Think Local Santa Cruz is an all-volunteer organization– we have no paid staff. The following people feel passionately that locally-owned businesses are vital to a unique, self-contained community, and devote countless hours of their time to make the organization happen:
Eric Gil, Sockshop & Shoe Co, Old School Shoes, Legs & Socksmith Design
Treasurer & Co-Founder (term expires 2014)
Eric Gil – Community Store Owner and Entrepreneur – Grew up in the Santa Clara Valley attending Foothill Jr. College in 1978-79 working on an economics education – never finished. 1980 – 1990 worked in telecommunications industry as an installation and repair technician for Pacific Bell and Rolm Inc. In 1982 I moved to Santa Cruz with my life and business partner, Ellen Schwarz. Ellen & I opened our first store, ‘Sockshop Santa Cruz’ in 1988. Have since opened/sold and closed 14 stores and developed a wholesale line of socks – Socksmith Design. Currently have 4 stores – Sockshop & Shoe Co. Inc, DBA –LEGS, DBA Sockshop Haight St. and Old School Shoes Inc with a wholesale hosiery line – Socksmith Design inc. Never bored and always moving forward…
Peter Beckmann, Beckmann’s Bakery
Co-Chair & Co-Founder (term expires 2014)
Peter Beckmann was born and raised in Heidelberg, Germany. After a traditional four-year apprenticeship in the hospitality industry in Austria, he lived several years in France and Mexico before settling in California. In November 1985 he founded Beckmann’s Old World Bakery, where he currently serves as President on the Board of Directors. Peter’s academic career includes an AA from Cabrillo College, two BAs from UCSC in Philosophy and International Economics respectively , and two semesters of graduate studies in Economics. Peter is recently married, and in addition to spending time with his wife Julie, his favorite place to hang out is in his garden or the High Sierras. He has also been seen playing carols on his accordion in Santa Cruz neighborhoods around the Holidays.
Karl Heiman, Caffe Pergolesi & Mr. Toots Coffee House
Co-Chair & Co-Founder (term expires 2014)
Karl Heiman, together with his wife, owns two businesses in Santa Cruz for the last 8 years. Prior to that Karl was in the Semiconductor business as Director of Marketing and Business Development at several different large companies for almost 20 years. Karl has been on the Board of the Santa Cruz Downtown Business Association for 3 years and the Downtown Commission for almost 2 years. In addition, Karl is one of the co-founders of the Independent Coffeehouse Association of Santa Cruz and an amateur Paleontologist supporting the Santa Cruz Natural History Museum.
Michael Olson, KSCO Radio
Director & Spokesperson (term expires 2014)
A Montana native, veteran of the US Navy, and UCSC graduate in English & Chinese Literature, Michael Olson is an active agriculturalist, journalist, and businessman. As an agriculturalist, he has worked commercial farms in California, Montana, and Oregon; designed, manufactured, and sold a registered organic fertilizer into the national marketplace; and consults for specialty agriculture projects throughout the world. As a journalist, he wrote and photographed feature stories for the San Francisco Chronicle and Examiner newspapers; produced and filmed documentaries for NBC, ABC, Australian Broadcast Commission, and KQED Public Television; authored MetroFarm, a PMA Ben Franklin Book-of-the-Year award winner, and Tales From a Tin Can, a World War II oral history; and produces and hosts Food Chain Radio, a nationally-syndicated talk show. As a business person, he is co-owner of the MO MultiMedia Group and General Manager of locally-owned KSCO & KOMY radio stations, where he proudly helps locally-owned businesses go up against national chains and win!
John Benedetti, Iluminada Design, Sante Arcangeli Family Wines
Director & Webmaster (term expires 2013)
A Santa Cruz native and UCSB alum from a small business background (John’s family has owned Arcangeli Grocery Co in Pescadero since 1929), John founded Iluminada Design in 1999 and now supports over 150 small businesses in their web & design needs. In 2010 he founded a small local winery, Sante Arcangeli Family Wines, in his family’s name so he could follow his passion for fine wine, which is one of his many “professional hobbies”, along with brewing beer, playing music, surfing and snowboarding.
John got involved with Think Local First shortly after the organization’s founding. John currently manages the website, the Facebook presence and participates in the steering committee. John’s TLF motto: Keep Santa Cruz Unique!
Stephanie Wilks, Physicians Medical Group
Director & Marketing Committee Chairperson (term expires 2013)
Originally from New England, Stephanie found her heart’s home in Santa Cruz County. After getting her undergraduate degree in Economics and then going on to earn her masters degree in Ireland, she eventually settled in Santa Cruz. Stephanie quickly became involved with Think Local First in order to help sustain the very thing that had attracted her to Santa Cruz County in the first place: social and economic diversity. As the Director of Business Development for Physicians Medical Group, she is dedicated to supporting the sustained independence of hundreds of independent physicians and their practices in Santa Cruz County.
Kimberly Parrish, Zag Design Group
Director & Ad Designer (term expires 2014)
Kimberly is our resident artist whose favorite medium is printmaking, though she has her hands in many forms: painting, creating and playing music, video production and acting, to name a few. Her love of the arts led her to study fine art at UC Davis, where she received a bachelors degree in Design.
She has put her talents to fine use as the founder and co-owner of Zag Design Group – a multi-faceted graphic and web design firm based in Santa Cruz, California in addition to collaborating as a strategic partner with Digital Media Factory.
With a real zest for life, Kimberly might be found loving life out in the surf, skiing down a mountain slope, taking on a trail in the redwoods or getting in the groove as a Kuumbwa Jazz Center volunteer.
