The Santa Cruz County Business Council is seeking a new Executive Director after the departure of Robert Singleton, who served for 4 years.

March 19th, 2021–The Santa Cruz County Business Council is seeking a new Executive Director after its existing director, Robert Singleton, announced his upcoming departure to the Board of Directors on Thursday. Singleton has led the Business Council as the Executive Director for the past 4 years, after previously serving the organization as a policy analyst before being promoted in 2017, following the departure of then CEO Casey Beyer.   

The Santa Cruz County Business Council is a 501c(6) advocacy organization that represents the largest employers in Santa Cruz County, with a primary focus on business and quality of life issues, including housing development, transportation, homelessness, and water infrastructure. The organization also serves as the general public affairs arm of the county-wide business community; joining coalitions, drafting letters of support, and working to place members of the business community into positions of influence or engage key stakeholders. The SCCBC boasts over 80 dues paying membership organizations, including a diverse executive officer team represented by Looker/Google Cloud, UC Santa Cruz, Cruzio Internet, Marianne’s Ice Cream, and Kindpeoples.

Perhaps most well known for his advocacy on issues related to land use, housing development, and economic development, Robert Singleton will be leaving the Business Council after 8 years of combined experience. During his tenure, the Business Council worked extensively with its member companies and other partner organizations to advocate on behalf of many new housing development projects, ballot initiatives–including Measures D, H, L, M (oppose)  R, Y, and Z; larger land use plans like the Downtown Plan and Sustainable Santa Cruz County Plan, and specific projects like Student Housing West and the in-concept approval of the downtown mixed use library/housing/parking development.

“Robert has been an invaluable advocate for the business community over the last four years and has elevated its voice on the most pressing issues facing our county. He will be deeply missed, and we wish him the best on all of his future endeavors” said Stacy Nagel 2021 Board Chair. Singleton will be moving on to accept a senior government partnerships position at Bird Scooters, helping to oversee the Rockies/Pacific Northwest region.

A hiring committee of SCCBC members has been formed and will be overseeing the recruitment of a new Executive Director. A formal job description and posting of the position will take place next week. Those interested in being considered can email their resume and cover letter to robert.singleton@sccbusinesscouncil.com.