(June 09, 2021) -Marina, CA-Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is pleased to announce the appointment of five members to its Board of Directors, adding leaders in agriculture, commercial real estate, healthcare, education and finance. These new board members share MBEP’s vision of improving the economic health and quality of life in the region.

The five new board members are:

• Fred Caiocca, Executive Vice President, Regional Lending Manager, Santa Cruz County Bank

• Mark Campion, President, Taylor Farms Retail

• Pete Delgado, President/CEO, Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System

• Benjamin Ow, President, Ow Commercial

• Faris Sabbah, Superintendent, Santa Cruz County Office of Education

“I am personally excited to welcome such a strong group of new board members,” said Eduardo Ochoa, President of CSU Monterey Bay and Board Chair of MBEP. “We look forward to working with them in the coming year to further MBEP’s mission.”

“We are excited to expand our board with five new members with unique backgrounds and perspectives. We have worked hard to ensure that the MBEP board represents a diverse variety of experts from private businesses, nonprofit organizations, public entities and educational institutions,” said Kate Roberts, MBEP President and CEO. “These new board members are no exception.”  

Fred Caiocca is the Executive Vice President, Regional Lending Manager, at Santa Cruz County Bank. Fred joined the bank at its inception as a Senior Vice President and Senior Lending officer and has over 30 years of banking and lending experience. He is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School and a graduate of Focus Agriculture. 

 Mark Campion is President of Taylor Farms Retail, headquartered in Salinas, California. He has been with Taylor Farms for over 20 years in various capacities. Mark learned the business from the ground up, starting in food service operations before moving into sales leadership. In 2009 Taylor Farms launched their retail division, which Mark has led since inception. He is now responsible for all retail operations manufactured in seven facilities in the United States and two in Mexico.

 Pete Delgado is President/CEO of Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System. Pete is responsible for directing the leadership and operations of an integrated network of health care programs, services and facilities. During his tenure at Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Pete has expanded access to care, greatly increasing the services available to all members of the community regardless of their ability to pay. He is passionate about patient safety, quality clinical outcomes, exceptional patient experience, and partnering with patients and their families to achieve an improved quality of life.

 Benjamin Ow is President of Ow Commercial and a Principal of Ow Family Properties. Ow Commercial is a leading commercial real estate brokerage company that represents buyers, sellers, landlords, and tenants of commercial real estate throughout the nation. Ow Family Properties owns and manages a portfolio of over 1,500,000 square feet of the finest commercial real estate properties located throughout the Monterey Bay Region. Benjamin received his bachelor's degree in Economics from UCLA and his master's degree in Real Estate and Development from USC.

 Faris Sabbah has served as the Santa Cruz County Superintendent of Schools since 2019. He is an immigrant to this country, having grown up in Iraq and Ecuador, and has lived in Santa Cruz County for over 30 years. Over the past 25 years, he has served in a variety of positions in education at the site, district, and County Office of Education levels. He believes wholeheartedly that education is about serving the whole child, and disrupting inequitable practices to uplift student voice.

About MBEP 

Monterey Bay Economic Partnership (MBEP) is a regional nonprofit member supported organization consisting of public, private and civic entities located throughout the counties of Monterey, San Benito and Santa Cruz. MBEP’s mission is to improve the economic health and quality of life in the region. www.mbep.biz.

About Santa Cruz County Bank: Santa Cruz County Bank was founded in 2004. It is a top-rated, locally owned and operated, full-service community bank headquartered in Santa Cruz, California. The bank has eight branches – Aptos, Capitola, Cupertino, Monterey, Santa Cruz (2), Scotts Valley and Watsonville. Santa Cruz County Bank is distinguished from "big banks" by its relationship-based service, problem-solving focus, and direct access to decision makers. The bank is a leading SBA lender in Santa Cruz County and Silicon Valley. https://sccountybank.com/

About Taylor Farms:  Taylor Farms is a leader in innovation in agriculture. Dedicated to being North America’s favorite maker of salad and healthy fresh foods, Taylor Farms focuses on innovation by consistently developing new products and improving production methods. Taylor Farms is grounded in a commitment to quality with products harvested, packaged and shipped at the peak of freshness. https://www.taylorfarms.com/

About Santa Cruz County Office of Education: The mission of the Santa Cruz County Office of Education (Santa Cruz COE) is to lead an equitable and innovative learner-centered educational system. Santa Cruz COE offers a wide range of fiscal, educational, and technical support services to local school districts, helping to maintain and improve lifelong educational opportunities and social-emotional wellbeing for students across Santa Cruz county. Santa Cruz COE also operates schools that serve educationally disadvantaged students, and provide career education programs.https://santacruzcoe.org/

About Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare Systems: Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, founded in 1953, is the cornerstone of what would eventually become Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System (SVMHS). Today they serve thousands of individuals and families throughout the Salinas Valley, Monterey Peninsula and the surrounding region. https://www.svmh.com/

About Ow Commercial: Ow Commercial is a boutique commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in single tenant, net leased property sales throughout the US, as well as investment sales, landlord representation, and tenant representation in California, with an emphasis on the Bay Area and Los Angeles metro regions. https://www.owcommercial.com/

www.mbep.biz