This week in Santa Cruz County business: Homeless Garden Project gets cash award from Intuit; pondering the future of downtown Santa Cruz

Each week, we’re taking a closer look at the movers and shakers, the growth of industries and what’s really driving the Santa Cruz County economy. I’ll be spotlighting some of the biggest areas for opportunity, updates on local development and all things underpinning the regional business scene each Wednesday.

Got ideas? Send them my way to news@lookoutlocal.com with “Business News” in the subject line.

Homeless Garden Project selected as one of Intuit’s Small Business Heroes

A $20,000 grant from Intuit will help local nonprofit Homeless Garden Project fund its efforts to provide organic produce to underserved individuals in Santa Cruz County.  

Homeless Garden Project is one of three businesses nationwide selected as this year’s Intuit QuickBooks and Mailchimp Small Business Heroes, part of an annual program that recognizes small businesses for their work and commitment to their respective communities. 

“We really depend on this kind of community support,” said Homeless Garden Project’s executive director, Darrie Ganzhorn.

Ganzhorn will join Intuit executives Wednesday morning at Homeless Garden Project’s farm near Natural Bridges State Beach on the Westside of Santa Cruz to honor the organization. 

For more than three decades, Homeless Garden Project has provided employment, training and a sense of purpose for unhoused individuals in the community. It operates an organic farm on a 3.5-acre property and runs two retail stores that sell a variety of goods and gifts, many made by the project’s clientele. Currently, the organization has budgeted for 20 positions in its paid job training and transitional employment programs. 

The Intuit grant will help support the organization’s Feed 2 Birds program, an extension of its community-supported agriculture program. Through this, 68 dedicated farm shares are reserved for 13 organizations that work with low-income and unhoused people in the community. 

Read more here.

ICYMI: Renewal or decline: Where is downtown Santa Cruz going?

The departure of four prominent retailers from downtown Santa Cruz, which happened in rapid succession, has led more residents to start wondering what’s going on in the city’s main commercial area. 

With Forever 21, Rip Curl, O’Neill Surf Shop and New Leaf Community Market now gone, the city’s downtown area is left with several large vacancies, joining a number of already existing vacancies as the city goes through a period of great transformation and construction. 

Kicking off a new ongoing series by the Lookout team that explores the changes happening downtown, Wallace Baine takes a closer look at the differing narratives in the “renewal versus decline” debate. Read his piece here. Max Chun explores perception versus reality when it comes to growing concerns that downtown is becoming unsafe. Read his piece here. 

Ch-ch-changes: Openings, closings and other developments

• Bay Federal Credit Union promotes new senior vice president: Creedence Shaw has been named senior vice president, chief business services officer at Bay Federal Credit Union. Shaw joined the credit union in November as vice president of business services, having previously spent over six years in leadership roles at Santa Cruz County Bank (now known as West Coast Community Bank). This marks Shaw’s second stint with Bay Fed; he previously worked as the credit union’s loan services manager from 2009 to 2011.
• French bakery opens in Aptos: Emilie and the Frenchies, a new French-style cafe, opened this past weekend in Aptos. The cafe, located in the former Carried Away space at 7564 Soquel Dr., is a spinoff of a small franchise of cafes in France. The new cafe is run by Mary Jane Dean and Celine Moliere, who met as teenagers when Dean’s family hosted Moliere as a foreign exchange student from France. Moliere opened a small chain of cafes in France and has now joined forces with Dean in Aptos.

