This June, Marcos Vargas will move from serving as the executive director of Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE) to serving as the executive director of the Fund for Santa Barbara. Fourteen years ago, Vargas founded CAUSE — along with the organization’s successor executive director, Maricela Morales — and has seen it grow across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.
The father of three, who holds a doctorate in urban planning from UCLA, commended the leadership of former Fund leader Geoff Green (who now works for Santa Barbara City College) and interim Fund leader Nancy Weiss, and he also heaped praise on Morales in a recent chat with The Santa Barbara Independent. Despite his busy schedule, Vargas was generous with his time on issues like voting rights in Santa Barbara County (he has also headed CAUSE Action Fund, which works to get out the vote) and how he hopes to continue the Fund’s strides for “environmental justice” and “economic justice.”
First of all, congratulations. What goals do you have for the Fund?