About
The Leadership Santa Cruz County program provides a broad base of community knowledge and experiences to class members. Each session focuses on a different essential component of our community: from law enforcement to environment and education to agriculture. Participants interact with a wide variety of community leaders from government, business, health care and other crucial community services.
Class members get a rare opportunity to actually see, hear and feel, up close, how our community’s business and services work. You will have a chance to walk through the correctional facilities in downtown Santa Cruz and in Watsonville, tour the big trees and hear the story of Big Creek Lumber and their mission to preserve our majestic forests, walk the fields of our county’s rich and diverse agribusinesses. And, if you’re very lucky, get a taste of a famous Gizditch pie.
Beginning with a two-day leadership retreat, class members participate in a total of 12 all-day classes. Each class has its own specific focus and flavor. If nothing else, you will get a clear picture of the deep commitment and affection our many community leaders have for our diverse and special community here on the Central Coast. And along the way, it is our hope that you, too, will share in the love and passion we have grown to have for Santa Cruz County.
The participants of Leadership Santa Cruz County are people who desire a broader exposure to the growing concerns of this county and who wish to discover the leaders within themselves. Class members have ranged from teenagers to seniors, and those in between. They have been newcomers and long-term residents. Class members and alumni reflect the diversity of the community: racially, geographically, professionally and economically. Throughout its existence, Leadership Santa Cruz County has provided quality, non-partisan instruction and watched its alumni go on to take responsible positions throughout the community.