Shannan Watkins is the executive director of Early Development Services, which operates eight children’s centers from Monterey to Santa Barbara County. She spent eight years as the chair of the Monterey County Child Care Planning Council. Watkins teaches child development courses at Monterey Peninsula College and Hartnell College and also provides consulting services to other child development programs.

Jordan Pratt-Thatcher, Commercial Insurance Broker with Leavitt Insurance Group, grew up in Minnesota just outside the twin cities and graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts with a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre. He also graduated from the “Dale Carnegie Foundations for Success” manager training program for fast-track managerial employees. Jordan serves as co-chair of the UWMC Emerging Leaders Society and has been instrumental in rebuilding the group.

Stefan Lorch is the general manager at Monterey Marriott and has over 25 years of experience in the global hospitality industry. Before joining Marriott International, Stefan held various hotel and corporate leadership roles with Starwood Hotels & Resorts, leading Rooms & Sustainability for North America, Global Rooms Initiatives and Rooms Operations in Europe, Africa & Middle East. Prior to Starwood, he spent 8 years at Hyatt Hotels in North America.

Juana O. Gomez is the Executive Vice President of Human Capital at Frutura, bringing over 30 years of experience in the local agriculture industry. Juana holds an A.S. degree in Accounting from Cabrillo College, a B.S. in Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources from San Jose State University, and an MBA from California State University, Monterey Bay. Juana is actively involved in her community, volunteering hundreds of hours with local non-profits, mentoring university students, and serving on the Business Advisory Council at Cal State Monterey Bay.

As a serial entrepreneur and early pioneer in the tech space, Brayton Johnson has founded and led several Web, tech, and digital advertising firms. His strengths lie in strategic planning, general, operational, and financial management, with domain expertise in digital advertising, start-ups and turnarounds. Brayton launched his career in corporate and investment banking, ultimately leaving JPMorgan Chase to embark on his career in tech in The SF Bay area. He and his wife have found their new home and life in Monterey and are grateful for the warm welcome of a great community!

Carmen Gil is the Gonzales City Manager and previously served for three years as Director of Community Engagement and Strategic Partnership. She has decades of experience working at different organizations in the private and public sectors in Monterey County. She is a board member of the Alliance on Aging, Big Sur Land Trust and the Salinas Valley Health Foundation, and formerly served as an elected board member on the SVH board of trustees.