Ambassadors

Shoshanna has lived in Arcata most of her life, graduated from (then) HSU in 2003, and has chosen to stay here to raise her family and create sparkly, magical, family-friendly events for our community. She is a multi-award-winning Belly Dancer who has trained, taught, and performed all over the US (as well as in Mexico and Egypt). She’s been immersed in Arcata since mid-2020 with Arcata Main Street and Arcata’s Outdoor Events Grant and has recently taken on the position of Youth Services Outreach Coordinator for Humboldt County Library. She is working on bringing back Arcata’s Fairy Festival in 2023. She is delighted to have been an Arcata Chamber of Commerce ambassador for over a decade and in 2020 got to represent Arcata at the National Main Street Now Conference as a panelist talking to an audience of 800 about Arcata’s efforts in creating a supportive Rural Economic Ecosystem in our wonderful small town.

After graduating from Humboldt State University, I worked in the hospitality field starting in 1976 and retired in early 2000, with 26 years being employed by the Red Lion Hotel in the Sales and Catering departments. Since then I volunteer my time as an ambassador of 3 chambers, church secretary, leader of bible studies, and selling See’s Candy to benefit local cancer patients.

Sharon Ferrett possesses over thirty-five years of experience in higher education as a community college and university professor, dean, and academic advisor. She is also a management consultant, newspaper columnist, and small business owner who brings a “real world” perspective to her presentations and books—Peak Performance in School and Beyond, 12th edition (McGraw-Hill, 2022), Positive Attitudes at Work (Irwin, 1994), Strategies: Getting and Keeping the Job You Want, second edition (McGraw-Hill, 2003), Connections: Study Skills for College and Career Success (Irwin 1996). She currently teaches in the OLLI Program at Cal Poly Humboldt.

Dr. Ferrett is a popular speaker in such areas as leadership, communication, student, job and life success, motivation, positive attitude, and writing.

Sharon Ferrett earned her B.A. and M.A. in communication from Western Michigan University and her Ph.D. in administration and organizational communication from Michigan State University. She also did graduate work at the University of Michigan, the University of Edinburgh, and the University of London. Sharon and her husband, Sam, former mayor of Arcata, own a Victorian bed and breakfast in that beautiful college town.

I earned my Bachelor’s in Business Administration with a focus on Marketing in 2020. Since then, I’ve been building my career with Dark Staffing Solutions, where I thrive as a Staffing and Recruitment Specialist. I’m passionate about connecting talent with opportunity and helping businesses grow by providing exceptional staffing solutions. My mission is to empower individuals and support the success of the communities we serve.

Growing up in Ventura County, Luke gained experience in retail trade working for the Tommy Hilfiger Outlet in Camarillo. Luke earned his Certificate of Proficiency in Accounting from Moorpark College and transferred to Cal Poly Humboldt in the Fall of 2022. Luke worked two tax season internships at local CPA firms along with his studies and graduated from Cal Poly Humboldt in 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration accounting. He began working for the North Coast SBDC that Summer as an intern. Luke is now the Program Manager for the Northcoast SBDC.