The Guadalupe Visual and Performing Arts Center’s Board of Directors is committed to the GVPAC’s mission of expanding the arts in Guadalupe, California
Chachi Ramirez, President
Chachi Ramirez is a producer with a rich history of working as a filmmaker in Los Angeles. Over the last two decades he’s worked on groundbreaking projects with his agency Mercy Brothers, specializing in gaming, branded content, documentary and cinematic endeavors. Recently Ramirez worked as the documentarian on Alejandro Gonzalez Inaritu’s Oscar winning virtual reality film “Carne y Arena.” Attending high school in a small town on the southernmost tip of Texas, dreams of Hollywood seemed too far to imagine, but his father, Roberto Ramirez, worked as a NBC News broadcaster and his son watched his dad on set from a young age. After graduating high school, he moved to Santa Cruz, California and soon began studying and working as a freelance photographer and videographer in the bay area. Demand moved him to Los Angeles to produce independent films (The Insatiable, Harvest of Redemption, Scooter Cannonball), and serve as Head of Production for several original content departments. Eventually leaving this position and focusing on his production company Mercy Brothers which provided the introduction to Ryan Jow and the start of Windfall. Many of the themes of Windfall mirror Chachi’s own family life experiences. Outside of the film world, you can catch Chachi working on his 1968 Blue F-250 Truck with his daughter Isla Rose in tow.”
Mira Beyeler, Vice President
Mira Beyeler is a current Real Estate Transaction Specialist with a passion for social justice and community development. After studying Cultural Anthropology at Sonoma State University, Mira spent a year in India and Israel working for two non-profits focused on Child Marriage and Sports development – both of whom had the shared goal of lifting up society’s young and vulnerable populations. Since then, she has actively interned and worked for a variety of organizations in the US including the American Projects Fellowship at DigDeep, a non-profit dedicated to bringing clean drinking water to every American. Being raised in the Bay Area, Mira witnessed firsthand how drastic social inequalities are responsible for much of the current issues our communities face today – housing, food security, education and more. Having recently moved to the Central Coast with her husband and two-year old daughter, Mira is committed to contributing to her new community.
Eric Larson, Secretary
Eric Larson is native of Sioux Falls, SD, and a 1996 graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy, with a B.S. in Political Science and minor in Spanish. After initial intelligence officer training in 1997, Lieutenant Larson was assigned to the operations group and later a fighter squadron at Aviano Airbase, Italy. Following that tour, he served as an intelligence and tactics instructor for NATO air and air defense operations at the Tactical Leadership Programme, Florennes Airbase, Belgium (2000-2003). In 2003-2006, he completed a combined Master’s degree/language program at Naval Postgraduate School and the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA, with an academic concentration on Northeast Asia and language program in Chinese Mandarin.
Since retirement, Eric has been a local government intern with Elbert County, Colorado (September 2018-May 2019) and a graduate student in Community Development through Kansas State University. He is married to Dr. (Lt Col) Meredith Sarda, a USAF pediatrician. Dr. Sarda is originally from Durham, North Carolina. With their daughter Emily, they currently reside in Orcutt, CA.
Garret Matsuura, Treasurer
Originally hailing from Huntington Beach, California, Garret has been a Central Coast resident since 1994. He has a BA in Social Ecology from UC Irvine with a concentration in Criminology, Law and Society. While an MBA student at Cal Poly, he started working with a local sporting goods company in partnership with America Online. Cutting his teeth in the web, graphic design, e-commerce, and online marketing while web browsers were in their infancy, he founded his company Arclight Media and has served the Central Coast with web/graphic design and technology consulting services ever since. He’s actively involved with other non-profit and philanthropic organizations like Assistance League of San Luis Obispo County, Awakening Giantz, Central Coast Masonic Lodge #237, Friends of the Santa Maria Valley Railroad, the Rage Youth Hockey Program, and the Guadalupe Business Association. He was part-time faculty with Allan Hancock College in the Fine Arts department from 2018-2022 and is a resident of Santa Maria.