FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 22, 2021
HERMOSA PROJECT COMMUNITY ADVISORY PANEL MEMBERS SELECTED, COMMENCE WORK
South32 announced today the names of 14 people from across the county that have been
selected to serve on the recently formed Santa Cruz County Advisory Panel on the South32
Hermosa Project.
The panel includes six individuals from the Nogales area, six from the Patagonia area, one
from Sonoita, and one from Elgin. The group will not only advise on community-related
development aspects of the Hermosa Project—the mining company’s development option in
the Patagonia Mountain—but also identify joint goals and priorities that could benefit both the
broader community and South32. The panelists are as follows:
- Olivia Ainza-Kramer, president and CEO of Nogales-SCC Chamber of Commerce
- Mark Beres, winemaker/distiller/farmer at Flying Leap Vineyards
- Martiza Cervantes, director of Santa Cruz County Workforce Development
- Jaime Chamberlain, president of Chamberlain Distributing Inc
- Liz Collier, member of governing board of the Santa Cruz County Provisional
Community College District; board member of Lake Patagonia Community
Homeowners Association - Ruth Ann LeFebvre, photographic artist and board director of Casa Arroyo
Homeowners Association - Damian Rawoot, land and water protection manager for The Nature Conservancy
- Gerry Isaac, owner of the Stage Shop Inn, Patagonia
- Adelmo Sandoval, finance director for Nogales Unified School District
- Carolyn Shafer, mission coordinator for Patagonia Area Resource Alliance and
chairperson of Town of Patagonia Flood and Flow Committee - Linda Shore, president of Sky Islands Tourism Association, president of Red Rock
Acres Homeowners Association, and board member and curator at Patagonia
Museum - Nils Urman, deputy director for Pima County Community and Workforce
Development, and executive director of Nogales Community Development - Marcelino Varona, board member of Nogales School and County Provisional
Community College and member of Santa Cruz County Planning and Zoning
Commission - Michael Young, assistant principal at Patagonia Union High School
The panel selection process began with an open call for applications, advertised in the
newspaper and at a March 2021 open house hosted by South32 in Sonoita. Angie Donelson, an independent third-party consultant contracted by South32 to serve as panel facilitator,
advised on selections after reviewing the applications and interviewing applicants to better
understand their background, networks, and affiliations with local community organizations
and businesses.
The advisory panel has begun meeting and will continue to convene on the third Wednesday
of each month. The meetings are open to the public, and agendas and minutes can be found
at south32.net/hermosa/documents.
ENDS
About South32
South32 is a globally diversified mining and metals company. We produce bauxite, alumina, aluminium,
metallurgical coal, manganese, nickel, silver, lead and zinc at our operations in Australia, Southern
Africa and South America. We are also the owner of a high-grade zinc, lead and silver development
option in North America and have several partnerships with junior explorers with a focus on base metals. Our purpose is to make a difference by developing natural resources, improving people’s lives now and for generations to come, and to be trusted by our owners and partners to realise the potential of their resources.
Media Relations
Jenny Fiore (Local)
T +1 520 419 7689
E Jenny.Fioree@south32.net
Jenny White (National)
T +44 7900 046 758
E Jenny.White@south32.net