Chris Kroes, 1st Vice President, General Counsel, Goleta, CA
A 40-year resident of Santa Barbara, Chris is an attorney and principal in the law firm of McCarthy and Kroes. He currently serves as President of Santa Barbara Catholic Charities and Chairman of the Board of American Capital Group. He also serves on the Board of Directors of Monrovia Nursery Company.

Laura Walker Ragan, 2nd Vice President, Ojai, CA
An artist and Santa Barbara native, Laura currently lives in Ojai with her family. She earned an art degree from UCSB. She was the Founder/President of The Children’s Museum of Idaho and Co-Founder of Treasure Valley Community Television in Boise, Idaho.

Nancy Sheldon, Secretary, Santa Barbara, CA
Nancy has an MBA from Harvard and worked in investment banking for 13 years with UBS in New York before moving to Santa Barbara with her husband Mike in 2001. The mother of four children, Nancy is very active in her children's schools. She was head of the Beit Ha Yeladim Parent Association and chaired the school auction for three years. She is on the Board of Congregation B’nai B’rith as Preschool Trustee and on the Board of the Mountain View PTA. She also served on the Board of Postpartum Education for Parents (PEP).

Scott Hadley, Treasurer, Buellton, CA
Scott is Managing Partner of Bartlett, Pringle & Wolf, LLP, Santa Barbara's largest full-service accounting and consulting firm, where he oversees strategy and growth plans. Since 1997, he has led BPW’s Consulting Services Team, which has achieved national success with their advanced accounting solutions for financial institutions. Scott currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce and on the Business Advisory Council for California State University Channel Islands.

Gordon Auchincloss, Santa Barbara, CA
Senior Deputy District Attorney for Santa Barbara County, Gordon has served as a judge in Teen Court and a volunteer mentor for “at risk” kids. He serves on the Board of the PARC Foundation and on the Executive Board of the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation.

Dagny Dehlsen, Montecito, CA
Dagny holds a Masters of Education in Policy Studies in Language and Cross Cultural Education as well as Bilingual, Cross-Cultural, Multiple Subject, and ESL Credentials. She has taught bilingual classes in San Diego and Santa Barbara public schools and has served as an educational consultant to the SB School District.

Betsy Drucker, Montecito, CA
An East Coast native, Betsy Drucker graduated from Dartmouth College with a degree in Russian Studies.  She ran marketing for Apple Computer in Moscow and later worked for COMDEX, one of the largest trade shows of the 90’s.  Locally, Betsy has been involved in Hospice, Hadassah, Lotusland, on the Board of B’nai B’rith, and most recently, she has been part of the Strategy Committee at Montecito Union School.

Lynda Fairly, Santa Barbara, CA
Lynda retired from Santa Barbara City College, after serving in various administrative positions, including Vice President for Continuing Education. Upon retirement, she became interim CEO of Girl Scouts Tres Condados, facilitating a merge with two other counties. Lynda has been active in a variety of community organizations.

Andrew Firestone, Santa Barbara, CA

Andrew was born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley but now lives in Santa Barbara with his wife Ivana and young son Brooks. He earned a degree in business administration from the University of San Diego. He is currently Senior Vice President for West Coast Asset Management in Montecito. Son of former California Assemblyman and County Supervisor Brooks Firestone and community volunteer Kate Firestone, Andrew and his family have been active members of the community and are looking forward to the addition of the Children's Museum of Santa Barbara.

Elizabeth Gabler, Santa Barbara, CA

Elizabeth began her professional career as an assistant to a motion picture literary agent at ICM. Several years later, she worked as a studio executive, first at Columbia Pictures and then as a Vice President at United Artists, where she developed the Academy Award-winning film Rainman. In 1988, she began her long association with 20th Century Fox, where, as Executive Vice President, she was responsible for such memorable films as Mrs. Doubtfire and Cast Away. In 2000, Elizabeth became President of Fox 2000 Pictures, a division of 20th Century Fox, where she has shepherded a string of successful films, including Walk the Line, The Devil Wears Prada, and Marley and Me. Fox 2000 has expanded into the family films market, beginning with Alvin and the Chipmunks and upcoming releases adapted from children's literature --- Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader and Ramona and Beezus.

