Santa Cruz Chamber Ambassador Program

Looking for a fun way to interact with other Chamber members?

Interested in meeting new and existing businesses at the Chamber?

Want to earn points towards free Chamber events and marketing opportunities for your business?

Become a Chamber Ambassador!

Basics
The Chamber Ambassadors are a team of Chamber members who volunteer to engage with new members, Chamber event participants, and the Santa Cruz Community on behalf of the Chamber. Ambassadors guide new members through the first year of membership and connect new members to the Chamber, its benefits and activities. Ambassadors also connect with current members, encouraging their active participation and robust use of opportunities the Chamber provides. And, the Ambassadors promote the business community and the Chamber throughout the community.

When
Ambassadors meet as a team one a month and make a commitment to attend 50% of all Chamber events including Networking Mixers, Ribbon Cuttings, Caffeineighted Breakfast series, Women in Business luncheons, Membership luncheons, Breakfast Briefing and the Chamber four annual major events.

Rewards
The greatest return for being an Ambassador is the development of a rich network of business friends and acquaintances that will pay returns for years to come. In addition Ambassadors earn public recognition as well as the credits against the cost of Chamber events. Top performing Ambassadors are featured on a rotating basis on the Chamber’s website and in the Chamber’s weekly eNews mailings to members. Ambassadors earn credits for each scheduled communication with a member, each event they attend, and other services. Credits earned can be used towards not only events but also Chamber member marketing services, sponsorship, and products.

