Empowering Santa Cruz Students to Build Bright Futures Through Real-World Career Exploration
Your Future Is Our Business was formed by members of the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce Education Committee in 1993.
We are a specialized Work-Based Learning Service Provider that connects education with industry. We partner with school districts and educational organizations to provide students—regardless of background—with equitable access to high-quality career exploration in high-wage, high-demand fields. Through authentic workplace experiences and professional mentorship, students gain real-world skills while exploring sustainable career pathways.
Meet the Team
Behind the mission of Your Future Is Our Business is a dedicated group of individuals committed to empowering the next generation. Our staff and board members bring together experience in education, business, and community leadership to create meaningful career exploration opportunities for students across Santa Cruz County. Get to know the passionate team working behind the scenes to connect classrooms with careers and help young people discover their future paths.

Deborah Lindsay
Executive Director
(she/her)
Deborah Lindsay, originally from Canada, has been a Santa Cruz local for many years. Deborah brings her passion for education and youth empowerment to guide our mission of connecting students with meaningful career pathways. An experienced leader and educator, She is an Adjunct Professor at UCSC, Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurial Development, where she teaches the summer “Get Virtual Business Assistance” course that bridges the gap between education and real-world business applications.
Throughout her career, Deborah has focused on creating opportunities that transform lives and strengthen communities. Her experience spans from leading the Bay Area nonprofit, Environmental Volunteers, to serving as Chief Operating Officer at the local startup, PitchHub, where she consistently demonstrated her ability to build strong teams and drive organizational success. As a former elected official in Pacific Grove and the co-founder of Communities for a Sustainable Monterey County, she understands the vital role that community partnerships play in creating lasting change.
Deborah holds an MBA in Sustainable Management from Presidio Graduate School and brings extensive expertise in organizational development, strategic planning, and building inclusive environments where diverse groups can thrive. She is the Chair of a new local non-profit, Spirit WIthout Boundaries, that brings mindfulness and meditation to middle and high school students in the Santa Cruz area.

Kim Espinosa
Office Manager
(she/her)
I was born and raised in Santa Cruz along with my parents. I graduated from Soquel High School where I volunteered and worked for the Live Oak School District for over 20 years. I recently retired from LOSD and am currently working with Your Future Is Our Business and as a bookkeeper for Sea to Sky Farm. I’ve been married for 30 years, I have two grown children, 1 cat and a new puppy we just adopted.

Patrick Harte
"What To Be" Radio Show Host
(he/him)
I was born and raised in Santa Cruz County. I am a lover of most outdoor activities, whether it be in the ocean or in the mountains. A big part of my life over the past 20 years has been bicycles, whether it was racing downhill early on to riding a gravel bike these days. I am back in school after graduating from Soquel High a long time ago and I’m so grateful to be back in academia. I am pursuing a degree in Environmental Science from UCSC with an emphasis on joining UCSC’s Science Communication program. I joined Ksquid at the beginning of the summer as an intern and it has been awesome! I have enjoyed producing a couple of radio features, DJing a music show, I’ve conducted interviews surrounding the fires and on election night, as well as guest hosting The Cutting Edge Show. I am thankful for the opportunity to join what sounds like a fabulous program and group of people with Your Future Is Our Business as the new host for the What To Be radio show. I look forward to interviewing some great people and helping grow this organization.

Kyle Johnson
Project Ops Coordinator
(he/him)
My name is Kyle Johnson. I was born and raised in Los Angeles, California until I moved up to Santa Cruz to begin my college career in 2021. I came as an Anthropology major before realizing my affection for creative writing. I’ve been fortunate enough to get my work published in an on-campus literary reader, Matchbox Magazine, and place in the Top 30 in the International Literary Seminar’s Poetry and Fiction Contest in 2023. I love reading mythology, fiction, comic books, and philosophy. I also create short films. I LOVE movies! I’ve been blessed to make a short film and a music video for the Fishmans “Walking in the Rhythm” that was screened on campus. If I’m not at school, you can usually find me at the Del Mar Theater in downtown Santa Cruz or screening a film for Sci-Fi Club. I love running! I have the honor of being president of the Slug XC Club on-campus. I just ran my first half-marathon and I’m training for an ultra-marathon coming up in fifteen weeks. Music means a great deal to me and was how I started creative writing. I’m a staff member and programmer at KZSC where I mentor incoming students who want to participate at the station! My first show I’ve done was dedicated to women in electronic music; and now I play ambient or ambient-adjacent (drone, minimalism, trip-hop, glitch) music. I plan to graduate in 2026 and hope to travel the world right afterwards.
Board of Directors

Jack Michael
Board President
(he/him)
My name is Jack Michael, and I serve as the K14 Pathway Coordinator for the Santa Cruz Cabrillo Community College District with the Bay Area Community College Consortium (BACCC). In this role, I support crucial connections between the K–12 sector and community colleges, focusing on enhancing Career Technical Education (CTE) programs and pathways to meet regional workforce needs. Previously, I spent nine years as the Project Coordinator for College & Career Readiness with the Alternative Education Program at the Santa Cruz County Office of Education. Originally from Akron, OH, I now live in downtown Santa Cruz and am an active triathlete and vegan. I also have a fraternal twin brother who still lives back in Ohio.

