All photos Courtesy Stacy Sledge
Topanga owes Stacy Sledge an enormous debt of gratitude. And here’s why. She played a major role in producing the excellent and invaluable Topanga Evacuation Guide that just landed in your mailbox. Onetopanga.com? Topanga Resident Access cards? Stacy Sledge was the driving force behind these innovations. Who’s that with her sleeves rolled up helping the Topanga Creek Stream Team with its creek clean-up during Earth Day? Stacy Sledge. She chases the county for resources, applies for grants, deals with the Insurance Commissioner on Topanga’s behalf. You get the picture.
While other exceptional volunteers have also worked diligently for Topanga with Stacy on the Town Council, TCEP, Arson Watch, Canyon Sages, and CERT, no one has done more for Topanga to make life better for its residents. Among Topanga volunteers, Stacy Sledge is a legend and an inspiration.
Topanga Coalition For Emergency Preparedness (TCEP) president James Grasso said, “Having worked with TCEP and various community groups in Topanga for nearly three decades, I can say one person stands above all others in leadership, unselfishness, and dedication: Stacy Sledge.
“If you’ve attended meetings with her, you know she doesn’t try to stand out. She isn’t the one with her hand always raised or the person speaking constantly. Instead, she sits quietly in the back, listening. But when she does speak, you listen—not because she is right all the time, but because whatever she says is worth hearing.
“Stacy has been the driving force behind many of Topanga’s most vital projects. Because she is so unassuming, many may not realize the depth of her involvement, but she has been the backbone of this community. From managing Smokey Bear’s appearances at the Emergency Preparedness Fair to the creation of OneTopanga, the Topanga Access Card Program, and three decades of service to the Topanga Town Council, and the myriad of issues they have dealt with, her fingerprints are everywhere.
“To me, Stacy is the ‘Godmother of Topanga,’” continued James. “She is my primary source for expert, unbiased, common-sense advice. When I think of the hundreds of hours we’ve spent in her home office working on guides, drills, and agendas, I realize I am only scratching the surface of her contribution. Even when facing personal challenges, Stacy never says no to the canyon. She may be retiring, but her influence will be felt for years to come—and we are all better off for it.”
In 2008, Stacy was elected Los Angeles County’s Volunteer of the Year, recognizing the many years of service to her community. In 2015, Stacy was Grand Marshall of the Topanga Days Parade. Now, after serving on Topanga Town Council for 25 years, 12 of them as president, Stacy is retiring to spend more time with her beloved husband, Vincent Baldino, who needs her even more than Topanga does.
On learning of Stacy’s retirement from TCC, Supervisor Lindsey Horvath of LA County’s 3rd District said: “Stacy Sledge has been a steady, dedicated leader for Topanga—strengthening fire safety, deepening community engagement, and helping make our community safer and more resilient. Her knowledge, partnership, and unwavering commitment to the place she loves have made a lasting impact. She will be missed on the Town Council, and I’m deeply grateful for her service.”
Stacy’s story is one of resilience, joy, efficiency and supreme effectiveness. Most of all, it’s about love. True love.
The first thing you notice about Stacy is her beautiful smile and sparkling eyes. She is warm, smart and funny. Stacy and Vincent moved to Topanga on January 1, 2000. The couple had been living in Texas, but lost their home due to medical expenses incurred following a catastrophic accident in 1994 when Vincent had been working on a movie for ABC Disney in Florida as Director of Photography. He was thrown from a vehicle during filming, leaving him in a coma and on life support.
“The doctors told me they had done everything they could,” said Stacy. “I was told to consider taking him off life support because he was declared brain dead, and I was to get our affairs in order.”
While Stacy, her mother, and Vincent’s mother were discussing this momentous decision, one of Vincent’s film crew brought them an article in the September 1994 issue of New Age Journal about a shaman named Roger La Borde who had success communicating with coma patients.
