want to work and live. She wants local companies to stay in Santa Cruz instead of going over the hill. She has been instrumental to the county’s affordable housing plan, securing Joby’s headquarters in Santa Cruz, and finding business offices for a number of key companies. Bonnie is a founding Board member.

• Brad Barbeau, Ph.D. - Bradis a Professor of Entrepreneurship at the CSU Monterey Bay College of Business (“CSUMB”), and Executive Director of the CSUMB Institute for Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development (iiED). He teaches courses in entrepreneurship and new venture formation and finance. He devotes his efforts to building the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the Monterey Bay region and developing and accelerating entrepreneurial ventures.

• Dave Evans - Dave is the co-founder of the Stanford Life Design Lab and co-author of the NYT bestseller Designing Your Life and also Designing Your NEW Work Life.  Dave's 5th career as an educator and author follows his 15 years as a tech executive (early Apple, Electronic Arts founding team) and 20+ years of strategic consulting to high growth companies.  An 18 year fulltime resident of Santa Cruz, Dave "gets it" and shares our vision for how the Monterey Bay workforce can uniquely lead the way for the future of work. Ex Officio

• Drew Meyer - Drew is a long time Amazon marketing whiz, focused currently on Alexa Skills product marketing out of the Santa Cruz Amazon office. He is a strong community leader, and has been a strong contributor in developing Santa Cruz Works marketing strategies to help us deliver the right message to the right audience at the right time.

• Hilary Bryant - Hilary is the Donor Services Director for the Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. Hilary is deeply committed to making Santa Cruz a thriving county for all and believes building and supporting a vibrant tech ecosystem is critical for our community. She co-founded a startup that optimized how we use water, which was acquired in 2019, and was a Santa Cruz City Councilmember from 2010-2014 and served as Mayor in 2013.

• Jacob Martinez - Jacob is the Founder/Executive Director at Digital NEST. Jacob is passionate about supporting young people to become tech leaders. His company is based out of Watsonville. Jacob has a BS in Ecology and Evolutionary Biology from UCSC and an MS in Instructional Science and Technology from California State University, Monterey Bay. Jacob is a founding Board member.

• James O’Connor - James has been at the forefront of software development in Silicon Valley for over 40 years. He was a principal developer for major corporations like HP and Microsoft where he was instrumental in the evolution of the Mac Office offering. He is the founder of Innovation Within, a program to help entrepreneurs create groundbreaking, viral products based on qualitative research and the scientific method.

• Jason Borgen - Jason has worked in the K-12 environment for close to 20 years. He spent many years supporting school administrators across California with effective ways to leverage technology to lead 21st century schools as part of the statewide Technology Information Center for Administrative Leadership (TICAL) project. Currently, Jason is Chief Technology & Innovations Officer for Santa Cruz County Office of Education.

• Jon Sisk - Jon serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer for Santa Cruz County Bank. Jon also serves in board, committee and advisory roles with the American Bankers Association, Dominican Hospital/Dignity Health, Dominican Hospital Foundation, Santa Cruz Board Riders Club, Second Harvest Food Bank, and the Museum of Art and History (MAH). Jon is a graduate of Saint Mary’s College where he obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Economics and Business Administration and recently completed an Advance Management Degree for The Wharton School. In 2009, Jon was recognized by the Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce as Man of the Year. He is an avid surfer, paddle boarder, and biker.

• LeBaron Meyers - LeBaron is a business development executive, leadership and communication coach and huge proponent of raising our collective EQ to best solve today’s greatest challenges. Her career has spanned multiple industries in both the large corporate space of investment management as well as early start-up environments in digital media and tech, with a focus on relationship building, strategic partnerships and brand evangelism.