Scholarship Committee
Beatriz Collazo
Scholarship Committee Member
Beatriz Collazo has dedicated her career to advancing medical devices and currently works as a Senior Manufacturing Engineer at Silk Road Medical; prior to this role, Beatriz held a position at Duke Empirical as a Senior Manufacturing Manager. After participating in the UCSC Girls in Engineering program, Beatriz went on to pursue a degree in bioengineering at Stanford University. Post-graduation, Beatriz has continued to promote and expand inclusivity in STEM fields, specifically in the areas of Monterey and Santa Cruz Counties. Particularly, before joining the Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation Advisory Committee, Beatriz’s involvement has included mentoring students in the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and serving as a judge for MESA’s (Mathematics, Engineering, Science Achievement) prosthetic arm challenge at UCSC.
Cammy Torgenrud
Scholarship Committee Member
Born and raised in Carmel, California, retired educator Cammy Torgenrud is an environmental and social activist. After earning separate BAs in English and Psychology as well as an MA in Education from Stanford University, Cammy played a variety of roles in addition to teaching students during her 35 years in Monterey County independent secondary schools. Her positions included Humanities Division Head, Dean of Faculty and Director of Technology. Cammy earned the York School Board of Trustees Outstanding Faculty Award in 1998 and served as faculty representative to York’s Board of Trustees from 1998 to 2001. She continues to support young people through mentorship in AIM Youth Mental Health’s Ideas Lab, a participatory action research project designed to offer teenagers an opportunity to conduct meaningful research to inform grant-making.
Felicity Amaya Schaeffer
Scholarship Committee Member
Felicity Amaya Schaeffer is the Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation Endowed Chair of the Feminist Studies Department and Professor of Critical Race and Ethnic Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz. She has written two books: Love and Empire: Cyberbrides Across the Americas (NYU Press, 2013) and Unsettled Borders: The Militarization of Surveillance on Sacred Indigenous Lands (Duke University Press, 2022). Her articles have been published in journals in the United States, Mexico, Brazil, and France and she serves on the steering committees of numerous organizations at UC Santa Cruz, including the Center for Racial Justice, the Research Center for the Americas, and the UC Humanities Institute.
Fernanda Juarez
Scholarship Committee Member
Fernanda was born and raised in Salinas, California to Mexican immigrant parents and is a first-generation college graduate. Before being awarded the Peggy and Jack Baskin Scholarship in 2018, and transferring to the University of California, Berkeley, she attended Hartnell Community College. She received her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science, with an emphasis in International Relations.
Jeannette Tuitele-Lewis
Scholarship Committee Member
Jeannette Tuitele-Lewis is the President/CEO of Big Sur Land Trust, a position she has served since 2014. Prior to her work with Big Sur Land Trust, Jeannette worked in the American Samoan Islands documenting plants used by traditional women healers and received her master’s degree in forest science from Oregon State University. She is also currently the board chairwoman of the California Council of Land Trusts and serves on several advisory committees that intersect her interests of protecting the environment, supporting women in leadership and other social justice issues.
Lance Linares
Scholarship Committee Member
Before joining the Peggy and Jack Baskin Foundation’s Scholarship Committee in 2019, Lance Linares served as the CEO of the Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County for over 20 years, retiring from his role in 2017. As CEO, he oversaw the development of more than 350 funds with CFSCC, all of which work to enact positive change within the Santa Cruz County populace. Prior to his position as CEO of CFSCC, Lance spent 10 years as station manager of a community public radio station, KUSP-FM, and 7 years as Executive Director of the Cultural Council (now Arts Council) of Santa Cruz County. He was also involved in the creation of the League of California Community Foundations and served as chair for several terms. In 2017, the Santa Cruz Chamber of Commerce awarded Lance their Lifetime Achievement Award.
Lesly Perez Ortiz
Scholarship Committee Member
The Central Coast has been a huge influence in Lesly’s educational journey. Coming from a low-income, agricultural community, she has worked hard toward helping others and providing back to her home. Lesly attended Monterey Peninsula College for two years and then transferred to the University of California- Santa Cruz, where she got her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. She is currently in the process of receiving her Master’s in College Counseling with an emphasis on Career Counseling at San Francisco State University. With this degree, Lesly hopes to help first-generation students navigate higher education by acknowledging the population’s different barriers and becoming a competent counselor.