Dan Lazarus was born and raised in Stamford Connecticut. After graduating from the University of Vermont with a B.S in Environmental Studies he moved westward to pursue opportunities in environmental education. Dan began working with the county only three months ago and is excited to bring renewed energy and innovative outdoor education to the San Lorenzo Valley.
The County of Santa Cruz is pleased to announce that local hotelier Pravin Patel has been cleared to begin restoration of the hotel, lobby and retail spaces at the historic Brookdale Lodge.
Patel purchased the property in 2015, envisioning returning the Lodge to its former glory as a regional destination and source of community pride in the San Lorenzo Valley. Working closely with the Santa Cruz County Office for Economic Development, Patel was recently issued permits allowing him to perform the work necessary to reopen the hotel and several shops serving the residents of Brookdale and the surrounding area.
Norm was born and raised in Southern California, relocating to the San Lorenzo Valley after graduating from Cal Poly in 1995. He opened Felton Family Wellness Chiropractic Clinic in 2000. He has served in the Felton Fire District as well as assisting with Katrina rebuilding projects. Norm is also involved with the Cub Scouts.
Libby Leyden comes most recently from the Mitchell Daily Republic in South Dakota where she was a crime and courts reporter. She earned her Master’s degree in journalism from the University of California Berkeley, where she was also a research assistant for the award-winning investigative reporting program. Leyden worked at KQED, the World Policy Journal and HGTV Magazine. She spent six months in South Africa in 2013 and 2015 preparing her Master’s thesis about environmental and ecological issues.
Dave Kuty is a docent at Henry Cowell Redwoods State Park. The former Silicon Valley engineer, became interested the biology of the redwoods forest and especially of the albino redwoods. He first observed albino redwoods in 1990.
The County Administrative Office is responsible for the preparation and supervision of the County’s budget, legislative analysis, contract and grant administration, intergovernmental relations, supervision of non-elected department heads, and oversight of all departmental functions. The County Administrative Officer is responsible for management, review, and recommendations related to the Board of Supervisor’s weekly meeting agendas.
The County Administration Officer is also the ex-officio Clerk of the Board, Director of Emergency Services, Executive Director of the Public Finance Authority, Executive Director of the Santa Cruz County Redevelopment Successor Agency, and a member of the Santa Cruz Regional 911 Joint Powers Authority (JPA) Board and the Animal Services Authority Board of Directors. The County Administrative Office also administers activities related to tourism promotion, including activities associated with the countywide Tourism Marketing District. The CAO also oversees the Homeless Action Partnership Strategic Plan, as well as Economic Development and Cannabis Licensing activities.
Dylan Skybrook is the Manager of the Santa Cruz Mountains Stewardship Network. Prior to that, Skybrook was an independent systems leadership and sustainability consultant working with organizations such as United Way, Arts Midwest, Impact Hub Minneapolis/Saint Paul, the Minnesota Social Innovation Lab and many others. Skybrook designed several online learning modules on systems thinking and complexity at the Center for Spirituality and Healing at the University of Minnesota as well as guest lecturing on the topic at Kaos Pilots in Aarhus, Denmark and the Masters in Strategic Leadership toward Sustainability program at Blekinge Tekniska Hogskola in Karlskrona, Sweden.
A successful education professor, writer and researcher with many years of experience, Traci Bliss received her Ph.D. from Stanford University. During her time as a doctoral candidate, she focused her dissertation on the history of education reform and completed a minor in political science. Traci Bliss also earned a master of arts in social studies and history from Stanford University, where she finished her California Secondary Teaching Credential in social studies.
Most recently, Traci Bliss worked as a professor at the Idaho State University College of Education. During her time at ISU, she received several national and international awards for her documentaries of accomplished teachers. For nearly a decade she developed innovative programs to support teacher quality as a consultant to the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.
Today, Traci Bliss, a professor emerita, serves as President of the History Forum of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History. She authors articles and gives lectures on environmental history in Santa Cruz County.
