Government code section 2-71(n) puts it plainly: The Santa Barbara County CEO shall attend “all meetings of the Board of Supervisors, except when excused, and may participate in the discussion of any matter, but shall not vote.”
New CEO Jana Petersen, who started on Thursday after nearly seven years running Boulder County, Colorado, will fulfill that meeting requirement for the first time Tuesday in Santa Maria.
And her duties only begin there. Serving as the county’s top unelected leader means managing a $1.66 billion budget, overseeing 23 departments of a sprawling organization with 4,700 employees—and turning civic goals into everyday practice.
Petersen described the division of labor more simply: The five elected supervisors are “the deciders.”
“They set the policy,” she said Friday, still settling into her fourth-floor corner office at the County Administration Building. “They give the marching orders to the organization on ‘What are we going to go after? What are the top priorities?’ Administratively, the CEO’s office is responsible for ‘How are we going to get that done?’”
How Petersen intends to go about that big job is beginning to emerge.
‘Informed guidance’
Raised in South Dakota, and a graduate of the University of Colorado Denver with a master’s degree in public administration and organizational development, the one-time newspaper reporter has risen through government roles since the 1990s.
A trip to Santa Barbara County at age 7 made a big impact, she said, describing California as holding a place in her heart ever since. She and her husband Chris Petersen for years envisioned a westward move. But it made the most sense only recently, she said, now that their three children are in their 20s.
Petersen arrives cautiously, replacing longtime CEO Mona Miyasato while taking over an organization facing budget restraints and political tensions.
Asked if she’s identified processes or public-engagement strategies she wants to change, Petersen said not yet.
“My learning curve is understanding what are the tools and techniques that Santa Barbara County currently is using, so that I can give informed guidance around areas that we might want to change,” she said.
‘Governing is a group activity’
As her understanding grows, Petersen will strive to account for language, disability, socioeconomic status and geography, she said, because accessing services can look one way for someone on the South Coast and quite different for someone in the North County.
“The way I like to describe it is that governing is a group activity, and it’s not up to one person alone to ensure effective governance,” Petersen said, adding it requires three key components—an informed and active populace, supervisors setting priorities and the county organization’s workforce injecting subject-matter know-how.
“The staff who work for the organization are members of the community,” Petersen said. “They live in neighborhoods. They talk to people receiving services. They know a lot. They possess a lot of expertise.”
She plans small get-to-know-you sessions with county staff members, she said, rather than introducing herself through a large all-hands gathering.
‘A systems thinker’
Petersen comes to the county of 442,000 residents with a track record of tackling criminal justice issues.
In Boulder County, slightly smaller at 330,000 residents, she worked within a system that includes a Criminal Justice Management Board. It brings together the sheriff, prosecutors, courts, probation, public defenders and others to coordinate on policy and operations and champion reforms.
In 2025, Boulder County opened the $36 million Joe Pelle Center. It’s an alternative sentencing facility where low-level offenders serve sentences in a less restrictive structure than a traditional jail.
That experience could prove relevant in Santa Barbara. Supervisors have clashed with the Sheriff’s Office in recent years over policies that include overtime pay and ICE detainments. And the county is expanding operations at its Northern Branch Jail in Santa Maria.
Directly importing that Boulder model isn’t Petersen’s goal, she said. Instead, “I’m interested in cultivating relationships with all of those entities to understand what are the structures that already have either been in place or have been tried here.
“I’m a systems thinker,” she said. “Collaboration is key… One of the questions I like to ask is, ‘Who’s not at the table? Who should be here?’
“Perfection is not attainable in governing,” Petersen said. Still, “the feedback loops are important. What was the impact? What was the actual result? And were there unintended consequences that we now need to address?”
Revenue shifts
Like Miyasato, Petersen has recently managed difficult budget cuts requiring tough decisions.
While Boulder County passed a $745 million 2026 spending plan in December, the $1.66 billion Santa Barbara County fiscal year 2026-27 budget passed in June is substantially larger. Balancing both plans included belt-tightening and layoffs, including dozens locally in health care and social services.
In Santa Barbara, county brass placed blame squarely on rising costs and steep reductions in state and federal funding, including Medi-Cal reimbursements. Much of the federal decrease was driven by H.R. 1, or the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” approved by Congress and signed by President Trump in July 2025.
“The traditional sources of revenue coming to local governments are changing and shifting,” Petersen said. “The importance of managing community expectations while being really clear that the services are going to need to change moving forward is familiar to me.”
Second District Supervisor Laura Capps said she believes Petersen’s experience bodes well for the county. And Capps said she’s hopeful that, like Miyasato, Petersen will be a positive role model for girls and young women.
“She’s already impressing people and rolling up her sleeves and asking smart questions—and just making colleagues of mine excited by her positive spirit and excitement for the job,” Capps said. “I’m excited for her tenure to begin.”
‘Additional challenges ahead’
People said it time and again this past week: With Miyasato retiring after nearly 13 years in the top spot, Petersen is filling big shoes.
And Miyasato isn’t the only outgoing repository of institutional knowledge. Petersen arrives as the county loses several high-ranking department heads to election loss or retirement.
Board Chair Bob Nelson, Fourth District supervisor, described Petersen—the five-member board’s’ top pick from a half dozen final candidates—as a competent, detail-oriented leader who’s ready.
“We really feel like we got that in Jana,” Nelson said. “I’m sure there will be a pretty healthy learning curve. But I’m confident in her talent and her ability to learn, adjust and navigate that difference.”
Petersen said Miyasato has helped shepherd the transition.
“I feel very lucky to follow in Mona’s footsteps,” Petersen said. “What I have admired about her leadership particularly is her fiscal stewardship, understanding the need to be responsible with taxpayer dollars and being able to articulate to the community where those taxes are going, how the resources are limited.”
“County government can’t be all things to all people,” said Petersen, who will earn $380,000 annually. “We’ve got additional challenges ahead as an organization, but we’re coming from a good place.”
