Elsa Rivera
You can find Elsa Rivera on the stage emceeing a variety of events, connecting the audience to musicians or burlesque performers or runway models in the annual Big Sur Fashion Show. But even more often, she is working behind the scenes, providing the administrative glue that holds together so many local charitable events. She’s on the board of the Big Sur Food and Wine Festival, which last year raised and donated $202,000 to 17 local Big Sur organizations. She’s active in the nonprofit All-In Monterey County, providing a free store with food, clothing and essentials to people in need. She helped launch the Big Share in Big Sur, offering a similar type of food distribution. She is a volunteer instructor for surf therapy through GI Josie. All of this volunteerism comes on top of her full-time job. She recalls when she first moved to the area, settling in Palo Colorado, knowing nobody. “I feel like the community helped raise me and my children. It’s a continual paying it forward,” Rivera says. “I feel like it is my life’s purpose to be of service.”