Louise M. Gainey, Santa Barbara, CA
Louise earned a B.A. in history from Northwestern University.  She went on to work for various non-profit organizations including the Chicago Children's Museum and Klein Bottle Youth Programs.  Louise has a teaching credential and Master's Degree in Education from UC Santa Barbara and has taught in the primary grades for the Goleta Union School District. She has served on the Board of Trustees for Laguna Blanca School and is currently active in Laguna’s Parent Auxiliary.

Caroline Harrah, Santa Barbara, CA
Caroline earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of Maryland, College Park. Her experience includes executive-level positions in marketing, public relations, and corporate and financial communications primarily at high-tech companies. A passionate and dedicated volunteer, Caroline's non-profit work includes fundraising, member and program development, marketing and event support for organizations serving children, families-at-risk, and the arts.

Jeffrey Jacobs, Santa Barbara, CA
An Adjunct Professor at the Loyola University Chicago School of Law and Board member of the University of Chicago Medical Center, Jeff is Founder of the Civitas Initiative. He has worked in the areas of sports and entertainment representation of clients, and, for 18 years, worked for Oprah Winfrey as president of Harpo Entertainment Group.

Debra Kass, Montecito, CA

Debbie is a native of Chicago and worked as a paralegal for a large Chicago law firm. She and her family moved to Santa Barbara five years ago.  She has been involved with many charitable causes both in Chicago and currently in Santa Barbara, including Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation and Dream Foundation.

Terri Maus Nisich, Santa Barbara, CA
Terri has been with the County of Santa Barbara since 2002, when she was appointed County Parks Director. In 2005, she was named Assistant CEO. Prior to her tenure in Santa Barbara County, Terri served with the City of Santa Clarita in a variety of positions, including Deputy City Manager.

Eloy Ortega, Goleta, CA

A native of New Mexico, Eloy has lived in Santa Barbara for 19 years. He came here to join City Commerce bank, where he rose to the position of President/CEO. In 2001, he formed a group of local banking professionals and founded Business First Bank. In 2009, he was selectedd to serve as CEO for the Bank of Santa Barbara at 12 E. Figueroa Street. Eloy has been an active community volunteer, serving on a number of local boards, including CALM, Foundation for SBCC, Boys & Girls Clubs, Goleta Chamber of Commerce, Santa Barbara Region Chamber of Commerce, and Partners in Education. Eloy and his wife Renee have three children and one grandson.

Paul Selwyn, Montecito, CA
A retired business executive, Paul was one of the founding Board Members of the Children’s Museum of Los Angeles. He served on the Beverly Hills Planning and Architectural Commissions and was Founding President of the Beverly Hills Cultural Center Foundation.

Pat Snyder, Santa Barbara, CA
With over 30 years of experience in community college and non-profit fundraising, Pat is currently Senior Gift Planning Director for the Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care of Santa Barbara. Prior to her six years at VNHC, Pat was at the SBCC Foundation, most recently as Executive Director. In each of these positions, she has exceeded fundraising goals many times over, leading the organizations to new fundraising records. She was named 2005 Fundraiser of the Year for Santa Barbara by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

Susan Tarlow, Montecito, CA
With a BS in Kinesiology and an MS in Counseling, Susan has taught at the high school and elementary levels She has served on numerous educational committees and has a real estate broker’s license.

David Tisdale, Montecito, CA
David retired as Chairman/CEO of Starbuck, Tisdale & Associates. A Chartered Investment Counselor (CIC) and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), David has been involved with numerous local organizations, including the Trust for Historic Preservation.

Sergio Villa, Goleta, CA
The first of his family to attend and graduate from a 4-year university, Sergio iworked for several years as a financial planner for Santa Barbara Bank and Trust and has recently founded his own investment company, Alliance Wealth Strategies. Sergio is a proud new father and is actively involved in the community, including serving as President of the Santa Barbara Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

Sheila Cushman, Executive Director
Sheila has worked in the field of education for over 30 years, first as a teacher and then a writer/editor of educational materials for school and commercial markets. For 16 years, she worked in the Education Department of the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, the last eight as Director of Education. She has earned awards at the state and national level for education programming and was named one of the Top 50 Women in Business for 2009 and 2010 by the Pacific Coast Business Times.