Stacy had a hard time reading the article, but was deeply moved by it. “I don’t have those kinds of healing skills, but I’m really good at assessing a situation, bringing in enforcements and providing as many resources as possible to find the best solution to a problem,” said Stacy. She asked the production company Vincent had been working for to fly La Borde in from Colorado.
The shaman would always ask coma patients the same question: “Do you want to let go or come back to make repairs?” He told the mothers and Stacy that Vincent did indeed want to come back. Later, as Stacy was resting in a room along the hospital corridor (after suffering the last of multiple miscarriages — the devoted couple had been trying for a baby for 12 years), a nurse came running to get Stacy because, against all odds, Vincent had squeezed her hand at the mention of his wife’s name.
“At the same time as I was losing my baby, I said goodbye to Vincent. I whispered to him that he needs to give us a sign if he wants to live. And he did.” He did wake up and his story was told on several TV shows.
“He didn’t know who I was at first,” said Stacy. “He couldn’t speak or blink or stick out his tongue, but we started from there.” After a year of intensive rehab in Bakersfield, Vincent was able to get dressed and pretty much shower himself.
“But cognitively, he wasn’t all there. He could speak and he wanted to go to work as that was the last thing he remembered doing before the accident. He wanted to play golf. He wanted to come home.”
When Vincent came out of the coma, everyone started calling him Vinny. “He wasn’t Vincent anymore,” said Stacy.
While he was in the hospital receiving treatment, Vinny used up all his banked hours, so his union dropped his insurance cover. Then worker’s comp came into play. The production company didn’t want to accept financial responsibility for Vinny’s care, but the court decided otherwise. That court fight took five years, during which time they lost their Texas home. A settlement with the film production company meant they were able to relocate. “I wanted a healing home,” said Stacy. “And we found it in Topanga.”
Roger La Borde, who found a way to communicate with Vinny when he was in a coma, became great friends with the couple, and is a regular visitor to their Topanga home.
Stacy says when she and Vinny moved to Topanga, they were welcomed with open arms, and she wanted to give something back to the community for the kindness and friendship they had been given. A neighbor mentioned that the best way for newcomers to meet new people and to get involved is to volunteer. “I’m really good with emergencies, disasters and life crisis moments, and went to a Topanga Council Meeting thinking it was a Topanga Coalition Emergency Preparedness meeting (they shared a phone number back then) where I ended up being asked to vote for Rosi Dagit to be Do-Gooder of the Year.” That was the beginning of a long friendship with Rosi and serving on Topanga Town Council. Members are not elected. They are all volunteers.
Vinny needs 24-hour care and that’s expensive. Stacy had to keep working after the accident, as they needed the money. She was playwright Neil Simon’s assistant, managing his busy work schedule, his accounts and his three homes in LA, Malibu and Bel Air until Neil moved permanently to New York.
Eventually, Vinny did play golf. Stacy and Vinny played tennis together. “But if you ask him questions that require objective reasoning, he can’t go there. Cognitively, he’s six to eight years old. I always wanted a child and Vinny became my child. He’s been my child for 31 years.” Vinny was 44 when he had his accident. He turns 76 next month. And he’s declining. “He’s kind of going in reverse now and it’s been a lot of juggling to meet his needs.”
A happy and productive time for Vinny was putting the address labels on The Topanga Messenger as a volunteer. The founding editor of The Topanga Messenger and the Canyon Chronicle, Flavia Potenza, said: “Stacy is a dear friend whom I often called upon in my job as editor of our local newspapers. I’m grateful for her wise counsel. Maybe now she’s retiring we can have longer chats without some deadline or emergency making demands. Thank you, Topanga, for honoring this beloved and essential volunteer.”
Rosi Dagit, Principal Conservation Biologist Santa Monica Mountains Resource Conservation District (SMMRCD), adds: “As a local biologist working to protect and preserve our creek and watershed, I have had the honor of working with Stacy in her many roles. She is an organized, problem-solving force and brings out the best in our many partners. She is quick with a smile and full of laughter, but always seriously working for the Topanga community. Not one to seek the spotlight, Stacy has worked tirelessly for the community with style, and just the right amount of sass, sparkle and grace. She leaves big shoes to fill, but we are so grateful for all she has done.”
