Candidate for
Director; Los Osos Community Services District

Karen Venditti... If the name is not familiar, for many of us the face is + it's one we've encountered in countless community efforts. Although she has been a homeowner and resident of Los Osos for over 11 years and very active on behalf of Los Osos, she has not sought the limelight. She has, however, sought + and produced + results that enrich and inform our community. She wholeheartedly believes that each individual can make a difference. Here's a little bit more about this woman who is running for director of the Los Osos Community Services District board.

Karen grew up in Michigan and completed her B.A. cum laude in Sociology at Eastern University in Philadelphia, earning the Souderton Award for outstanding achievement. She married and had two children, and now is the proud grandmother of three granddaughters! She is an outdoor girl. She fell in love with Montana De Oro at first sight and treasures the Elfin Forest, the place where you're likely to see her picking up after other people's dogs on her daily walks. She has always loved nature and has been involved in efforts aimed at environmental protection and restoration.

Karen came to the coast from Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she lived for 15 years. Her professional background began there as a sales consultant with large organizations, such as the State of New Mexico, University of New Mexico, and Los Alamos National Laboratory. Initially working for Xerox, then Blue Cross Blue Shield, she developed complex proposals to meet the needs of management and employees. Her favorite job in Santa Fe was working with Pecos River Learning Centers, an international corporate training company that uses experiential methodology to foster teamwork in the strategic-planning process. That's where she learned to take leaps of faith + literally.

Karen moved to California in 1995, after Pecos River moved their headquarters to Minneapolis. Her son had completed his Ph.D. and accepted a position with California State University, Stanislaus as a professor of finance, and she wanted to live near him. She worked for Capital Corp of the West, the bank-holding company of County Bank, headquartered in Merced, where she served as Executive Assistant to the President/ CEO and as Corporate Secretary to the Board of Directors. She moved to Los Osos in 1997, and took a job in sales with Rantec, a manufacturer of power converters. In 1999 she accepted a position with Washington Mutual Bank, where she served as loan officer and financial representative, licensed in both securities and insurance.

Karen chose to retire early in 2005 in order to more fully enjoy life on the Central Coast and contribute to our community. Since then she has volunteered her services for various organizations and events, including:

LOCSD Grants Ad Hoc Committee, Chair + where she and her team researched grant opportunities and applied for grants for the LOCSD. She hopes that this work will pay off as she helps people obtain grants to offset the cost of the sewer.
SLO County's Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for the Los Osos Wastewater Project (LOWWP), Finance Group + where she has worked tirelessly to analyze the reports and technical memorandums and be an advocate for Los Osos in the county process.

SLO Green Build + where she worked on the gray water reuse manual, which they will publish in the near future.

Pacific Wildlife Care + where she worked as a phone volunteer and fund-raising consultant.

Annual benefit for the Maxine Lewis Homeless Shelter + where she solicited donations of goods and services from local businesses for the silent auction, as well as supporting the event.

Appropriate Technologies Coalition (Sierra Club, SLO GreenBuild, and Surfrider) + where she supported efforts including Brock Dolman's sustainability event on April 9, 2008 and Brad Lancaster's Rainwater Harvesting presentations on Sept. 2 and 3, 2008.

Design-Build Seminar hosted by Cal Poly on May 17, 2008 + where she helped to researched and contacted the potential supporters and attendees from the tri-counties of San Luis Obispo, Monterey, and Santa Barbara.

Saving Our Water... One Drop at a Time + a conservation event on Sept. 13, 2008. Here Karen worked collaboratively with her political opponents on a public event to promote water conservation + a goal that is so important that is supersedes political differences.

LOWWP Collection Systems Town Hall + a public educational event which she helped to organize and promote, on collection systems for the wastewater treatment project, held on September 19, 2008.

Karen has consistently demonstrated her personal and public commitment to the environment and the community of Los Osos. With her extensive experience in finance, public relations, fund-raising, grants, and water conservation, she is a leader who can be trusted to build a strong future for Los Osos.