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Lupe Catalan – Bilingual Field Representative
I started working with District 5 full-time in July of 2023. The past six months have been of utmost importance for me in learning and understanding the importance of knowing the communities for which we work and provide our public service. One of the things I'm proud of is being able to advocate for bringing our bilingual services to our constituents who are monolingual and only speak Spanish. In 2024 with the support of our District 5 team I want to be a bridge and bring more opportunities, diversity, and inclusion to our Latino community through participation in the MACs, Boards, and Commissions. I am happy and proud to be a part of the District 5 team. I’m all about community engagement and community support, so please don’t hesitate to call me. My direct office line is 707-565-4683.
“We are not put on this earth for ourselves but are placed here for each other. If you are there always for others, then in time of need, someone will be there for you.” - Jeff Warner
Tracy Lyons - Chief of Staff
In 2023, the river area was struck by a series of atmospheric storms, putting many residents in low-lying areas at risk of flooding. I served as a liaison between the Department of Emergency Management, RV park owners, local non-profit organizations, and RV residents. I facilitated the evacuation of RVs to higher ground and actively managed and addressed ongoing needs throughout the evacuation process.
As we enter 2024, I am excited to see the launch of the General Plan Update, which will be a multi-year process that sets the framework for zoning and land-use decisions, providing a vision for what we want our community to look like in the future. Want to help shape that vision? Sign up for email updates from Permit Sonoma to stay connected to the General Plan Update process.
Ché Casul - Director of Community Initiatives
Something I’m proud of from this last year is being able to participate in and shepherd to fruition the opening of Moscow Road. This was a big lift by Sonoma County Public Infrastructure and dedicated Moscow road community members to complete the project and open this critical road again to normal use.
Something I’m looking forward to in the new year is to build my ability to respond to District 5 residents more effectively in their needs as I build my knowledge base on all things roads, fire fuels, water, telecom and all of the interesting and exciting issues that present themselves in the special corner of the world that is West County.
Debbie Ramirez - Field Representative
In March 2023 our Municipal Advisory Councils returned to in-person meetings after being fully remote for three years. With the support of my colleagues in the Public Information Office and the Information Systems Department, we have been able to transition to fully hybrid meetings. This allows our MACs to comply with Brown Act mandates to meet in person while also facilitating remote attendance for members of the public who otherwise may not have the time to attend in person. An added bonus has been the ability to provide simultaneous Spanish interpretation at all of our meetings through Zoom and in person, providing access to our Spanish speaking community members.
I am looking forward to the opening of our District 5 office in Guerneville in 2024! It will provide more opportunities to engage with the Lower Russian River community and I will get to spend more time in Guerneville, a place I love!
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