Monica will be the first out LGBTQ+ person to serve on the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors!
Biography
Monica Martinez is a candidate for 5th District Supervisor in Santa Cruz County, CA. She currently serves as Chief Executive Officer of Santa Cruz County’s largest health and human services nonprofit, Encompass Community Services, which provides youth, adults, and families with behavioral health, housing, and early childhood development programs. She previously served as the Executive Director of the Santa Cruz nonprofit Housing Matters, and co-founded the 180/180 Initiative, a community partnership that housed 180 of the most vulnerable individuals experiencing homelessness in less than 2 years. As an LGBTQ+ woman of color, she will bring a new, diverse perspective and voice to the Board, which has been an all-male body since 2012. Martinez will be the first openly LGBTQ+ Supervisor in Santa Cruz County history.