2013 Ambassadors:

	Duf Fischer, Ambassador Chair Santa Cruz Chamber Board of Directors Chamber Consultant and Past President Graduate of UC Santa Barbara with degree in economics and accounting. Served in the U.S. Army 8 years. Founded F & M Engineering Construction, Inc. Owner, Partner, President, Executive V.P. of many travel organizations. Community Service: President Santa Cruz Jaycees, President Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce, President Miss California Scholarship Pageant, Chairman Santa Cruz City Planning Commision, Chairman Animal Protection Institute, Chairman Advisory Board, Coast Commercial Bank, Chairman Board of Directors, Family Service Association, Board Director, Rotary Club of Santa Cruz, Served as political advanceman for Ronald Reagan. Delegate to the White House Conference on Small Business and Delegate to the first ever White House Conference on Travel and Tourism. Served as Congress Chairman for ASTA 61st World Travel Congress in Taipei,Taiwan.
	Erin Billingsby Clear Channel Radio Born outside of Nashville, TN, Erin is an Account Executive for Clear Channel Radio. Erin's main focus at Clear Channel is to develop innovative and dynamic radio campaigns to help businesses in Santa Cruz and the Central Coast Bay Area meet their key business goals through advertising. Erin represents the following stations: iHeartRadio, 102.5KDON, 92.7KTOM, 105.1 K-Ocean, La Preciosa, and Fox News Radio. Prior to working for Clear Channel, Erin was the Member Service Manager at the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce. Before moving to California Erin was the Marketing and Public Relations Coordinator for Tennessee Donor Services, a nonprofit organization promoting the importance of organ donation. Erin attended East Tennessee State University on a soccer scholarship. She graduated with a major in Business Administration with a concentration in marketing. In her spare time Erin enjoys being a volunteer for United Way, help launching the new Children's Museum of Discovery of Santa Cruz, and being outdoors with her Husband and 2 dogs.
	Camilla Boolootian American Red Cross Santa Cruz County Chapter Camilla works at the American Red Cross Santa Cruz County Chapter and serves as the Development and Communication Manager. She is thrilled to work at an organization which allows her to serve the entire community. The American Red Cross works with donors, businesses and individuals to help our community prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies in Santa Cruz County. Camilla has lived in Santa Cruz since 1995. She worked in local broadcast media sales at KION-CBS and KCBA-FOX affiliates providing her the opportunity to work with many local and regional businesses. She had a front row seat pursuing local educational funding while working as the Development Director at Pacific Collegiate School, a top ranked public charter school. Camilla highly recommends the Leadership Santa Cruz program.
	Joanna Doubleday Joanna Doubleday Communications Born and raised in Santa Cruz, Joanna is passionate about all things local. She is driven to help businesses establish, strengthen, and maintain their social & customer service efforts online. With 15 years of experience in the service and hospitality industries, building relationships is at the forefront of all of her business practices. Joanna first became involved with the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce at 19 years old and has been a regular member of the Annual Business Fair committee since 2009. She has also presented on the topics of Online Reputation Management and Online Customer Service for the Women in Business Caffeineighted Series. She credits her involvement with the Chamber for having a profound impact on her professional development.
	Laura Granahan Stealth Network Communications Laura Granahan is a Santa Cruz transplant, first arriving to attend UC Santa Cruz but staying after falling in love with the community. She is head of marketing and business development for Stealth Network Communications Inc., a national telecommunications and RFID solution provider who is currently rebranding as StealthID following a move from the government sector to the retail industry. It is her goal to encourage better business practices in Santa Cruz and bring new and emerging technologies to businesses based in the Santa Cruz area. She hopes in create a system that will allow for small local businesses to grow and expand through the use of better visibility and standardization. What Laura enjoys most is the local wildlife and scenery that Santa Cruz has to offer. She spends her free time gardening, hiking around her house in the Santa Cruz Mountains and playing at the beach with her dog, Rusty.
	Jeff Heitmann Bank of the West Jeff Heitmann was born and raised in Santa Cruz. He began his banking career after he graduated from Santa Clara University in 2000 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics. After working in every job within the banking industry during the early part of the century, he has specialized in Business Banking by becoming an expert at utilizing the tools that Banks provide to Business owners. At Bank of the West, Jeff has found an institution that not only understands his values and beliefs about Business Banking, but supports them. See what Bank of the West is all about. “Go West”
	Lyn Henry Lyn's Ledgers Lyn Henry has her own business, Lyns Ledgers, taking care of small business’ bookkeeping needs for over 20 years. She has self trained on numerous accounting programs. She specializes in ecommerce and conversion of accounting programs. She has worked with an international company for 12 years working with several currencies and using an international accounting program. Many of her other loyal clients are from the East Bay where she lived until 2009. Lyn moved to Santa Cruz area after falling in love with the lifestyle, amazing ocean vistas and the friendly community. Lyn became a CASA volunteer in 2008 and has continued her volunteer position here in Santa Cruz County. She loves West Coast Swing dancing and has just started competing. She enjoys Bikram yoga. One of her favorite past times is taking her Yorkie for walks to the beach stopping to say hi to passerbys.
