2005 - 2006 Class XXI Bios & Photos

	Adema - Craig = Page 1	Gomez - Polse = Page 3
	Danielson - Goddard = Page 2	Ramage - Verutti = Page 4

JOANNE DANIELSON Public Safety Coordinator, California State Parks Joanne grew up in the Bay Area. She attended West Valley College and Oregon State University where she earned her B.S. degree. Before she worked for State Parks, Joanne worked for the National Park Service and for an environmental education program. In 1980, she was hired as a state park ranger and attended basic police academy training in San Jose. She has worked and lived in the Central Coast area for 25 years.

RICARDO DE LA CRUZ de la Cruz & Associates, LLC Through LSCC, Ricardo hopes to gain a better understanding of the political trends of the Monterey Bay area. His goals are to expand affordable housing programs, implement State Proposition 50 policies in identifying new water sources, and encourage pending Santa Cruz County community plans. Prior to starting a land use development business 15 years ago, Ricardo served in the U.S. Navy during the Viet Nam War, taught full-time at the high school and college levels, and worked for the California Coastal Commission, City of San Jose, City of Santa Barbara, and U.C. Santa Barbara. Ricardo earned a BA from U.C. Santa Barbara and an MPA and teaching credential from San Jose State University. He serves on the Board of Directors for both Santa Cruz CASA and the International Desalination Institute at the California State University at Monterey Bay. Ricardo is a member of the Urban Land Institute.

CECILIA DE LA GARZA Coordinator, Faculty Relocation Assistance and Dual Career Programs, UCSC Cecilia coordinates two programs at UCSC designed to provide assistance and support to candidates and appointees for ladder-rank faculty and senior management positions. Because many of the issues she encounters are related to community resources, Leadership Santa Cruz County will be an invaluable experience. She has been at UCSC for seven years and has a long history in the area, having grown up in the Salinas Valley and attended Stanford University. In fact, several of her siblings have attended and/or worked at UCSC. She currently lives in Santa Cruz with her husband.

TAMARA DOAN Director of Programs, Coastal Watershed Council Tamara moved to Santa Cruz in 2000 to become a volunteer coordinator at the Coastal Watershed Council. After a 16-year career dressing film sets in Los Angeles, she went back to school in 1994 to study science. In 1999, she earned a BA in Environmental Studies, focusing on natural resources, from UCSC. She and her partner, now husband, Gerry, left the big city for “small town life” in Santa Cruz. Since joining CWC, Tamara has become the Director of Programs and oversees the programs and operations of this local non-profit. CWC's mission is to “preserve and protect our coastal watersheds through community stewardship, education, and monitoring.” Over the last five years, Tamara has worked with hundreds of volunteers monitoring Santa Cruz County streams to evaluate habitat conditions and identify pollution sources. Tamara enjoys artisan bread baking, pottery, walking and reading with her husband, and pampering her cats.

PEGGY DOLGENOS President and Co-founder of Cruzio The Internet is still an interesting and exciting field for Cruzio co-founder Peggy Dolgenos. She's currently involved in expanding Cruzio's horizons in new technology such as online classified ads and in business areas such as wireless access. Peggy's technical background, a degree in Computer Science, combined with 18 years of experience working with computers, adds to her understanding of the inner workings of the Internet. However, she has never forgotten her non-geek roots, and works hard to make Cruzio's technology useful and understandable to artists and paralegals, as well as computer engineers.

RON DUNCAN Water Conservation Coordinator, Soquel Creek Water District Ron obtained a B.S. in geology and an M.S. in hydrology. He spent the first 13 years of his professional career in the environmental/engineering consulting arena. Since 1997, he has worked in the public sector for the Santa Cruz Harbor and now for the Soquel Creek Water District. Ron and his wife selected Santa Cruz as the place to raise a family after searching the United States. Since he was a young boy, he has had a passion for and commitment to water. Ron hopes to apply his enthusiasm and knowledge regarding water and his growing leadership skills to help this region solve water-related issues.

BRENT DUNTON Mortgage Consultant, Santa Cruz Home Finance Brent recently took up employment with Santa Cruz Home Finance, and is enjoying learning the many things to know about being a mortgage consultant. He is also working at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk as a sales manager. Brent is a native Californian, having grown up in the Santa Cruz Mountains. He went to Chico State University and obtained degrees in communications and business, as well as a Master’s Degree in Recreation Administration. In 1995, he moved back to Santa Cruz and collaborated with his brother, Shaw, to start up a local adventure teambuilding company, APEX Adventures, which combined their passion for the outdoors and their calling to bring people together in a cohesive environment. Brent enjoys weekend camping and spending as much time possible with his two young children, Taeg and Lazuli, and wife, Sheila.

