Steve is owner and operator of both Cygnus Creative, Inc., a marketing & design firm, and Wicked Mead, Inc., a honey-based beverage production and sales operation. With Cygnus, he has specialized in graphic design, marketing/advertising, IT, and much more for businesses in the Health Care, Entertainment, Biotech, Sports, and Financial industries since 1997. As his newest endeavor, Wicked Mead is set to launch in Mariposa in 2023.

From 2012 to 2020, Steve was also the owner/manager of Epic Alpacas, where he was dedicated to breeding superior alpacas, fleece, and fleece products. Steve built the largest and most successful alpaca ranch in California with 325 alpacas, eventually expanding by opening a retail store in downtown Mariposa and developing a thriving agri-tourism business with ranch tours, an immersive animal experience, and vacation rental.

During his time in the alpaca industry, he co-founded the Alpaca Coalition of America, where he worked with some of the top experts in the business to help ensure alpaca growers not only have a future, but a prosperous one. Additionally, he served multiple years on the Board of Directors for both the California alpaca organization and the national alpaca owners association.

He brings a wide range of experience to the board and hopes to continue helping other County businesses to thrive and local business owners to realize success in our community.

Patience was born and raised in our lovely community of Mariposa. The restaurant industry has always been a part of her life. At the age of 14 Patience was put to work in one of the restaurants that her mother owns. Her passion for the industry quickly flourished and she had never looked back. Patience now has the honor of managing Fredrick’s of Savourys, which her mother bought in the spring of 2022.

I met my husband Paul while working in Yosemite in their early 20’s and have been coming back to the area ever since. As a 7th generation Californian, born and raised in Modesto I have grown up loving the history of our great state. We camped every summer in different locations with my family exploring and learning about our diverse geography but the Sierra was always my favorite. After moving to Yosemite and spending 2 years working as a lifeguard at the Curry pool and meeting people from all over the world who came to work in Yosemite, I decided to travel outside California. I worked in Zion Utah, all over Alaska, Oregon and then back to California a few years later when I studied different forms of art. The mountains kept calling and I worked as a snowboard instructor on the weekends and blew glass during the week. For as much fun as I was having, I decided to take all my art lessons to LA and work in the art departments in the film industry. While living and working in LA I reconnected with Paul who had a clothing company with his brother called Mattblack. We started collaborating on designs together and dating. Since I had been working on photoshoots in the art department sewing and styling, fashion design was always something I had interest in and did for myself. The more involved I became with Matteblack the more I wanted to know how to make my own patterns so I enrolled in school at FIDM and received my bachelor degree in fashion design emphasizing in knitwear. I worked in the fashion industry while Paul was learning skydiving and found myself working on skydive gear and jumpsuits for sport jumpers. We both became uninterested in living in the city so we moved to SLO then Ohio so Paul could work as a tandem instructor. I continued designing for myself and started Alpaca coterie designing scarves and accessories while packing parachutes and jumping out of airplanes. I took a course and received my rigging license working on military contracts and doing repacks for skydivers. As one thing leads to another Paul and I have followed similar paths and goals. After 7 years working in the sport we decided to follow a long dream of opening Skydive Yosemite in 2018. My job is to do all the rigging for our Drop Zone and I am also in charge of our merchandising. I continue to make my Alpaca Coterie designs on the side and I am busy raising our two kids. Getting to live and work in a small community outside our favorite place, being Yosemite is a dream for us both. I hope to contribute to our unique and growing community.

Stephanie Erikson came to us from Yosemite National Park.  She is a twenty year resident of Mariposa County. Stephanie is the proprietor of The Alley Lounge and is co-owner of  River Rock Inn and Deli and River Rock Beach Paradise with her husband, Keith Erikson. A true lover of community, Stephanie believes in volunteering her time for the vitality of her area and is a member of the Mariposa Lions club, Mariposa FFA Boosters and the Mariposa Chamber of Commerce.

Sarah Radanovich Philips was born and raised in Mariposa and is a part of a long lineage of a Mariposa County family. Sarah is also raising her family in Mariposa and is currently Center Manager for Mother Lode Job Training Agency and serving as Secretary on the Board of Directors for Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce. Sarah has a passion for helping others in the community and for taking care of the family she loves dearly.

Karen has the elite status of Director Emeritus! In 2004, she started a home-based embroidery business. After moving to Mariposa in 2005, she expanded the business in 2009 to include garment printing. Today, Karen and her sister, Kim, are co-owners of Ladybug Embroidery and Garment Printing in Mariposa.

Karen has been very involved, currently and in the past, with local organizations. Her involvement includes:
Mariposa Businesswoman of the Year 2012
Charter Member, Made in Mariposa
Secretary, Mariposa County Business Association
Council Officer and Leader, Mariposa County 4-H
Member, Mariposa Lions Club
Volunteer, Mariposa History Museum
Member, Veterans Memorial Committee
Member, Friends of Veterans Association


Karen’s goals are to encourage local businesses to participate in programs and services offered by the Mariposa Chamber of Commerce, encourage local residents to purchase goods from Chamber of Commerce members when possible, and to continually promote local businesses. She is a strong advocate for shopping local.

Bob comes from Visalia originally, he worked for Premier Valley Bank in Mariposa for 5 years, and is now the Branch Manager for Merco Credit Union. A very civic minded person, Bob has volunteered for the Chamber of Commerce for 4 years before joining the board of directors.

Deanna Stickles is life long resident of Mariposa. Her kids are 6th generation Mariposa, and she hopes they grow up with a deep appreciation for this community just as she did. Deanna became the proprietor of Mae It Be Home in 2020. A home goods shop located in the heart of downtown. After spending years commuting down to the valley for work the time came when she knew she had to do something different to keep herself local, allowing more time for involvement in the town which has done so much for her over the years.

Brittney and her boyfriend Max own and run Max’s Glass, a glass company established in 2022 in the Mariposa area. They specialize in the supply and installation of windows, glass, doors, mirrors, showers and skylights. Before coming to Mariposa in 2020 Brittney lived in Dos Palos where she graduated high school in 2019. Brittney is super excited to put her energy and time into helping all local businesses, small or large. Brittney enjoys volunteering for different events and being a part of the community in any way she can.

John provides great insight to the Board’s past and decisions that have been previously made. When not spending time with his family and beautiful grandchildren, he also serves as a member of the Car Show committee and is truly dedicated to making our county the best it can be!

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Miles is a liaison for the Mariposa County Chamber of Commerce from the Mariposa County Board of Supervisors.