She approaches her work with Think Local First with the same gusto: in addition to wrangling much of the TLF print design, Kimberly serves as a board member as well as on the steering and marketing committees.
Leslie De Rose, Small Business Development Center
Director & Steering Committee Member (term expires 2014)
After growing up in San Jose and taking a quick detour to Morgan Hill, Leslie found her home in Santa Cruz County in 1983. Leslie has lived in downtown Santa Cruz, Live Oak, Aptos and finally settled in Watsonville where she married, owned her own business and raised her 2 children, Becka and Jacob. Experiencing life in different areas of the County has allowed Leslie the unique opportunity to understand the diversity of our business community and the importance of addressing issues that affect them.
Leslie spent close to 10 years supporting businesses as the Membership and Media Services Manager for the Aptos Chamber of Commerce. In her role there she was tasked with assisting businesses identify opportunities that would help them thrive, as well as to advocate for them by working closely with local government and law enforcement. Currently Leslie is Client Services Manager for locally-owned Coast Financial Services (CFS), a CPA Firm. Her role at CFS has her out in the community building relationships with business owners which affords her the opportunity to continue her work as a locally owned business advocate.
Leslie has enjoyed volunteering for many non-profit organizations that benefit our community. Leslie is also a Class 23 Graduate of Leadership Santa Cruz County and was recently elected to a second term as Trustee for Pajaro Valley Unified School District.
Judi Oyama, Maximum Impact Design
Director & Social Media Coordinator (term expires 2013)
Born and raised as a competitive skateboarder in Santa Cruz, Judi Oyama has drawn on her skating roots to create Maximum Impact Design, an integrated communications and branding firm founded in 1987. Specializing in action sports branding, print collateral, packaging, web design & social media marketing, the firm has been a platform for strategic creative designs for brands like Giro, Rockshox, Croakies, Socksmith and Hotline Wetsuits. As a small business owner, Judi has also worked with local businesses on advertising, product graphics, collateral, packaging and logo designs. She is one of the world’s fastest competitive slalom skateboarders holding a world record in the women’s masters 100 cone event and was crowned World Champion in competitive slalom racing.
Judi is equally passionate about collaborating with brands from concept to market launch. Her notable local projects include Beckmann’s Bakery branding and packaging, the Public Art Skate Park Wave project with Jimbo Phillips and a custom-designed surfboard presented to American Idol’s finalist James Durbin by the Mayor of Santa Cruz. In her free time, she is the President of Board Rescue, a non-profit corporation dedicated to providing skateboard equipment to underprivileged, at risk youth.
From volunteering to do Think Local First social media Facebook and Twitter page updates to teaching Facebook classes for Think Local First members she enjoys showing new members how to make the best use of social media.
Andy VanValer, Zyzergy
Director & Steering Committee Member (term expires 2013)
Andrew has been a local entrepreneur here in Santa Cruz and Silicon Valley for over 20 years. He has been on the startup teams of multiple companies that either went public or were sold to large companies like Motorola or Verisign. He has helped setup companies in Germany, Spain, Italy, France, and Ireland. His passion is now helping local businesses and fostering entrepreneurship within communities. He spends his extra time investing in real estate or helping small businesses learn how to compete with the larger companies and has authored books on the subject. He currently writes for his personal blog www.andrewvanvaler.com and a few others while running his businesses www.zyzyrgy.com and www.mypersonalbesthealth.com. He continues to invest in startups businesses here and abroad. Andrew has a wife of over 25 years and three children now in high school.
Scott Roseman, New Leaf Community Markets
Director & Steering Committee Member (term expires 2013)
In 1985, Scott Roseman purchased the assets of what has been the Neighborhood Food Co-op, and developed it into the $50 million locally-owned natural foods retail business that it is today, with four company-owned stores (two in Santa Cruz, one in Capitola, one in Half Moon Bay) and two licensed stores (Felton and Boulder Creek). In early 2012, a seventh New Leaf location will open in San Jose. In 1986, Scott founded the Progressive Business Network, a local business association to support those enterprises that preferred an alternative to the Chamber of Commerce. Scott later served on the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce board. Six years ago, Scott, with three other prominent natural food retailers, founded the Independent Natural Foods Retailers Association (INFRA), and he currently serves on that organization’s board of directors.
Outside of work, Scott is very involved in Jewish life at Temple Beth El of Aptos, also serving on the Board there. He loves to play basketball, and in the last year and a half, has become fanatic about playing golf, though still not any good at it. He is married to Jasmine Berke, Doctor of Acupuncture, and has four children, and three grandchildren.
In 1985, Scott Roseman purchased the assets of what has been the Neighborhood Food Co-op, and developed it into the $50 million locally-owned natural foods retail business that it is today, with four company-owned stores (two in Santa Cruz, one in Capitola, one in Half Moon Bay) and two licensed stores (Felton and Boulder Creek). In early 2012, a seventh New Leaf location will open in San Jose. In 1986, Scott founded the Progressive Business Network, a local business association to support those enterprises that preferred an alternative to the Chamber of Commerce. Scott later served on the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce board. Six years ago, Scott, with three other prominent natural food retailers, founded the Independent Natural Foods Retailers Association (INFRA), and he currently serves on that organization’s board of directors.
Outside of work, Scott is very involved in Jewish life at Temple Beth El of Aptos, also serving on the Board there. He loves to play basketball, and in the last year and a half, has become fanatic about playing golf, though still not any good at it. He is married to Jasmine Berke, Doctor of Acupuncture, and has four children, and three grandchildren.