After 13 years of guiding Santa Barbara County, County Executive Officer Mona Miyasato will step down from her position this week.
During her time as the CEO, Miyasato has helped lead the county through economic downturns, responding to natural disasters, and establishing new facilities and services, including the Northern Branch Jail and cannabis program.
Even though she is retiring as CEO, Miyasato said she does not plan to leave the public sector. She plans to stay in Santa Barbara County and hopes to mentor the next generation of public leaders.
She is training to be a leadership coach at the Hudson Institute of Coaching.
Miyasato said she has been supporting local governments and organizations for 30 years, and this will allow her to work with the people in the systems.
“I feel like I’ve done a lot of good work,” she said. “But I want to go before I feel that I’ve stayed too long.”
Miyasato’s last day was on Tuesday in Santa Barbara, where she attended her final Board of Supervisors meeting as CEO. Also in attendance were her husband, David Rzepinski, and her sister and her husband.
The board presented Miyasato with a resolution honoring her time with the county.
The county announced in May that it had selected Jana Petersen to replace Miyasato, and she will officially begin her new role on Thursday.
Petersen was working as the county administrator for Boulder County, Colorado.
Boulder County has a population of 330,000 and includes 10 incorporated towns and cities, and a large, unincorporated area.
Petersen has served multiple roles with Boulder County and was promoted to county administrator in 2020.
Reflecting on County Leadership
In her role, Miyasato was in charge of implementing the policies set by the Board of Supervisors, and oversaw the departments in charge of the various day-to-day operations and functions of the county.
She arrived in Santa Barbara County in the aftermath of the 2007 recession, while the county was still struggling to find its financial footing.
She walked into a situation where department heads were reeling from major cuts to their budgets and fending for themselves.
“People were exhausted, and the board had to make really difficult cuts in the Great Recession,” Miyasato said. “So, morale was low, and (there was) not as much long-term thinking because everyone was trying to address what was right in front of them.”
Over time, Miyasato said, she saw the various departments step up and embrace a sense of unity.
Miyasato credited the departments’ ability to work together as the reason the county was able to fully fund its strategic reserves, tackle major projects, and engage in long-term planning.
She saw the effect of the departments’ ability to work together over the past year as the county prepared for a reduced budget.
The Board of Supervisors approved a $1.66 billion budget for the coming fiscal year in June, a decrease of 1.7% compared to last year. The reduction was largely due to cuts in federal and state funding.
Despite the reduced budget, Miyasato said, the county was largely able to fund most of its goals.
Additionally, even though the county had to lay off employees among various departments, it was able to help some workers find new roles. Staff are also working to hire back some of the employees let go after the state backtracked on some of its funding cuts.
Miyasato credited the department heads for working together to save as many jobs as possible.
“It shows sort of a unity of spirit and culture in the county,” Miyasato said. “I’m proud to be leaving at that point where the people and the projects are making progress.”
During her final address to the board, Miyasato said her proudest accomplishment was not one single thing but the strength of the organization overall and the people who worked there.
“I always say a good CEO should leave the organization that is less dependent on that CEO, and I hope I have done that,” Miyasato said.
In previous roles, Miyasato served as the chief assistant county administrator in Marin County for about five years, and before that she worked for the city government in Santa Monica as its deputy city manager.
She originally double-majored in economics and political science at UC Berkeley before earning her master’s degree in community development and housing at Harvard.
Fifth District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino credits Miyasato for helping rebuild the county’s budget after she arrived in 2013. During most of her time with the county, it did not have any budget shortfalls and was largely able to avoid layoffs.
He also praised her ability to prepare for the future.
“She’s been a real good steward of taxpayers’ money on how to work the budget,” he said.
Lavagnino was early in his tenure on the Board of Supervisors when it was tasked with hiring a new CEO.
The board at the time was made up of First District Supervisor Salud Carbajal, Second District Supervisor Janet Wolf, Third District Supervisor Doreen Farr, Fourth District Supervisor Peter Adam, and Lavagnino.
Lavagnino described the group as good friends and colleagues with five very different ideas of how the government should work.
Lavagnino remembered meeting Miyasato after interviewing about five other candidates, and was instantly impressed by her leadership style, professionalism, and calm demeanor.
“When she walked out the door, we all just looked at each other, and all five of us unanimously just said, ‘Hey, whatever we got to do to offer her this job and get her to accept, we need to do it,” Lavagnino said.
