Tech Sweet Spot

I could never have been born in a more awesome place. I realize that just now.

I was born (and currently live) in the largest city in one of the most conscious locations on the planet. It is primed to receive an exodus of some of the most advanced technological minds right to my backyard. I live in Santa Rosa, an hour north of San Francisco. It’s groovy, it’s crunchy granola, we’re tree huggers, we’re conscious, there’s meditation, vegetarianism, veganism, the slow food movement, hippies, we have a high gay population, and the highest ranking community in California for volunteerism. We even have the Bohemian Grove, a notoriously secret enclave of Republican and conservative old boys meeting in our woods every year. It’s a fabulous, tolerant and diverse place to live.

But there’s something happening in the South Bay and Silicon Valley based tech organizations. The world tips towards the Bay Area when it comes to technology but many are leaving. Creating a startup and working at a huge successful company are completely different animals. A lot of those forward thinking people and those that created tremendous fortunes and became very influential in their fields are now retiring and/or moving onto new ventures. And where are they retiring to? Wine Country.  Right in the heart of where I live.

Consciousness AND technology? It couldn’t get any better.

Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Board

As of February 2011, I was appointed to the Bicycle Pedestrian Advisory Board for the City of Santa Rosa by City Council Member Scott Bartley. This advisory board “provides City staff with input on the type of pedestrian and bicycle transportation projects that should be considered for commuting and what priority those projects should have.  These efforts culminate in the preparation of the City’s Bicycle & Pedestrian Master Plan.”

Since being appointed to the board (my term is 4 years), many people have assumed that I am on the Sonoma County Bike Coalition and confusing the groups. They are very different. The BPAB supports City Council and addresses both bicycle as well as pedestrian issues. The coalition is just for bikes and is a civilian based non-profit interest group.

I just wanted to clarify and let everyone know I am excited to be a part of the civic process! I am not passionate these subjects by themselves. What I AM passionate about is where I live and making it the best place it can be. Let me know if you have anything I should be aware of. Go Santa Rosa!