Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN) will honor six individuals and organizations for their contributions to the community during its North County Looking Forward Awards Dinner and Fundraiser, 3-6 p.m. Sunday, June 26 at Blosser Urban Garden, 915 S. Blosser Road, Santa Maria.
Awards will be presented to Mireya Piña, Sara Macdonald, Wildling Museum, Pastor Chris Brown, Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP), and Elizabeth Beebe.
» Piña will receive the Looking Forward Award.
Born in Guadalajara Jalisco, Piña came to the U.S. as an infant and grew up in a rural town north of Yosemite until she graduated from high school. She earned a bachelor’s degree in deaf studies and a minor in Chicano/a Studies from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), and will complete her master’s of public health and community health education from CSUN next year.
Since beginning her work in North County, Piña has shown consistency and leadership through various Guadalupe initiatives. This is exemplified through her vision and support of the Guadalupe Community Changers, a grassroots community volunteer group that is invaluable to several nonprofits and services.
Piña also works for the Family Service Agency/The Little House by the Park in Guadalupe, connecting parents to various resources, including food, housing, counseling, and holistic defense. She leads by example and advocates for her team to create systemic change and improve Guadalupe residents’ resilience.
As an undocumented individual, she has always been inclined to advocate for herself and others who find themselves in uncertain situations.
» Macdonald will receive the Giving Back Award.
Macdonald provides a stellar role model when it comes to giving back selflessly to the community through volunteer activities and community projects. If you’re at a social justice gathering or on a social justice webinar, odds are Macdonald also is attending.
As a low-wage person, Macdonald understands the true cost of poverty and the importance of keeping that issue front and center in working for progressive change.
Born and raised in Santa Maria, Macdonald attended Santa Maria High School and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, and has a grasp of the region’s history. She has injected new energy into her position as president of the Democratic Club, and has plans to help the community with voter registration and election information.
She has also been involved in the Central Coast chapter of the Poor People’s Campaign. Guided by her deep faith, Macdonald offers compassion and inclusiveness to those with whom she interacts. She is also prolific when it comes to sharing information, offering the latest on governmental and nonprofit meetings, to ensure the community is well-informed.
Macdonald’s work for progressive change is extensive; she does the work on the ground and encourages others to join her.
» The Wildling Museum will receive the Environmental Award.
The Wildling Museum uses art to educate and inspire the community and visitors to better understand and care for dwindling natural and wilderness areas. The museum provides artistic, educational, and field experiences of nature for that purpose. Since opening in 2000, the Wildling has had more than 65 exhibitions.
The Wildling’s current main exhibit, Fire & Ice: Our Changing Landscape, features an array of diverse artwork to invite conversations about how increasingly frequent and severe fires are altering the landscape. Equally concerning is the retreat of glaciers and shrinking snowpack and warming permafrost in colder climates.
Local themes are also featured, such as the threat lead bullets and microtrash pose to the endangered California condors — who are making a tenuous comeback just miles to the south — and an exhibit of local trails with directions to each one.
The museum has taken strides toward sustainability on its own, including installing solar panels on its building, encouraging staff to telecommute, participating in the California Green Business program, and taking a lead role in organizing the Environmental Alliance of Santa Barbara County Museums.
» Mixteco/Indígena Community Organizing Project (MICOP) will receive the Working Families Award.
Started in 2001, MICOP began as a direct effort to respond to the immediate needs of the Indigenous Mixteco community in Oxnard. Twenty years later, the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project has grown to having 20 different programs, multiple offices throughout the Central Coast in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, and has been able to help dozens of indigenous families through advocacy and outreach.
MICOP advocates for labor justice for farmworkers in Santa Maria and Guadalupe, supporting their efforts to receive fair wages and working conditions.
In the last year, MICOP has been instrumental in making sure farmworkers are aware of COVID-19 sick pay, and has helped spread awareness about the safety of the COVID-19 vaccine. The group also advocates for improved language access, public health, has several youth programs, and provides immigration services through its program MILA.
» Pastor Chris Brown will receive the Social Justice Award.
In the seven years since Brown moved to Solvang, he has become a core social justice leader. He has made his formerly perhaps sleepy Lutheran Church, with an aging primarily Danish congregation, the center of inclusion and radical acceptance in the community.
Brown has led, supported and advanced justice in local communities, reaching out to those who are unseen, marginalized, and discriminated against; and helps those with privilege learn how to do less harm and be better allies in the fight against racism and discrimination.
Examples of Brown’s good work are numerous. He will say it’s the work of others, but he has been instrumental in the church’s food distribution program and blessing box, which provides food to anyone who needs it, no strings attached. He does this in a way that makes it easy and comfortable to accept the help.
Brown speaks about white privilege, racism, antisemitism and discrimination at local rallies, as well as to his congregation, and incorporates justice throughout the work he does. He builds connection and common ground by offering community building spaces such as Interfaith Thanksgiving which is “open to everyone of all faiths and none.”
He supports and elevates the work of Black leaders, leaders of other faiths, tribes, movements, and organizations that advance peace, understanding and justice.
» Beebe will receive the Youth Activist Award.
Beebe is a lifelong resident of Santa Maria. In her sophomore year of high school, she decided she wanted to be more involved in her community, so she joined CAUSE to address LGBTQ+ issues and raise awareness for the H2A program. During her time with CAUSE, she has succeeded in balancing her numerous commitments while being an accomplished student and leader.
Beebe is dedicated to understanding the functions of society in order to better serve the greater good. She has been an advocate of gender equality, immigrant rights, progressive education policies, environmental justice, and the agriculture industry. After college, she plans to work as an agricultural lawyer specializing in immigration and helping H2A workers.
Outside of this work, Beebe spends her time raising cattle and sheep. She also enjoys crocheting and is involved in a project to crochet beanies for Ukraine through her school.
SBCAN thanks its early sponsors: Blosser Urban Garden, Dick Mazess, UFCW Local 770, McCune Foundation, Dick Flacks, The Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, SEIU Local 620, Kathy Sharum and David Dennis, CAUSE, Janet Blevins and Gary Smith, The Fund for Santa Barbara.
Other sponsors are Karen Mayes, Law Office of Marc Chytilo APC, Dr. Robert and Mrs. Louise Hammond, Santa Maria-Lompoc Branch of the NAACP, Democratic Club of Santa Maria Valley, and Santa Barbara County Supervisors Das Williams, Joan Hartmann and Gregg Hart.
For more information on sponsoring the event, visit sbcan.org or contact nadia@sbcan.org.
Tickets for the dinner are $75 for the general public or $65 for SBCAN members who purchase them by June 12. Buy tickets at https://sbcan.nationbuilder.com/ncad_2022_event. For more information, visit www.sbcan.org, email nadia@sbcan.org, or call 805-563-0463.