He called the decision the smartest decision they ever made for the county.
Lavagnino also credited Miyasato for how she worked with the board and her ability to collaborate with everyone. Even though he admitted he did not always get what he wanted, Lavagnino said everyone felt like they could make their point and be heard.
“Our mantra, ‘One County, One Future,’ I think is way more than just a motto,” he said. “It was a way of doing business. That we’re all on the same team and trying to get department heads to realize that there’s something bigger than just your department.”
Tanja Heitman, who serves as assistant county executive officer, arrived at the County Executive Office in 2023 after spending 13 years in the Probation Department, including as Chief Probation Officer.
After 30 years in public safety, Heitman was planning to retire in 2023 but was encouraged by Miyasato to move over to her office.
Heitman said she saw Miyasato’s ability to work with various department heads without micromanaging.
Despite all the projects Miyasato has worked on during her time at the county, Heitman said what she will remember most is her leadership.
“For me, her biggest contribution was changing the culture of who Santa Barbara County was as a county staff,” Heitman said. “And allowing this atmosphere where everybody had a seat at the table, everybody has a voice.”
As she prepares to leave, Miyasato said one of the challenges for the county is continuing to understand how its departments are interconnected, not just within the county, but the broader community.
An example she gave is criminal justice, which she says involves more than just the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office and the courts. It requires assistance from Behavioral Health and the County Health Department.
“It’s all interconnected,” Miyasato said. “Which means that in order to make any changes, you really have to be able to look at the whole system and work within the trade-offs across the whole system, and that’s difficult. That’s difficult to explain.”
Making the challenge harder are changes from the federal government, which she said will put more stress on the system.
Miyasato said that one of her biggest regrets at the county and throughout her career has been homelessness. During her time in Santa Monica, she led the city’s homeless services for a year.
“It stems back from over 20 years ago when I was in the city of Santa Monica, so that is a persistent issue,” she said. “I wish we could have made further progress on criminal justice and mental health.”
Miyasato said that even though it’s heartwarming to see how the county’s homeless services have evolved, it is an issue that needs to be addressed on a regional and state level to provide more supportive housing.
One of the ways the county has been able to address homelessness is through DignityMoves developments. The program provides interim housing to people living on the streets.
The homes provide temporary shelters until inhabitants can find permanent housing.
Miyasato also praised the county’s work to improve diversion efforts as an alternative to jail, its work with criminal-justice groups, and moving cases through the system faster.
She said the county has also tried to increase the number of beds available for people suffering from substance-abuse or mental-health issues.
“But you know, I think there’s more work that could be done to ensure that jail is not the place that people go to as the default,” Miyasato said.
Miyasato also spoke about construction at the county’s Northern Branch Jail, where the county plans to add more beds as it prepares to close parts of the Main Branch Jail in Santa Barbara.
The county approved a $139 million contract in July for the expansion project, which will add 384 beds to the jail. The facility itself is fairly new, having only fully opened in 2022.
Miyasato acknowledged that the decision to take on more jail construction was tough considering the price, but said the conditions of the Main Jail are not suitable for people who are incarcerated for long periods.
She added that the new beds at the Northern Branch Jail would benefit people in custody, jail staff, and the community overall.
“It means that at some point we’ll be able to decommission most of the Main Jail and use that site for something more appropriate for the South County and for the community,” Miyasato said.
Another upcoming issue she has her eye on for the county is the potential for a strong El Niño and stormy winter weather. She said the Board of Supervisors will hear a report in September on how to prepare for the storms before they happens.
During her time in office, Miyasato’s office has coordinated responses to over 40 emergencies, ranging from storms and fires to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Events that occurred during her time included the 2017 Thomas Fire, which burned over 1,000 homes in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties.
Soon after, the heavy rains along the burned part of the county caused the Montecito debris flows, which took the lives of 23 people in January 2018.
She was also present for other heavy rain seasons, including in 2023 and 2024. The rain from these storms caused significant flooding, downed power lines, and rockslides in part of the county.
Despite these challenges, Miyasato said her office became more proficient in responding to these events and not being caught off guard.
“We’ve still been able to make progress, and yet handle all the different ups and downs and challenges we’ve had,” Miyasato said. “So, I’d like to feel that I have helped make the organization more resilient. Just more capable of handling crises, disasters, and challenges.”