David Wright
Board Member
(he/him)
David Wright is the VP of Operations at Elements Manufacturing in Santa Cruz. He has a Master’s Degree in Public Administration from San Diego State University and a BA from the University of the Pacific. He’s bilingual Spanish and a Rotary International Scholar.
Dave is a co-founder of Santa Cruz County Friends of the Rail & Trail and served on their board of directors until December 2015. Other nonprofit work has included CEO of the Santa Cruz Chapter of the American Red Cross, Executive Director of SLV Recycling and volunteer with Amigos de las Americas. In his spare time, Dave plays the guitar, teaches at Cabrillo College, and does welding and millwork projects. He and his wife have two children and have lived in Santa Cruz County since 1991.

Cristine-Chopra
Executive Director, Santa Cruz County College and Career Collaborative
(she/her)
Cristine Chopra is the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz County College and Career Collaborative. She was born and raised in Dana Point CA. She moved to northern CA when she enrolled at UC Santa Cruz where she earned her bachelor’s degree. She began her career in education in 1996 as a high school English teacher in San Jose before moving to Seattle. While in Seattle she served as the Director of the Collaborative for Instructional Development at the Washington State GEAR UP Project as well as supporting the Center for Curriculum Transformation and the Center for Multicultural Education. Dr. Chopra earned her Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Policy Studies from the University of Washington in 2014. She has taught undergraduate and graduate students at UCSC, and CSUMB but is happy to have come back to K-12 work. Cristine strives to assist districts to think of their students’ futures beyond high school graduation and bridge the divide between K-12 and postsecondary institutions. She is a new board member with YFIOB but has partnered with them for 5 years through her work at the County Office of Education and appreciates the multiple opportunities YFIOB provides for students to find their passion and path early in life.
Her advice to young people is to explore career options early, know what it takes to get there, and leave every opportunity open for yourself now and in the future.

Nicole Beaver
Branch Manager Bay Federal Credit Union

Tammie Weigl
Director of Information Services, County of Santa Cruz

David Lee
Assistant Professor, UC Santa Cruz

Julia Greenspan
Director of Sales Operations at Lazurite

Desha Staley-Raatior M.A.
Director Career Development, Cabrillo College

Amy Nama
Environmental Services Administrator, Granite Rock

Nisha Patel
Deputy Director of Personnel, County of Santa Cruz

Dante Searcy
People Operations Generalist, Joby Aviation

Pamela Price
Director of Education, Watsonville Community Hospital

Carol Siegel
Interim Talent Acquisition Manager, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk

Margie Whiting Sisk
Part Owner, Whiting’s Foods
(she/her)
Margie was born in Santa Cruz ,the hospital on West Cliff Drive was just up the street from where she works every day! She’s an alumni of Holy Cross Elementary, Harbor High and San Jose State University.
Margie is part owner of Whiting’s Foods , the largest food service provider on the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk and Kaiser Arena. She oversees all things PEOPLE ( hiring , training, motivating!)
Margie is 3rd generation in the business, started by her grandfather and father in 1953. She has enormous pride in the job opportunities it has provided for so many local youth for 70 years..
Her goal is for Whiting’s employees to feel valued, learn job and life skills, develop a sense of responsibility, and learn to work well with all types of people. She has seen firsthand through generations of employees that entry level positions can lead to any career one chooses . She sees how hard work can be fun and rewarding, and that life skills and lifelong friendships become more valuable than any paycheck.
Margie has spearheaded many motivational and training programs that have won industry awards. She is constantly developing programs to train, educate & motivate today’s teens and young adults.
Margie has been a supporter of Your Future is OUr Business for the last decade , but joined the Board in 2021. She believes strongly in ALL the incredible work of the organization , especially that many career pathways can start from that very first job.
“I am committed to help young people understand the value of work in their mental , physical , and emotional health. So many good things can happen when you get a job…way beyond a paycheck!”

