Steve LaBerge, Chairperson
Steve LaBerge, a Certified Criminal Defense Specialist, has practiced criminal defense law in Santa Cruz County since the early 1980s. He especially enjoys working with “at risk” juveniles, and is a Student Coach for the Mock Trial Program at Santa Cruz High School. He and his wife, Michele, have also served on the Board of Directors of the Sixth District Appellate Program, and taught Constitutional Law at the Monterey College of Law.
A well-respected attorney, Steve has won numerous awards for his work in the community, including the 2009 Eddy Award from the Santa Cruz Education Foundation and the Santa Cruz Bar Association award for Lawyer of the Month. A member of the Board of Trustees of Santa Cruz Community Counseling Center for over 20 years, Steve was honored as a United Way Community Hero in 2009.
Cindy Mekis, Vice-Chairperson
Cindy is a native of Santa Cruz. She earned a Bachelor of Science in nursing from San Jose State, attended graduate school at the University of California, San Francisco where she received a Master's of Science degree in nursing and a minor in education. She is the Perinatal Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) for Regional Medical Center of San Jose where she has worked for over 17 years, first as a labor and delivery nurse then as CNS. She lives in Santa Cruz and has two children.
Cindy has been actively involved in national patient safety related to perinatal medicine, has worked with several national corporate committee/advisory groups on developing programs for improving heathcare processes, safety and care, and promoting best practices. She taught nursing school and traveled around the country teaching classes.
"I am awed by the number of clients served and the programs and services provided, the diversity of both the staff and the clients, and the vast benefit the public realizes from SCCCC. More people should get involved in such a wonderful program and help others. I am honored to serve on the board of a non-profit that does so much for so many."
Carmen Arriaga-Kumasaka, Secretary
Youth Services Representative
Carmen has lived in Santa Cruz County since 1982. She is a Registered Nurse and a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. Currently, she is a clinical supervisor for Catholic Charities of Monterey working in Watsonville and also an adjunct professor in Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University, teaching in the Latino Enphasis program. Carmen has been a member of the CASA Board of Directors and President of the Board for Women's Crisis Support.
Trey Dunbar, Treasurer
Administrative Services Representative
Trey Dunbar was born and raised in New Orleans, LA. He earned a B.A. degree from the University of Redlands in southern California in 1977. He has been a resident of Santa Cruz County for 28 years. Trey has been the President/CEO of the Santa Cruz County Employees Credit Union for the past 8½ years. Prior to his present position, he was the Chief Financial Officer of the Santa Cruz Community Credit Union for 5 years. His work background also includes small business ownership and management.
Trey previously served for 5 years on the Board of Directors of the Santa Cruz Community Credit Union including three terms on the Executive Committee and one term as Chair of the Board. He is currently serving on the Audit Committee of Hospice Caring Project of Santa Cruz. Trey has extensive experience with “participatory” and “consensus” decision-making processes on both governance and management levels of organizations.
Jean Gallagher-Heil
Jean Gallagher Heil is a faculty member and program chair of the Early Childhood Education Department at Cabrillo College, in Aptos CA. Prior to teaching at Cabrillo College, she taught at San Jose State University for both the Child Development Department and Elementary Education.
Jean taught children for many years, from infants through 3rd grade with most of her teaching being with 2 year olds, preschoolers and Kindergarteners. She taught in elementary schools, state funded preschools, the Bing School at Stanford University, and the San Jose State University Lab School.
She earned her Master’s Degree at Columbia University. A resident of Scotts Valley since 1996, Jean lives with her husband and two grown children. Her son recently graduated from Humboldt State University and her daughter attends the University of Hawaii.
Kimberly Gire
Kimberly Gire, a native Californian, recently relocated to Santa Cruz County from Sydney, Australia. Kimberly has worked extensively with non-profit organizations for more than 10 years. Most recently she served as Chairman of the Overseas Support Group for the Australian Red Cross and as an Advisory Board Member and Ambassador for Stewart House - a Sydney-based non-profit providing respite care and support for disadvantaged youth. Now a private equity investor, Kimberly was previously an Australian-based banking and finance executive, acting as the Chief Financial Officer for the retail, business and private banking divisions of a major Australian bank, Westpac Banking Corporation. She also has worked extensively in the international capital markets, acting as General Manager - Securitization for Westpac and as Assistant Vice President - Treasury for Citibank Australia. An active CASA volunteer, Kimberly is married with five children.
Heather Morse
Bio Coming Soon!
Bruce Neustadter
Bruce Neustadter has had more than twenty- five years of experience working with high-risk adolescents and their families. He is a graduate from UCSB with a background in developmental Psychology. In his work he has focused on identifying developmental issues that impede healthy teen behavior. He has dedicated a significant amount of his time to school-based programs for high-risk youth. This includes an expertise in program development and intervention strategies. He maintains a full-time private practice in Santa Cruz, and works at Delta Charter School for high-risk youth.
Christina Peters
Head Start Policy Council Chairperson
Christina has two children in Head Start and one in Early Head Start. She is a recent transplant from Marin County, where her children were also in Head Start.
Christina has a J.D. from Golden Gate University School of Law, where she specialized in Public Interest Law. Her B.A. is from Mills College. Although Christina is an attorney, she does not currently practice because she is focusing on her family. She loves to sing and cook, often at the same time!
Martha Quintana
Bio Coming Soon!
Carmen Alicia Robles
Bio Coming Soon!
Felix Robles
Félix Robles is a graduate from SJSU with a B.A and an M.A. in Spanish and Latin American Literature, and is a professor emeritus of Spanish at Cabrillo College, where he taught full-time between 1971 and 2005. At Cabrillo, he served as Dean and Division Chair of the Business, Foreign Languages, English and Communications Division. He has been actively involved in the community since he arrived in this county in 1969. Félix has been on many local non-profit boards, and he is currently on the Board of United Way of Santa Cruz County and Delta School. He has been board president for the Santa Cruz County Cultural Council and Goodwill Industries. He continues to teach Spanish and lead groups of students abroad on a part-time basis at Cabrillo.
Brian Spector
Mr. Spector earned his Bachelor and Master of Architecture degrees from Tulane University and has more than 12 years of professional experience with the design and management of architectural projects. He has been involved on a wide spectrum of project types and sizes including commercial, multi-family residential, mixed-use, planned unit development, commercial tenant improvements, education, and healthcare facilities. Community involvement and participation is a priority for him and his family. Mr. Spector is a Licensed Architect in the State of California, a member of the International Code Council, and is an Architect in the local Santa Cruz office of Wald, Ruhnke & Dost Architects.
Steve Vencill
Community Recovery Services Representative
Steve Vencill has been a resident of Santa Cruz County for about 35 years. He currently lives in Ben Lomond with his wife and 3 children. Steve has a son attending Azuza-Pacific University. A graduate of Sunflower House, Steve has been in recovery for over 22 years. He has been a successful entrepreneur and businessman since the beginning of his recovery time. He is currently Program Manager and Design Sales Engineer at Nexgen Builders, and was President and Founder of Refrigerated Facility Design Build, Inc. Prior to that, Steve was employed with the start-up of Indian Motorcycle.
Steve is very involved in the community. Steve is very active working with people in recovery and has been a licensed pastor for many years. He is a member of the Vintage Faith Church on Mission Street in Santa Cruz. Steve has been married to his wife, Carla, for 15 years.