• Ambient Photonics powers Lenovo keyboards: A Scotts Valley-based company’s miniature solar cells are now powering computer keyboards made by tech giant Lenovo. Ambient Photonics was founded with a mission to reduce the need for single-use batteries, replacing them with miniature solar cells that can harvest energy in low-light conditions. The company’s proprietary technology is being used to power small devices such as computer mice, and now, according to Bloomberg, the company is working to power Lenovo keyboards. 
• County health director resigns: Mónica Morales, director of the Santa Cruz County Health Services Agency, is resigning as of June 3. Her departure follows the announcement that the agency is proposing to lay off 12 employees, cut services and reduce its staffing force by more than 70 positions, setting off what’s expected to be a major dispute between local government and the labor union that represents those employees.
• Local sports bras get accolades from Wired: Lume Six’s medium-impact sports bra was selected the best sports bra for running by Wired magazine. The company is the brainchild of an Aptos mountain biker tired of not finding the right gear she wanted for her high-impact sports endeavors. Margaux Elliott founded the company in 2021, drawing on her years of experience designing athletic and sports apparel. 
• Watsonville nonprofit Ventures appoints new deputy director: Ventures, a nonprofit organization that works with rural Latino working-class families on the Central Coast, has named ileana Ortega Brunetti its new deputy director. Brunetti most recently served as the assistant director of sustainability for equity and co-curricular programs at UC Santa Cruz. She also previously served as Ventures’ fund development director. 
• Second Harvest adds impact officer: Second Harvest Food Bank Santa Cruz County appointed Adriana Mata as its new chief community impact officer, effective Thursday. Mata was previously chief of operations at Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance. Her appointment comes as the food bank is launching a campaign to encourage more community financial support after the sudden loss of more than $700,000 in federal funding.
• Driscoll’s hires Estée Lauder VP: Driscoll’s appointed Gaëlle Le Meur as its chief people officer. Le Meur joins the Watsonville berry producer from The Estée Lauder Companies, where she most recently served as vice president, human resources business partner, global supply chain.

Got hires, promotions, or departures to report? Send them to news@lookoutlocal.com with the subject line “Career changes.”

What’s new on the Lookout Job Board

• Chief Public Defender Investigator at The County of Santa Cruz
• Early Childhood Senior Teacher II (Infant/Toddler) at UC Santa Cruz
• Finance and Customer Service Manager at Scotts Valley Water District
• Senior Building Maintenance Worker at UC Santa Cruz
• Restorative Justice Programs Director at Conflict Resolution Center of Santa Cruz County

Want more? Browse all openings on our job board.

Hiring? Post your job today!

Save the date

• Thursday, May 1: The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership will hold the 2025 Regional Economic Outlook from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Seascape Golf Club in Aptos. The keynote speaker is economist Jon Haveman, principal with Marin Economic Consulting, which provides reports for government agencies and economic development organizations. California State Controller Malia Cohen, veteran political strategist Mike Madrid and Santa Cruz County Executive Officer Carlos Palacios are also set to speak. More details here.
• Thursday, May 1: The Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce will host a “state of the city” meeting with Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. at the Dream Inn, 175 West Cliff Dr., Santa Cruz. Tickets are $55 and are available here.
• Thursday, May 1: The Santa Cruz Hostel will host a ribbon-cutting with the Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce to celebrate its recent renovations, made possible by a grant from the California State Coastal Conservancy. The hostel can now host up to 51 guests in dorms, private rooms and private cottages. The event starts at 5:45 p.m. at 321 Main St., Santa Cruz.
• Friday, May 9: The Santa Cruz County Small Business Development Center will hold its annual Small Business Summit from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Cabrillo College’s Samper Recital Hall in Aptos. More than 200 local small business owners are expected to attend, along with local business leaders and other industry representatives. Registration and additional details here.
• Friday, May 16: Event Santa Cruz and Santa Cruz Vibes will be honoring local businesses, entrepreneurs and community leaders at the annual NEXTies Awards from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. The event will be held at Woodhouse Blending & Brewing at 119 Madrone St. in Santa Cruz. Tickets and details here.
• Monday, May 19: The Monterey Bay Economic Partnership will bring together local business leaders, elected officials, community members and tech executives for the 2025 Regional Broadband Summit from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Seascape Golf Club in Aptos. Speakers include Santa Cruz County Chief Information Officer Tammie Weigl, Etheric Networks CEO and co-founder Alexander Hagen and Jacqueline Leon, marketing and programs manager for Loaves, Fishes and Computers. Tickets are $49 for MBEP members, $79 for non-members. Register here.
• Wednesday, May 21: The eighth annual Santa Cruz Launchpad career fair and student pitch competition will be held at the Cocoanut Grove Ballroom. The student pitch competition takes place from noon to 4 p.m., with the job fair following at 5 p.m. to 7  p.m. The event is free and open to the public, but advanced registration is requested. 

Add your business or networking events to Lookout’s free public calendar, BOLO. Click here to add your event.

Business news worth reading

• What tariffs mean for your beer — no matter where it’s brewed (The Mercury News)
• Universal Audio heads to Muscle Shoals to rebuild a legend (Music Connection) 
• California’s economy surpasses Japan’s as it becomes fourth-largest in world (The Guardian)

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