RSF Association re-organizes staff to address top priorities

The Rancho Santa Fe Association has made some organizational changes to better reflect the board of directors’ priority goals around fire safety, ensuring consistent application of Covenant and community infrastructure issues.

According to RSF Association Manager Christy Whalen, several new positions were created with employees promoted from within. At the board’s Oct. 3 meeting, President Rick Sapp commended Whalen for realigning resources to more effectively address the future of Rancho Santa Fe, rather than stick with the “static” organization of the past.

To help the Association in its efforts to address fire safety, they established a new position of fire preparedness administrator and Caitlin Kreutz will fill the role. In her two years at the Association as staff horticulturalist and then parks and recreation assistant manager, Kreutz has worked to secure grant funding for several restoration projects to reduce fire risk and is heading up the new FireWatch partnership, identifying high-risk wildfire zones through aerial imaging.

Working with the Rancho Santa Fe Patrol and the RSF Fire Protection District, the Association’s goal is to continue to encourage and educate members to maintain their properties and remove dead and dying trees. Samantha Kramer, formerly a parks and recreation assistant, has also moved into the position of parks and recreation coordinator.

With new Building Commissioner Maryam Babaki on board, the Association will continue its ongoing efforts to ensure all regulatory documents are up to date and ensuring compliance with the Covenant.

Due to the needs of the building department, Alejandra Casey has been hired to fill the new position of project administrator. With over 15 years of paralegal experience, Casey is handling contracts, member document requests and subpoenas, elections, noticing, project tracking and management, internal and alternate dispute resolutions and other duties as required by the Davis-Stirling Act which governs HOAs. Eight-year Association employee Angie Garcia has been promoted to the new role of planning technician. They are still looking to fill one senior planning position in the department.

Infrastructure issues are a top priority of the board in the areas of water, roads, traffic, public safety, utility undergrounding and improving cell service. In the operations department, Dana Zeno was promoted to the new position of public works administrator from his coordinator role—he has 20 years of experience working with AT&T.