	Patti Julin Membership Relations Director, Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce Patti is responsible for planning and executing marketing, sales, and retention activities for Chamber membership and Chamber products and programs. Patti began her career in computer sales in Washington, D.C. After 5 years as a top salesperson, Patti moved into management, where she was responsible for planning, selling, negotiating, and implementing enterprise-wide computer solutions for business and government. Patti earned a Masters Degree in Piano Performance and spent 10 years as Music Lecturer at California State University, Fresno and Reedley Community College. Patti is a member of the Board of Directors of the Santa Cruz Chamber Players, helping the organization with publicity. She is a current member and past board member of the Music Teachers Association of California, and a past board member of the Santa Cruz Baroque Festival. Born and raised in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania, Patti also earned a B.B.A. in Marketing at George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
	Josef Kachman Cowles California Media Josef is an account manager for Cowles California Media, the home of CBS, FOX and Telemundo on the Central Coast. His background includes client services management in the media and email marketing industries, small company sales business development, as well as experience in government public information. As a member of the Chamber, Josef represents KION and KCBA TV and looks for opportunities to help fellow Chamber businesses grow through exposure on broadcast television and digital & mobile media. Josef is also a member of the board of the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce & Agriculture, an active Rotary member and has coached his son's NFL Central Coast Flag Football team for the past three seasons.
	Manu Koenig Civinomics Although born in Santa Cruz, Manu had to zigzag around the world to figure out he wanted to live here. Boarding school in Massachusetts, a stint in Palo Alto, finishing off university and an all-too-corporate internship in Berlin, dabbling in the Tahitian tropics - Manu finally landed in San Francisco. A couple years of life in an internet advertising start-up helped him realize you have to start living your dreams today if you want them to come true. He moved back to Santa Cruz to cut his overhead while launching a start-up of his own: Civinomics. The company is building a re-invigorated civic society and is based at Cruzio in downtown Santa Cruz.
	Chris Maffia Santa Cruz Chamber Board of Directors Santa Cruz County Bank Chris Maffia is Vice President, Relationship Manager for Santa Cruz County Bank where she is responsible for business and community development for the Santa Cruz market. In her background of over 33 years of banking, she has held a variety of positions starting as a teller with Bank of America and working her way through lending, and personalized banking positions with Premier Banking. In 2005, Chris retired from Bank of America as Senior Vice President, Market Manager for the Central Coast Premier Banking Team. Chris joined Santa Cruz County Bank in 2005 and has enjoyed working at the bank’s office in downtown Santa Cruz. Chris is currently the Board Chair for the American Red Cross of Santa Cruz County. She previously served as the Board of Trustees Chair for the United Way of Santa Cruz County for two years as well as the campaign chair. She is also a 15-year active member and past chair for Dominican Hospital Foundation Guild. Chris currently serves as the chair of the luncheon committee for the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce Women in Business. Past recognitions include Affiliate of the year for the Santa Cruz Board of Realtors, Ambassador of the Year for the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, and the Betty Elward award presented for outstanding participation in the Dominican Hospital Foundation Guild.
	Kamalesh Patel (KP) Aarav Hospitality Kamalesh Patel (KP) is the General Manager of Aarav Hospitality where he is responsible for the day to day operations of the National 9 Motel, Paradise Inn, and the National 9 Motel in Watsonville. KP moved to Santa Cruz in 1993 where he later graduated from Harbor High and then went to UC Davis to earn his degree in Political Science. Since then he has returned to Santa Cruz and took over the family business. With his years of experience in the hospitality industry he truly understands what the Chamber means to our community. KP currently sits on the Board of the Santa Cruz County Lodging Association, the Board for the CVC, as well as serving as an Ambassador for AAHOA. He truly enjoys the people he has met met through his participation in various organizations and knows he has made some lifelong friends.
	Suni Patel Santa Cruz Chamber Board of Directors Super 8 Suni was born in Nairobi, Kenya and spent several years in England managing the London base of multinational export-import companies, traveling to the UAE, South Africa, India, and destinations around the world. In 1994 Suni moved to Santa Cruz with her family and she and her husband became owners of the Super 8. They love being in the hospitality business and enjoy travel, spending time with friends, doing yoga, and enjoying walks in beautiful Santa Cruz. Suni serves on the boards of the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce and the Beach Flats Community Center.
