Jamie Garfield

Director of Student & Community Engagement

Jamie Garfield (Keil) (she/her) comes to Lookout Santa Cruz with 10 years of education and community engagement experience within Santa Cruz County. After graduating from UC Santa Cruz, this banana slug dove deep into the town, working at various local elementary schools and heading up a new education program at the Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History (MAH). Jamie’s skillset seamlessly connects Lookout’s mission and news with students and community members in the county.

At the MAH, Jamie not only developed and implemented a brand-new interactive education program, she ran community-centered events with a variety of collaborators, artists, students and organizations across the county. An artist herself, she was able to use her creative drive to engage the community and create unique experiences for people of all ages and backgrounds. Driven by the need for creative spaces, Jamie has also been a board member at nonprofit dance studio Motion Pacific for the past five years. Today, you might catch her artwork in various First Friday art shows or take a dance class she teaches every now and then called Power Prance.

For the past two years, Jamie has created and grown a robust education and community engagement program for Lookout. Working closely with local high schools, UC Santa Cruz and Cabrillo College, Jamie frequently visits classrooms and develops custom curriculum around Lookout’s local news for educators to use local news in the classroom. Last school year, she launched our first journalism scholarship and hosts special events with local partners throughout the year for our readers.

“I do not plan on leaving Santa Cruz and I feel so lucky to live in a town with such a naturally beautiful environment and such a strong sense of community,” Jamie says. “I am proud to be a part of Lookout, a company that really is dedicated to delivering great, in-depth, factual news, which can only make this community stronger and more connected.”