LEADERSHIP
STEVE ZANCO
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR/FOUNDER
Steve founded Skatepark Respect from an idea formed while talking with Coby Hart as they cleaned a local park in 2017. He then sought out key directors and partners to help bring the idea to reality. In his role as Executive Director, he provides leadership and strategic vision for the organization. Steve leads education initiatives, fundraising, Skatepark Respect Ambassador Programs, community outreach, and the growth focus of the organization.
A strong business leader and coach with success in many industries, Steve has an entrepreneurial spirit and develops teams and companies to greatness through creative, people-focused leadership. He was born and raised in Oceanside, CA and grew up skateboarding the streets with no skateparks around. He is a self-described “mediocre-at-best” skateboarder but is 100% skateboarder in his soul and wants to give back and make the skateboarding community better for everyone.
LANCE HARPER
VP & SECRETARY
Lance is a founding member of Skatepark Respect and helped the organization take shape as Vice President and Secretary. He brings a strong work ethic and make-it-happen perspective to each role, helping the organization grow with creative ideas and strong relationships with all he encounters.
He is a SoCal native and Oceanside resident who spends his time with family and skates every chance he gets. He brings leadership experience to the team and has served on other boards. Lance leads our donor relations and marketing initiatives.
PAUL MONTERO
TREASURER
As a child of the 70’s in Southern California, Paul grew up in the shadow of the skateboarding boom and has been rolling since the days of clay wheels. In the late 70’s when the original skateparks began to appear, he was lucky enough to visit a few, but didn’t really get into the scene before they started to shut down and his interests turned to other sports. Besides rolling on a 10” cruiser board for transportation during college, skateboarding became a thing of the past for nearly 30 years. When Paul’s sons were old enough and began to show interest in skating, he decided to purchase an Alva board (the one he wanted as a kid) and show the kids what’s up! Well, 30 years of rust is hard to knock off, but the stoke was the same as he remembered as a kid! With a flexible work-from-home job, solo trips to the skatepark became a daily occurrence and with the number of local parks in the North County San Diego area, there was a variety of terrain to experience.
Paul’s involvement in skatepark maintenance began with the frustration of seeing cigarette butts littered at the local Prince Park in Oceanside. He decided to spray paint some buckets with a snarky ratt and “Don’t Be a Butt!” theme, and lo and behold it worked! From there he got involved with the creation of Skatepark Respect, helping to write the bylaws and establish a true Non-Profit from the ground up. The vision was to spread a simple message that could be carried to local parks to help create a positive impression about skaters who care about their parks and the larger community as a whole. Paul brings experience running his own small business for 10+ years, prior to his current role working in the Legal Department of a major financial institution. Additionally, like many skaters he has a creative side and contributes photography and video edits from SPR events to help promote the cause. As the finance chair, Paul helps see that all of the funds raised from Skatepark Respect donations and grants are funneled back to the main mission within the growing community it serves.