Shelby Sim’s whimsical selfies are omnipresent on social media. He likes to call them “USsies” because the photos are not just about him. As the executive director of Visit Santa Ynez Valley, he uses them as a way to promote his members and the varied businesses of the valley. Shelby’s genuinely amiable without any smarminess, and a great conversationalist.
He grew up in Goleta and owned a restaurant in Isla Vista at 21. His career has been quite a zig zag since, joining the Navy for six years, working for Fidelity National Financial, Maps.com, and Select Staffing. He also served as and director of business development for Goleta Valley Chamber of Commerce, revitalizing the chamber after the recession by bringing on more than 200 members.
He then joined Bacara as a sales manager before being “poached” by the Visit Santa Ynez Valley, where he is finally in the job that he was born to do. Since he started last August, occupancy in valley hotels is up 11 percent.