People of the Core
Board of Directors
Kim Clary, Founder and Executive Director
Kim has lived in Santa Cruz since the day she was born. She grew up in the water and neighborhood of Pleasure Point and still loves and enjoys both.
She attended Soquel High and managed to have a great time throughout her tenure there without getting into too much trouble, but she always longed for somewhere to call her own. She was too young to go to clubs, was sick of going to the movies, and parties got old and at times a bit scary. She wanted a hangout on her side of town where she knew all of her friends would be, a safe and cool place for them to chill, listen to bands, dance, watch videos, and just be kids. There was nothing like this when she was in high-school; maybe if there was some of her friends that went to rehab or jail may have gone pro (surfing) or gone to college. This dream that started when she was 15 never went away. Now she wants the place that she dreamed about to become a reality for today's Santa Cruz teens.
Kim has been a Capitola Junior Lifeguard Instructor for the past 13 years and she served as a volunteer Young Life leader for 5 years. These two experiences have been instrumental in pumping up her heart for kids and their futures. She received her AA from Cabrillo College and my Ph.D. from the school of Real Life; she has been involved in 3 businesses since she was 16. Along the way she attended countless professional seminars, self-help workshops, and motivational conferences. She has been making cold-calls, hosting large and small business meetings, and dealing with characters from every walk of life for the past 13 years. Why does all of this matter? Because all of it has prepared her for the journey that she and God have embarked on called The Core.
Yes, she did say God. He is her closest friend and the one who gives her all of the strength to pursue The Core. The wonderful life lessons and character building experiences she has had in her 27 years of walking with Christ have made her who she is today. This is important information if you are to know her heart and the foundation that The Core is built upon. These values will be inherent in the conduct of The Core, but no kid will ever be preached at, forced to listen to a speaker, or turned away for having different beliefs. Kim would rather have a Christian feel uncomfortable at The Core than a non-Christian. She cares for her community and all of its youth.
James Livingston, Treasurer and Event Manager
James Livingston started of the first portion of his impressionable youth in the woods of rural Northern California and then found his way to the coast of Santa Cruz as he entered Soquel High School. Surfing became a natural way to both enjoy the environment around him and become part of the local community. While surfers are typically depicted as an easy-going group, fitting in to the clique is not without its challenges and the pressures to get involved with drugs and alcohol were heavy and he found his way into plenty of trouble and barely made it out of High School. Soon after he married his girlfriend of two years and had his first child.
At 19 he was a father and husband working in a meat department of a family owned market and struggling to find a way to provide for his family without the benefit of a college degree. A few years down the road in 1995 he was given the opportunity to start a career in the fast growing market of Silicon Valley and he threw himself into the challenge with all of the energy and determination that he had to offer. It payed off and he has built a successful 15 year career in High Tech and is currently the Vice President of Sales for an emerging semiconductor company. James has also spent over 17 years involved in a non-profit organization that is dedicated to changing the lives of underprivileged families in the border towns of Northern Mexico.
James feels fortunate for the opportunities that he was given but he is also aware that not everyone is given them and without a firm foundation during the formative years of childhood and young adulthood the chances of going down the wrong path in Santa Cruz is high. He has a daughter in college and two boys in middle school and is acutely aware that the same pressures that hit him are still in force just as strong or stronger. He has found the desire to focus his talents in marketing, organization, and the building of structure inside of companies and non-profits towards the next phase of growth at The Core.
Tory Wilson, Secretary and The Core Scholastic Surf League Manager
Tory grew up in San Francisco and graduated from U.C. Berkeley in 1982. she moved to Santa Cruz when she married Blue in 1989. Tory was a lifeguard and swim instructor, and taught middle school and high school English, until her daughter Carly was born and she turned to writing and raising a family. Carly is now 17, her brother Eliot is 15, and Blue and Tory celebrated their 21st wedding anniversary this year.
Tory's bond with Kim is based on their mutual Christian faith and a love of the ocean, but more importantly, on the need they both see for a safe place in the community where teens, especially those immersed in the surf and skate culture, can learn personal responsibility and engage in activities that are healthy, legal, and fun.
Tory's hours volunteering in the community are devoted almost exclusively to helping local youth, and she was honored to become a member of the Core Board in 2010. Tory's first commitment is to her family and her autistic son, but she is careful to set aside time to work with Kim, whose personality and talent with youth is an inspiration to so many of those involved with the Core.
Additional staff
Austin Smith-Ford, Jr. High Event Leader and Coordinator
Austin has been a part of The Core since it began in 2002 when he was about 14. He and his friends created what The Core is today through their ideas, input, and most importantly, their influence. Since Austin helped build momentum for The Core when he was younger, it makes perfect sense that he is still involved as a leader and mentor to the next generation. Austin is a tremendously influential person in Santa Cruz. At the age of 16, he was on the cover of Surfer Magazine. He has since produced quite a name for himself in the surfing world for his progressive skills and likeable demeanor. Not only is he a tremendous surfer, but he is a role model to the younger generations who is worthy of such a title. He has not succumbed to the negative influences of drugs and alcohol like so many professional surfers before him. He continues to pursue his career in professional surfing in a refreshingly positive manner all while being the Jr. High Event Coordinator for The Core. Every Tuesday Austin can be found facilitating anything from Dodgeball to Scavenger Hunts for the energetic Jr. High youth of The Core. He is a tremendous asset to The Core
The Core Team:
The Core Team is made up of youth and adult members and serves as an advisory team to the Board of Directors. Everything that The Core does is decided upon and executed by The Core Team in coordination with The Core Board of Directors. The following lists of members are merely a sampling of those involved. The lists are by no means exhaustive.
Youth and Young Adult Members:
Austin Smith-Ford, Matt Myers, Tommy Zaferes, Jake Logan, Theo Rose, Max Nunes, Satchel Dauphinee, Fiona Dauphinee, Lukas Prince, Sequoiah Grillos
Adult Members:
Danny Keith (Santa Cruz Skate and Surf Shop Owner), Joe Clarke (SC Sheriffs Sergeant), Duke Brouwer (SurfTech Marketing Director), Randy French (SurfTech Founder and Owner), Tim Silva (Pizza My Heart Co-Owner), Omar Etcheverry (Professional Surfer, Radio Personality, and Event Planner), John Shippy (CPA), Mike Hushaw (Westek Electronics Vice President) Vicki Rose (parent and volunteer), Hallie Richmond (parent and volunteer), Ramey White (long time volunteer), Anne Allegretti (long time volunteer), Steve Salyer (Salyer Engineering Owner), Tom Mader (Health Industries Research Center Owner), Ron and Carla Hart (long time volunteers and Kim Clary’s parents).