On January 28, 2012, join Santa Cruz NEXT in celebrating four Santa Cruzans who are making a huge impact on our quality of life. This year, the NEXTies will be held at the Museum of Art & History, which will be transformed once again through the talents of Timerie Gordon of Nielsen Architects and Design Studio, the party starts at 7:00 pm. This year, Barbara & Company has put together a fantastic tasting menu with the help of Live Earth Farm. Get your tickets early as the NEXTies are sure to sell out before the event.
Tickets and information can be found at http://nexties2012.eventbrite.com/
The 2012 Winners are: Mark Davidson: The President of Mountain Bikers of Santa Cruz (MBOSC) since 2004, Mark Davidson believes that Santa Cruz is one of the best places in the world to ride a bike. Working with land managers, advocates and the community, MBOSC is trying to improve the economic and physical health of our community by embracing the sport of mountain biking. Mark and his team at MBOSC have raised $41,000 over the past several years to assist government agencies in maintaining and developing recreational facilities for bikes. He helped start Trips for Kids Santa Cruz, which is a non-profit that focuses on providing at-risk youth with positive outdoor experiences through mountain biking. Mark has also raised funds for Turning Wheels for Kids, a San Jose non-profit that donates new bikes to low income families for Christmas. Monica Martinez: Executive Director of the Homeless Services Center, Santa Cruz County’s largest organization providing emergency and transitional services to homeless individuals and families. Since taking on this role, Monica has brought a renewed respect to the issue of homelessness by focusing on community partnerships and innovative solutions. Monica’s relentless drive and passion for serving those in need has helped to mobilize the community around a single goal; to collaboratively build solutions toward ending homelessness in Santa Cruz. Jacob Martinez: Jacob has more than eight years of experience in encouraging those in under-served communities to pursue careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). He currently serves as the Director for the Watsonville Technologia-Educacion-Comunidad (TEC) Program. The program’s goal is to provide the recreational, academic, familial and psycho-social support services necessary to encourage students to pursue higher education and careers in information technology. In the past 5 years, Jacob has also served as a CASA Advocate and currently sits on the Board of Directors for Above the Line. He is a husband and father of three. Jeremy Neuner: Inspired by Santa Cruz’s creative population and our city’s long history of innovation, Jeremy helped to start NextSpace, a co-working business, in 2008. NextSpace provides a unique combination of infrastructure and community to entrepreneurs, freelancers and independent creative professionals, and has expanded from its flagship on Cooper Street to locations in San Francisco, San Jose and Los Angeles. Jeremy began his career as a carrier-based helicopter pilot in the U.S. Navy and then obtained a Master’s in business and government policy from Harvard University, but he thinks he's learned more from his three kids.