When Stacy started with the town council 25 years ago, few people came to the meetings. “And hardly any of the county agencies and departments sent representatives. When I became TTC president, I worked hard to make that connection so residents could ask questions and get answers,” said Stacy. “Susan Nissman was a big part of that, because she was still working with Zev Yaroslavsky when he was a leading member of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors representing District 3.”
“We went from three to five people showing up to 20 or 30 on a regular basis. The Sheriff and CHP gave reports every month. Usually a state representative from either the senator’s office or the assembly member’s office will come along. The county supervisor has always been supportive. Then I reached out to all the organizations and businesses in the canyon and asked them to come and tell us what they were doing. There was no online access in the beginning, so people had to show up. I think that was one of the most significant changes I was able to make happen in my time with the council.”
Susan Nissman, longtime friend of Stacy and former Deputy Supervisor, Third District, has been a witness to Stacy’s outstanding accomplishments. “Stacy Sledge is one of those extraordinary volunteer leaders, gifted with an extra dose of that special Topanga DNA. Tireless, smart and passionate, she has dedicated her skills and time to keeping the Topanga Town Council relevant and involved in matters that concern us all, while nurturing and gaining the respect of myriad public agencies that serve our Community.”
Former TTC board member Tam Taylor said, “In her 25 years of dedicated leadership of the town council and her legendary roll-up-the-sleeve can-do-ness, Stacy has done much to make Topanga the thriving place it is. In a town reliant on volunteers for nearly every kind of service, she has continually lent her hand, succeeding in ways few have. And she did it with such energy and good spirits. We are all lucky to have had Stacy putting into action her deep affection for this wonderful place.”
Stacy isn’t leaving the council in the lurch, however. There’s a two-month handover taking place. And there’s a lot to hand over. The current president of Topanga Town Council, Carrie Carrier, said of Stacy and her contribution to the town,
“A lot of us were able to find our true home in the Canyon as a result of Stacy. She is a once-in-a generation leader who is able to really see people, connect with them, and make them a part of something bigger. She’s a true visionary. But even more than that, she’s an alchemist, She can take totally disparate items (and people) and mix them together into something masterful. Without her inspiring and profoundly impactful example, the Topanga Town Council would not have become the shining beacon of community engagement and empowerment that it has become.”
Following the Palisades Fire, the road closures have been tough on Topanga and a major source of complaint from residents and visitors. “It’s one of the reasons we encourage people to come to meetings, because we arrange for SCE and Caltrans representatives to be there when needed. Or at least someone who can answer questions on why it’s happening and why it’s taking so long, said Stacy. “It’s not just burying electricity and telephone lines. Our roads are falling apart and we need to make them safe.”
A lesson learned from the Palisades Fire is we have a greater chance of surviving a disaster by being prepared. “The Topanga Evacuation Guides are specific to Topanga and tell you everything you need to know,” said Stacy.
TCEP is actively putting the next Topanga Survival Guide together, which should be ready in the summer of 2027. Stacy is involved with that, along with a dozen other volunteers including former TCEP board member, Randy Neece.
“I’m lucky enough to be working with Stacy right now on the new third edition of the Disaster Survival Guide and it’s incredible to watch her pour hour after hour into it,” said Randy. “She simply can’t help herself. Topanga is in her DNA. For decades, Stacy has served our community with unwavering love and dedication. What a gift she has given to every one of us who call this canyon home.”
Stacy said of herself and her fellow volunteers, “We all try to make Topanga a better place. I am just one of many people who volunteer in our community. Volunteering gave me a voice and a lifeline outside of my life with Vincent. My aim has been to excel as a volunteer at the same level I care for my husband.”
Stacy Sledge, we applaud, cheer and thank you for all you have done to help make Topanga a fantastic place to call home.
Volunteers are always welcome and needed for the Topanga organizations listed below.
