The County of Santa Cruz and Community Foundation Santa Cruz County announce the Economic Recovery Council, a committee of business leaders “to help facilitate a safe, phased and enduring reopening of the local economy” as the number of local COVID-19 cases subside.
Kris Reyes of the Seaside Co., parent company of the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, will chair the Economic Recovery Council. Members are:
- Justin Acton, Boulder Creek Pizza and Pub
- Carrie Birkhofer, Bay Federal Credit Union
- Casey Coonerty, Bookshop Santa Cruz
- Zach Davis, The Glass Jar
- Maria Elena de la Garza, Community Action Board, Inc.
- David Doolin, CPA, Petrinovich Pugh & Co.
- David Heald, Santa Cruz County Bank
- Kevin Herbst, Chaminade Resort & Spa
- Carmen Herrera, El Pajaro Community Development Corp.
- Annie Morhauser, Annieglass
- Diane Munoz, Child Development Resource Center
- Tejal Sood, Bayside Hotel Group
The council will assess current business conditions and establish a framework for making scientifically sound, practical, community-informed recommendations, according to the announcement.
The council will align with Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Resilience Roadmap work with Santa Cruz County Health Officer Dr. Gail Newel and SAVE Lives Santa Cruz County Director of Community Recovery Margaret Lapiz.
“I look forward to opening up a mutually beneficial dialogue with the business community as we begin to take steps towards safely reopening sectors of our community,” Newel said. ”The timing is right to begin to discuss these very important issues.”
Susan True
“Our partnership with the county includes not only protecting frontline health care workers, first responders, and essential personnel, but also building on that foundation to begin the very important work of restarting our economy in a way that benefits all Santa Cruz County residents,” said Community Foundation CEO Susan True.
“The COVID-19 pandemic is touching every corner of our community,” County Administrative Officer Carlos Palacios said. “A safe path forward for our economy requires the combined wisdom of our medical and business leaders, and I am pleased to see this critical effort, which has been in careful planning stages, get underway.”
SAVE Lives Santa Cruz County will initially focus on increasing local testing, contact tracing and isolation and quarantine capacity. The effort will include working with growers and the farmworker community on safe agricultural operations.
Click Here to learn more about the Economic Recovery Counsel