Jane Iana Kostina
Strawberry Phenotyping Specialist, Driscoll’s
Former Executive Directors
- Yvette Brooks
- Malina Long
- Mary Guakel
- Shareen Bell
- Stacey Smith
- Chris McGriff
- David Weiss
Former Board Members
- Leslie DeRose: CTE Coordinator Cabrillo College
- Carolyn Auman: Senior Accountant Manager, Poly (Formerly Plantronics) Board Vice President
- Tish Denevan: Former Community Employment Coordinator, Santa Cruz Seaside Company
- Mark Hodges: Former Senior Director of The Santa Cruz County Career and Technical Education Partnership
- Keisha Frost: CEO United Way of Santa Cruz County
- Henry Michel: Career and Technical Education Program Coordinator
- Ralph Peduto
- Alan Stormes: Founder Elements Manufacturing Inc.,
- Aki Williams: Chief Executive, Defib This
- Winston Whittaker:
- Les Forster
- Emily Jacobsen
- Maritza Lara
- Betsy Andersen
- Casey Gaynor
- Gerlinde Brady
- Emily Ham
- Murry Scheckman
- Teresa Madrigal
- Hayley Mears
- Michael Marheineke
- Thomas Sage Petersen: Founder/Host, Speak For Change Podcast CEO, Everyone’s Music School

In Memoriam
Alan Stormes, 1957 – 2019
Alan Stormes was a quiet, kind, and generous board member. Alan was always behind the scenes, looking for ways to help youth find their path and offering opportunities for youth to learn more about careers in the manufacturing sector. He gave tours of his company, Elements Manufacturing, to youth in order for them to learn more about commercial millwork and manufacturing. Read more about Alan below:
Alan’s Biography
Alan Osama Stormes passed away on July 14, 2019 after a brief illness. He will forever be remembered by his family, friends and coworkers for his brilliant intellect, friendly demeanor, energetic work ethic, generous spirit and irreverent humor. Alan was born in Redland, California on August 16, 1957. He loved cars, airplanes, machines and, above all, woodworking. After graduating from San Diego State University he went on to form Elements Manufacturing in Santa Cruz, California. Alan’s knowledge of machines, computers and construction enabled him to build a company of over 30 employees and hundreds of business partners that all work together providing commercial millwork to Silicon Valley businesses. In 2002, Alan met the love of his life, Kristy. Together they cared for one another, their family members and the many people in the community who came to trust and depend on them for guidance, love, friendship and support. To many of us, Alan was more than a friend or a coworker, he was a teacher. We sought his help, his ideas and his guidance on everything from business to manufacturing to life in general. In addition to building and teaching complex projects, Alan loved to fly small airplanes. In recent years he learned to fly gliders and piloted as an active member of the Hollister Gliding Club.
Intern & Staff Alumni

Jack Lento-Edrich
Database Design Intern

Sabrina Waldie
Operations Intern

Eric Barraza
Outreach & Marketing Intern

Colin Dunn
Web Developer Intern

Christine Lee
Outreach & Event Planning Interm

Emily Manabe
Outreach & Planning

Lucius Mitchell
Event Planner/ Program Coordinator Intern

Jorge Bravo Martinez
Sr. Bilingual Outreach Coordinator

Brianie Gonzalez
Event Planner/ Program Coordinator Intern

Lexyy Trinidad
Event Planner/ Program Coordinator Intern

Kameryn Hawes
Highschool Intern

Michele Chaney
Sr. Project Coordinator

Kamiah Dix
Outreach & Marketing Intern

Morgan Matias
Marketing Intern

Betty G. Munoz
Career Counselor/Workshop Presenter Intern

Carlos Alcala
Website Manager Intern

Addison Fonseca
Marketing & Outreach Intern

Elizabeth Brooks
Executive Director Intern

Julian Uribe
Event Planning

Nicholas Henderson
Full Stack Web Developer

Ben Denning
Radio Show Host, What To Be

Leslie Lorenzo
Outreach & Event Planning

Danielle Davis
Radio Show Host & Event Planning

Hannah Sendaydiego
Outreach and Event Planning Intern

Jacob Schekman
What to Be Show Host

Jesse Gonzalez
Community Engagement and Outreach

Samuel Hernandez
GANAS Career Program Coordinator Intern

Elayne Carbajal
GANAS Career Program Coordinator Intern

Denilson Perez
GANAS Career Program Coordinator Intern

Kristine Vuong
Program Coordinator Intern

Catherine Romero
Project Coordinator

Sookie Ramos
Program Coordinator Intern

Bella Birkhofer
Program Coordinator Intern

Emily Moua
Program Coordinator Intern