Donna Meyers

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Donna Meyers is currently serving the City of Santa Cruz as Mayor and has previously served as Vice Mayor and a member of the Santa Cruz City Council.

 

As Mayor, Donna’s focus is on climate resiliency and adaptation within the city of Santa Cruz, completing and implementing the City’s 15-year Parks Master Plan, working in partnership with the County of Santa Cruz on identifying ways to address the county's unsheltered population and providing countywide services for mental health and drug and alcohol treatment, as well as keeping our neighborhoods and local businesses vibrant by addressing crime and other issues and providing our community with necessary housing and services.

 

Donna also serves as General Manager for the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency/Regional Government Services working towards achieving groundwater sustainability in the Salinas Valley Basin per the Groundwater Sustainability Act passed in 2014. As General Manager, she facilitates in the completion of groundwater sustainability plans for six groundwater sub-basins and works with local partners on implementation projects and program monitoring and modeling.

 

For the past 20 years, Donna has also worked in coastal resource and watershed management with a focus on the watersheds and coastal lands of the Central Coast of California. She has facilitated over several watershed management plans, endangered species programs, regional restoration efforts and conservation organization collaborations and partnerships. Additionally, she has raised over $35 million in funds to facilitate protection and restoration of lands and waters of the Central Coast.

 

Mayor Meyers’ lives in Santa Cruz California with her wife and two dogs and spends her free time hiking, gardening, cooking, traveling and surfing.

Larry Pageler

photoLarry Pageler has been a resident of Santa Cruz County since 1977 when he enrolled at UC Santa Cruz as a transit-dependent commuter. After obtaining his Bachelors Degree in Environmental Studies in 1982, he was employed by UCSC as a campus planner. In 1990 he was hired as the Director of Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS), filling that role until his retirement in January 2019. Larry served as Chair of the Santa Cruz Area Transportation Management Association, as President and board member of the Santa Cruz Museum Association, and as a member of numerous local and regional transportation work groups. Larry was appointed to the SCMTD as a citizen representative by the Santa Cruz County Board of Directors in Spring 2019.

 

Larry lives in Happy Valley with his wife Katie and has twin sons, Aren and Jed, and two Labradors, Aurora and Matlock.

Shebreh Kalantri-Johnson

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The Santa Cruz Metropolitan District would like to welcome Shebreh Kalantri-Johnson to her first term on the Santa Cruz City Council and as a member of the METRO Board of Directors. Motivated by her experience as a mom, immigrant, citizen, neighbor, and social change leader, she is committed to building a strong, equitable community.

 

Director Kalantri-Johnson has advanced this goal over the last two decades as a consultant for community-based organizations, bringing in funds and forming partnerships to address issues such as immigration rights, juvenile justice, youth homelessness, and substance abuse prevention.

 

As a city council member, Director Kalantri-Johnson is committed to economic recovery, affordable housing, community wellness, and social equity.

Mike Rotkin

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Mike Rotkin previously served as a Director for the Santa Cruz METRO Board of Directors, representing the City of Santa Cruz, from 1979-1988, 1992-2000, and 2002-2010. In 2015, he was re-appointed to the Santa Cruz METRO as the citizen representative by the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors. Mike has lived in Santa Cruz County since 1969. He was elected to the Santa Cruz City Council six times and served five terms as Mayor of the City.

 

Mike was a lecturer and Director of the Field Study Program in Community Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz (UCSC) for over forty years and has currently been recalled to teach at UCSC. Mike Rotkin is a union activist in the UC-AFT, where he represents lecturers and librarians in the University of California. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Coastal Watershed Council (CWC) and serves as the Program Chair for the Democratic Women’s Club of Santa Cruz County (DWC).

 

Mike lives on the Westside of Santa Cruz with his wife and two adult children, and two cats, and loves kayaking, bicycling, swimming, and camping. Mike gets around town on a bicycle, bus pass, and motorcycle.

Kristen Brown

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Kristen Brown is currently serving as Santa Cruz METRO's Board Chair, the Mayor of Capitola, and Board Chair of Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission.

 

Kristen is directly involved in the creation and analysis of public policy. She has extensive experience in working to create partnerships and advance the policy goals of community organizations, local and federal government agencies, and private businesses. She has served to communicate policy agendas to the larger public through organization of town hall events, legislative meet-and-greets, presentations, and small group meetings with community stakeholders. Her vast experience can be seen in her current roles as the Vice President of the Board for the Association of Monterey Bay Area Governments (AMBAG), Senior Associate of Government Relations at Silicon Valley Leadership Group, Past Board Chair at Community Action Board of Santa Cruz County, and Community Services Policy Committee Member at the League of California Cities.

 

Director Brown gained her Bachelor of Arts Degree from California State University of Monterey Bay and her Master’s Degree from California State University of Northridge.