JOHN EISKAMP Raspberry and Blackberry Grower John received his Bachelor’s Degree in Plant Sciences from Fresno State University in 1987. He returned to Santa Cruz County to farm, first working as a ranch manager for Quail Mountain Herbs. In 1989, he started his own business, J. E. Farms, Inc. and became a fifth-generation farmer in the Green Valley Road area of the Pajaro Valley growing raspberries and blackberries for Driscoll Strawberry Associates. He currently farms 160 acres of berries. John is Director of the Santa Cruz County Farm Bureau. His Leadership Santa Cruz County experiences will enable him to more effectively serve the Farm Bureau by giving him a better understanding of county-wide issues and how they affect farming in Santa Cruz County. He resides near Watsonville with his wife, Caroline, and two children, Michael, 13 and Jennifer, 10. In his free time, John enjoys attending his kids’ sporting events and collecting and restoring antique clocks.

VALERIA ERDOGAN Chief of Clinics, County of Santa Cruz Graduating high school at age 16, Valeria attended UC Santa Cruz, majoring in biology and economics. She completed her education at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga in Health Services Administration. After 27 years in the medical field, she has been Operations Supervisor for San Jose Medical Center, Manager of the Departments of Medicine and Surgery for Santa Clara Valley Medical Center and Outpatient Services Director for Monterey County. Valeria is now Chief of Clinics for Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency. For six years she has volunteered in both Santa Cruz and Monterey at ABC Health Group, a program focused on improving the health of the African-American community. Married for 18 years with a 10-year-old daughter, Yasemin, she loves spending time at the beach and traveling with her family. Valeria would like to learn more about the history of the county.

LIZ EVANOVICH Government and Community Relations, University of California, Santa Cruz Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Liz attended Cabrillo College, and then transferred to the University of California, Santa Cruz where she received a BA in Sociology. She worked in the banking industry while raising a family; her two children are currently attending college. In 2000, Liz decided it was time to spread her wings, leave her comfort zone, and find new challenges in the business world. She had a crazy, but brief, experience in the world of high tech but then found her true home back where she started, at UC Santa Cruz. She works in the office of Government and Community Relations where her work focuses on community outreach.

ARMANDO GALINDO Service Center Manager, Applied Industrial Technologies Armando Galindo emigrated from Mexico to Santa Cruz in the mid eighties and met the love of his life, Carla, on the Santa Cruz Wharf. Even though Armando didn’t speak much English and Carla didn’t speak much Spanish, the two connected beyond the language and have been happily married for 17 ½ years. Armando has worked for Applied Industrial Technologies for 16 years and is currently the Service Center Manager for the Watsonville Branch. He enjoys problem solving and working with the public, and has lead his branch to achieve two President’s Awards within the 420-branch company. Armando enjoys playing various sports and is an avid tennis player. He joined LSCC so he could better serve Santa Cruz County, which has provided him with so many opportunities.

LUIS GARZA BIO PENDING

CHRISTOPHER GEORGE Regional Vice President, Primerica Financial Services Christopher is a husband, father, entrepreneur, and fifth generation resident of Watsonville. He has committed himself to helping local families understand money, how it works and the opportunities it creates. The biggest challenge for working American families is the successful use of money: what to do about debt overload, insurances, saving for emergencies, retirement or college for the kids, and how to curb harmful spending habits. Education is the key. The more people we teach, the more people we touch. Christopher’s company is currently pioneering a process of employee education that will make employer-sponsored retirement plans much more effectual. Christopher is excited to be part of Leadership Santa Cruz County since it offers opportunities to connect with influential business and social leaders, and encourages the exchange of knowledge, ideas and resources that can directly benefit working families and business owners alike in Santa Cruz County.

TOBY GODDARD Water Conservation Manager, City of Santa Cruz Water Department Toby Goddard has been with the Water Department for over 10 years and is responsible for implementing programs that increase water use efficiency throughout the city's water service area. He has a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Santa Cruz, is an active member of the American Water Works Association, and serves as the city's representative on the California Urban Water Conservation Council. Toby sees Leadership Santa Cruz County as an opportunity to develop interpersonal and communication skills with other community leaders, and plans to put those skills to work to achieve solutions to the region's complex water supply challenges. His wife, Kimberly, works in special education for the Pajaro Valley Unified School District. They have two teenage sons: Brook, 17 and Scott, 15, both at Soquel High School. Toby enjoys playing tennis, reading American history, and spending time with friends and family on their sailboat at the harbor.

  Back to Top | Home | Class Schedule | Contact Gary Smith | Website Comments?