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By Kristen Brown, Executive Director, Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce As we reach the halfway point of 2025, it’s a great time to reflect on the momentum we’ve built together through events, advocacy, partnerships, and growing our membership. This year has already brought new energy and exciting opportunities, and we’re grateful to have you with us every step of the way. Strengthening Community Connections We’ve deepened our community engagement through meaningful partnerships with Leadership Santa Cruz County, Event Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Sister Cities, and our fellow chambers in Aptos, Scotts Valley, Capitola-Soquel, Pajaro Valley, and San Lorenzo Valley. Whether we are cutting the ribbon at Event Santa Cruz’s Midtown Friday Block Parties, co-hosting multi-chamber mixers, or assisting with the upcoming event with author Charles Duhigg at the Rio Theatre, we’ve prioritized being present and building stronger regional relationships. Welcoming New Members and Inviting Your Voice This year, we’ve welcomed more than 35 new members into the Chamber family. As we grow, we remain focused on delivering strong value to every member. Your feedback helps us shape our programs and priorities, so we invite you to complete our member survey at bit.ly/scacsurvey. We are already looking ahead to 2026, and we want to make sure our work continues to reflect your needs and goals. Expanding Events and Learning Opportunities We’ve added new events to the calendar, including a series of virtual Lunch & Learns designed to provide practical tools for local businesses. We’ve already hosted two successful sessions, one focused on LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace, and another on how to assess both physical and virtual ADA compliance to mitigate risk before it becomes costly. These programs reflect our commitment to offering accessible, relevant content that supports business success. Join us for our next Lunch and Learn on July 16th, when we’ll be joined by Jeffrey Brouillette from Zero Patch Consulting and learn about identifying and addressing physical and virtual security threats for our businesses. We’ve also opened registration for our second Community Leadership Visit of the year, which will take us over the hill to San Jose. This trip will explore the economic opportunity surrounding the 2026 Super Bowl and World Cup, both of which will be hosted in San Jose. We’ll focus on how travel, tourism, and hospitality can drive regional growth. Learn more and register at bit.ly/ChamberCLV Advocating for Our Business Community Over the past three months, we’ve proudly advocated for our members at every level of government, including City, County, State, and Federal. From supporting our members at City Council meetings to traveling to Sacramento to advocate with members of the State legislature, we are working to make sure your voice is heard where it matters most. We’ve also streamlined our advocacy process to make it easier for members to request support on the issues that impact them. You can now submit a request at bit.ly/scacadvocacy, and our Board of Directors will review it. If approved, we are available to provide public testimony, letters of support, and assistance with setting up meetings with key decision-makers. At our July board meeting, we will consider a set of values and administrative guidelines to help approve common types of requests more quickly. This change will allow us to respond even faster to the needs of our members. Committed to Continuous Improvement We are continuing to improve our systems and processes to better serve our members. From new member onboarding to event registration and communication, we are focused on becoming more efficient, accessible, and responsive. We welcome your feedback and ideas as we evolve into the best Chamber we can be.
By Kristen Brown, Executive Director, Santa Cruz Area Chamber of Commerce
As we reach the halfway point of 2025, it’s a great time to reflect on the momentum we’ve built together through events, advocacy, partnerships, and growing our membership. This year has already brought new energy and exciting opportunities, and we’re grateful to have you with us every step of the way.
Strengthening Community Connections We’ve deepened our community engagement through meaningful partnerships with Leadership Santa Cruz County, Event Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz Sister Cities, and our fellow chambers in Aptos, Scotts Valley, Capitola-Soquel, Pajaro Valley, and San Lorenzo Valley. Whether we are cutting the ribbon at Event Santa Cruz’s Midtown Friday Block Parties, co-hosting multi-chamber mixers, or assisting with the upcoming event with author Charles Duhigg at the Rio Theatre, we’ve prioritized being present and building stronger regional relationships.
Welcoming New Members and Inviting Your Voice This year, we’ve welcomed more than 35 new members into the Chamber family. As we grow, we remain focused on delivering strong value to every member. Your feedback helps us shape our programs and priorities, so we invite you to complete our member survey at bit.ly/scacsurvey. We are already looking ahead to 2026, and we want to make sure our work continues to reflect your needs and goals.
Expanding Events and Learning Opportunities We’ve added new events to the calendar, including a series of virtual Lunch & Learns designed to provide practical tools for local businesses. We’ve already hosted two successful sessions, one focused on LGBTQ+ inclusion in the workplace, and another on how to assess both physical and virtual ADA compliance to mitigate risk before it becomes costly. These programs reflect our commitment to offering accessible, relevant content that supports business success. Join us for our next Lunch and Learn on July 16th, when we’ll be joined by Jeffrey Brouillette from Zero Patch Consulting and learn about identifying and addressing physical and virtual security threats for our businesses.
We’ve also opened registration for our second Community Leadership Visit of the year, which will take us over the hill to San Jose. This trip will explore the economic opportunity surrounding the 2026 Super Bowl and World Cup, both of which will be hosted in San Jose. We’ll focus on how travel, tourism, and hospitality can drive regional growth. Learn more and register at bit.ly/ChamberCLV
Advocating for Our Business Community Over the past three months, we’ve proudly advocated for our members at every level of government, including City, County, State, and Federal. From supporting our members at City Council meetings to traveling to Sacramento to advocate with members of the State legislature, we are working to make sure your voice is heard where it matters most. We’ve also streamlined our advocacy process to make it easier for members to request support on the issues that impact them. You can now submit a request at bit.ly/scacadvocacy, and our Board of Directors will review it. If approved, we are available to provide public testimony, letters of support, and assistance with setting up meetings with key decision-makers.
At our July board meeting, we will consider a set of values and administrative guidelines to help approve common types of requests more quickly. This change will allow us to respond even faster to the needs of our members.
Committed to Continuous Improvement We are continuing to improve our systems and processes to better serve our members. From new member onboarding to event registration and communication, we are focused on becoming more efficient, accessible, and responsive. We welcome your feedback and ideas as we evolve into the best Chamber we can be.