Our compassionate staff build a warm, friendly, safe place for San Lorenzo Valley and Scotts Valley residents, offering stability and hope for the future. Mountain Community Resources is part of the Community Bridges family of programs.
Nina Simon is the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History and author of two books: The Participatory Museum, and The Art of Relevance. Her work has been shared in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NPR, and TEDx.
The main Rotary District 5170 Conference will take place on Saturday, June 2, 2018, in the newly renovated Student Union Building of San Jose State University. Join the President of San Jose State University, our Rotary District Governor, the Mayor of San Jose, and other local leaders as you discover the state-of-the-art and gorgeous new rooms located in the heart of innovation.
Dance the day away to live music with your friends and family while enjoying tasty locally made food, cold beer, cider, and wine in an open field surrounded by redwoods in the Santa Cruz Mountains. Join us for a weekend-long music festival and arts & crafts fair that benefits local service organizations and celebrates community. We are one of the service organizations providing auto traffic control.
The 34-member volunteer Boulder Creek fire department covers 21 square miles of mountainous terrain and serves approximately 15,000 citizens. Many people who live in Boulder Creek and Brookdale don’t realize they are protected by a volunteer fire agency, whose dedicated volunteers provide the same level of service as a paid fire department.
Lauren Donnelly-Crocker grew up in Southern California and moved to Santa Cruz to attend University of California, Santa Cruz and study marine biology. She spent two years after graduating studying Humpback Whales on the East Coast. When she discovered her passion for education and spent seven years teaching outdoor science schools. She began working at the Seymour Marine Discovery Center in 2014 as the Visitor Programs Manager--educating volunteer docents. After receiving her master's degree in Nonprofit Management, she moved into her current role as the Development Director at the Seymour Center.
Jeff Gaffney was appointed Parks Director in January 2015. He began his career in parks and recreation in 1990 as a recreation leader for the city of Gilroy helping at-risk youth and eventually became a Park Ranger for the County of Santa Clara.
In 2002 he signed on with California State Parks and over the years worked throughout the state. He was eventually promoted to Superintendent for Hollister Hills and in 2006 promoted to District Superintendent for the San Andreas District. During his last couple of years in the State Parks, Jeff was able to facilitate the acquisition of 24,000 incredibly diverse acres in eastern Kern County.
In the past Jeff served as president of the State Park Peace Officer Management Association and was president of both regional and Statewide Park Ranger associations. He is actively involved in the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) as well as the California Park and Recreation Society (CPRS).
Jeff is continuing to build partnerships throughout Santa Cruz County and looking for every opportunity to have County Parks collaborate for long term solutions to our community's current social, recreation and health challenges.
Russ will induct our 2018-19 Officers and Directors. Past District Governor Russ is District 5170 Foundation Chair, former member of the Sunnyvale Rotary Club, and current member of the Santa Cruz Rotary Club.
Australian born Clare Campbell is the owner of Outback Trading Company in Felton. She became passionately involved in doing what she can to bring hope and healing to people in the DRCongo after learning about the suffering and death of millions there over the last 20 years. She established a women’s sewing project, 2 school sponsorship programs and a home for vulnerable and orphaned children. During her first trip there last May, Clare was able to see for herself these projects in action and flourishing. Her latest endeavor is to build a school with a focus on peace and conflict resolution.
Kristin Praly has over 20 years of experience with horses.
Today she takes her horsemanship lessons to youth. A UC Davis Graduate, educator and leader by nature, Kristin’s experience with youth has yielded widespread learning-by-doing over the last 16 years. Teaching within the SLV School system K-12, local Homeschool Charter schools including Ocean Grove Charter, Girls scouts, 4-H, and her own program Horse Sense Education and Advocacy, has become her life work. As the Santa Cruz County Outreach Coordinator, 4-H Incentives and Recognition Committee Chair member, past County Council President, and Modern Woodmen’s Youth Services Leader it is Kristin’s goal to keep youth programs thriving in our area.