	Tess Piazza Santa Cruz Chamber Board of Directors Chase Bank Tess Piazza is currently Vice President of Business Banking with JPMorgan Chase. With her degrees in Communication Arts and Accounting, she has found passion in working with small business owners in the Santa Cruz County. Her role at Chase allows her to partner with small businesses to find ways to achieve their financial goals. Tess worked for Wells Fargo for 20 years - first working to develop Small Business Training then for 4 years as a Business Relationship Manager developing business and community relationships, which included business lending and cash management. Tess is a member of the Resource Development Committee for Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center, working on community outreach to raise funds for the organization. She moved to Santa Cruz 12 years ago and loves to play tennis and runs 2 miles every day with her dog, Sarge.
	Karl Rice Santa Cruz Chamber Board of Directors Santa Cruz Seaside Company Karl Rice holds an MBA in finance and real estate from the UCLA Anderson School of Management and a BA in business administration and communication from the University of Washington. He works at the Santa Cruz Seaside Company and is responsible for the company’s investments and new business acquisitions. Karl previously served as a Vice President and Relationship Manager at Silicon Valley Bank. Karl is a member of the Board of Directors and the Treasurer of Community Bridges and serves on the organization’s finance and governance committees. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce. Karl is a sixth generation resident of Santa Cruz and he and his wife Lindsey recently gave birth to their first son, the seventh generation of the family to call Santa Cruz home.
	Will Scheflo Bay Alarm A graduate of Saint Mary's College of California over in Moraga, William has settled in Santa Cruz, California to be close to the great surf the Monterey Bay has to offer. Representing Bay Alarm Company, he is committed to providing the highest level of security for your business or home, and offers quality custom solutions to meet your security needs. He looks forward to Bay Alarm becoming a staple within the Santa Cruz Community.
	David Stearns Allterra Solar David is a 25-year resident of Santa Cruz and a graduate of Santa Cruz High School. He attended UCLA earning degrees in Political Science and Urban and Regional Planning. He is a proud member of Think Local First, cherishes Santa Cruz's entrepreneurial spirit, and is an ardent champion of central coast business. He enjoys sports, outdoor recreation, and from Thanksgiving to New Years you can find him at Companion Bakery sipping egg nog lattes. David is a guest host on Community TV's Voices From The Village and is frequently quoted in local media offering insights on pressing civic issues. David currently serves as the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Allterra Solar, Santa Cruz County's most frequently hired solar PV contractor. He encourages any homeowner paying more than $100 per month for electricity to call him immediately.
	Tom Stelling KW Commercial Tom Stelling has been a licensed realtor and a trusted name in commercial and multi-family real estate sales, leasing, and management since 1984. In 2009, following a successful commercial real estate career at the largest commercial real estate brokerage company in North America, and 7 years with a local Santa Cruz brokerage, Tom joined KW Commercial, the most respected and fastest growing commercial real estate sales and leasing team in the United States. Tom is recognized as an expert in local real estate issues, and is quoted regularly in the Santa Cruz Sentinel newspaper and is seen on the Real Estate Weekly television program. He was recently interviewed for the NBC Nightly News Program as an expert on local commercial real estate trends. Tom is an active board member of the Santa Cruz Sunrise Rotary, the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce, is on the board of the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce, an active participant in leadership Santa Cruz, and an active Member of the Bay Area Apartment Brokers Forum. In his free time, Tom likes to surf, sail, jog and spend time with his two teenage children Tommy and Lizzy.
	Adele Talmadge Santa Cruz Chamber Board of Directors Talmadge Construction Born at Sister's Hospital on West Cliff Drive, Adele Talmadge has been a Santa Cruzan all her life. Her parents owned Port O' Call Grocery in Pleasure Point. After attending Cabrillo College, Adele went on gain over 30 years of bookkeeping and customer service experience in residential, commercial construction and property management. In 1984, she co-founded Talmadge Construction. Adele remains an active part in the community, volunteering for the Amgen Tour in 2010, directing the Lifestyle Festival for the Tour in Seaside and the Awards Ceremony for Tour of CA in 2012. Adele loves Tae Kwon Do, earning her First Degree black belt at the age of 50.
	Mary Williamson Bay Alarm Bay Alarm is the largest independently owned and operated alarm company in the United States, protecting over 100,000 customers. As a licensed and professionally trained person, I provide comprehensive security solutions and services to meet the highest standard of quality. At Bay Alarm we offer a full range of burglar alarms, fire detection systems, keyless access systems, and video surveillance solutions. Bay Alarm will monitor your system with our UL listed, FM approved and CSAA Five Diamond Certified local central monitoring station 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. All of our products and services are backed by a satisfaction guarantee and may also qualify you for a savings on your home or business insurance premium.