By Jon Chown
Santa Cruz County is mourning the loss of Capitola resident Rose Filicetti, 73, a champion for local youth and education, as well as a mentor and aid to others in the nonprofit community.
“Rose Filicetti did so much good for so many. Her impact and joy will be missed,” said Third District Santa Cruz County Supervisor Ryan Coonerty.
Filicetti, the founder of Nonprofit Connection Santa Cruz County, died Nov. 10 after a nearly three-week struggle in the hospital after heart surgery.
“Rose fought incredibly hard to survive. After 18 days in ICU and many interventions, her heart was finally fixed, but the impact had been too great for her to recover from,” her husband, Neil Savage, posted on social media to announce the news. “Her service to her community will last for generations. She lived a full and impactful life and gave me three incredible children who have been here with me. For that I am grateful.”
Filicetti advocated for education and valued it herself. She attended the University of Washington and earned her bachelor’s degree in 1974, before attending Golden Gate University to earn a master’s degree in 1979. She spent most of her professional career working for former state Sen. and current Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian. She and her husband moved to Santa Cruz County in 2010 to retire. Instead, she went back to school and started a new career.
She first participated in Leadership Santa Cruz County, then completed coursework in nonprofit management at Cabrillo College, finishing there in 2016. In 2017, she began serving as trustee for Area 4 on the Santa Cruz County Board of Education and eventually became president before leaving in 2023.
In the meantime, in 2013, she began researching the quality and variety of services provided for K-12 students in Santa Cruz County, both governmental and nonprofit. The alarming results led her and a few others to explore the idea of starting a new nonprofit organization. When the pandemic started, she didn’t stop—she finished. In 2020, Nonprofit Connection Santa Cruz County was founded with a mission “to connect nonprofit people, ideas, and resources to support collaboration, capacity building and organizational success.”
Many of the county’s most influential people are recognizing Filicetti’s devotion and hard work for her community.
“Rose’s dedication to service was boundless. … She inspired many women to run for office, including me, through her work with Breaking the Glass Ballot, and she was a warrior for our local nonprofits,” State Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D-28) posted on Facebook. “For those of us who knew her, we remember her strength, her consistent encouragement and the way she brought people together around a vision of equity and community. Her work will continue to inspire.”
State Assemblymember Dawn Addis (D-30) expressed similar feelings.
“She was a leader, a friend and a true warrior for justice, and will be deeply missed by our entire Santa Cruz community,” she posted.
Nonprofit organizations and others who benefited from her knowledge and assistance also issued condolences.
“She was such a kind spirit and a true leader of the Santa Cruz County nonprofit community. We will sincerely miss her!” CASA of Santa Cruz County posted.
“Rose stood for something. She said things exactly as they were. She always spoke for the underdogs. She understood the power that people hold, and she was always willing to show others how to use that power through their voice, actions and writing,” wrote Teresa Holman, who now runs her own business writing grants. “Rose taught me how to advocate. She was the biggest influence in my future career as a grant writer.”
Her husband wrote that a celebration of life will be planned in December.
“There is no way to manage the outpouring of love and respect for Rose, and I will slowly reemerge as I process the trauma of losing her. We are working on a ‘celebration of life’ and networking event, likely in early December, so stay tuned here for details,” Savage posted on social media.