Parenting/Education

Source: Storyteller Children's Center

Storyteller Children’s Center’s Executive Director Donna Barranco Fisher is publicly announcing her retirement, slated for July 31, 2020. The retirement schedule was anticipated as part of Fisher’s five-year commitment to the organization and her long-held career plan to retire at the age of 60. (Her birthday is in May.) Fisher and Storyteller’s Board of Directors are initiating a six-month search for her successor. 

Source: Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation

At a recent meeting, The Board of
Directors of the Performing Arts Scholarship Foundation (PASF) formally welcomed
Kristine Pacheco-Bernt, noted violinist and music educator to its board.

Pacifica Graduate Institute Alumni Association’s Executive Board is proud to announce its new President, Dr. Harry Grammer.  Grammer received his Ph.D. from Pacifica’s Community Liberation, Indigenous and Eco-Psychologies Specialization (CLIE). An artist, activist, and educator, he founded the community-based organization New Earth in 2004 and is an integral part of reforming juvenile justice in Los Angeles. In 2017 Harry was honored as a CNN Hero, and in 2018 he was selected to be one of the 20 inaugural Obama Foundation Fellows from over 20,000 applicants in 191 countries.

With the installation of the largest array of solar panels in Santa Barbara, Beach City on Cliff Drive is about to become the city’s greenest site – and, officially, a dream come true for Ed St. George.

Santa Barbara Premier Water Polo Club (SB PREMIER) is very happy to announce the addition of Keith Leggett, former Canadian National Team member and former Technical Director of High School Boys at 805 Santa Barbara Water Polo Club.

After ten years of leadership and service to Santa Barbara’s Jewish community as Executive Director of the Jewish Federation of Greater Santa Barbara (JFGSB), Michael S. Rassler has announced his retirement, effective December 31, 2019.

Rassler has been involved with the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) for more than 35 years, including 23 years as a CEO/Executive Director. Before taking his position in Santa Barbara, he worked for Jewish Federations in Miami, South Palm Beach (Boca Raton), Long Beach & West Orange County, and San Diego.

Santa Barbara local, Licensed Psychotherapist, Christine Scott-Hudson, MA MFT ATR, owner of Create Your Life Studio, releases her first book; 150 Holiday Self-Care Activities, 150 ways to radically care for your body, mind, and soul!

EDUCATORS RECEIVE SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL LEARNING AND SUPPORT FROM AHA!

AHA!, a nationally recognized Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) organization headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA, is conducting SEL training for over 390 teachers in the Santa Barbara and Carpinteria Unified School Districts.

Through his position as President of the James S. Bower Foundation, Clark has shown his dedication to supporting community organizations that promote educational, developmental and health processes, environmental conditions and, social awareness.

Santa Barbara Education Foundation recently elected Tisha Ford to its Board of Directors.

After living in Santa Barbara for over 30 years, Ford is an active member of the community and has had the opportunity to serve many nonprofits as volunteer, board member, and donor. As a board member, she has experience in development, finance, and governance from her tenure on the Board of Trustees at Marymount School of Santa Barbara. There she chaired the Development Committee, the Committee on Trustees, the Head Search Committee, and served as Board Chair.

SANTA BARBARA, CA, September 12, 2019 – Santa Barbara Education Foundation recently elected Joanna Pascoe to its Board of Directors as Santa Barbara Unified School District teacher representative.

Pascoe is an alumnus of Azusa Pacific University, where she received both a Bachelor of Arts in Music Education and a Single Subject Teaching Credential in Music. Although Pascoe studied opera during her years at Azusa Pacific, she is also a classically trained dancer and enjoys bringing various styles of dance into her music classroom.

The Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse (CADA) announced the appointment of Dr. Scott Whiteley to the position of Executive Director. Dr. Whiteley assumed the role July 2, 2019, following the retirement of Edwin Stonefelt, who had served at CADA’s helm since 2013.
“On behalf of CADA’s Board and staff, we want to thank Ed for his years of dedication and many important contributions to our organization, our clients and our greater community,” said Kristen Parrish, Chair of CADA’s Board of Trustees. “We wish him and his family the very best as they take this next step together.

Santa Barbara start-up Cognixion announced this week that new upgrades are available to Speakprose Pro+ app featuring eye-tracking and facial recognition that will assist communication for people with speech and motor-function disabilities.

Speakprose Pro+ is used on compatible portable Apple devices and serves to democratize speech between people in the public and private domains. More importantly, the latest upgrades allow people who have been silenced by their circumstances to connect and interact with the rest of the world.

Sally Stewart has been elected for a second term as President of the Transition House Auxiliary. A resident of Santa Barbara for 32 years, she has been a member of the Auxiliary for four years and co-chaired the organization’s 21st Annual Mad Hatter Luncheon fund raiser in 2018. She volunteers for Transition House and Hospice of Santa Barbara.

Other newly-elected board officers include Vice President Florence Michel, Treasurer Anna Ylvisaker, Secretary Diane White, Membership Chair Debbie Branch Geremia, Hospitality Chair Darlene Amundsen, and Publicity Chair Jean Keely.

At its organizational meeting on December 13, the District Board of Trustees elected Robert Miller as president of the board for the 2019 calendar year. Dr. Peter Haslund was elected board vice president.

President Miller was first appointed to the Governing Board in February 2018  and represents Area 2 (Goleta). He was elected to serve the remainder of former Trustee Marianne Kugler's term, through 2020. Vice President Haslund joined the Board in 2010 and represents Area 1 (Carpinteria and Montecito).

Source: PMSM Architects

PMSM/19six Architects, one of the oldest architectural firms in California, is proud to announce that Monisha Adnani has been promoted to Principal.

Judge Michele Castillo and Dr. Bernie Luskin are the newest members of The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law (COL) Board of Trustees. Both were elected unanimously this fall to serve as fiduciaries for the region’s oldest and largest independent law school.

University Club of Santa Barbara Celebrates 100 years and introduces its 2018/2019 Board of Directors

The University Club of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara’s premier social and dining club is proud to announce its Centennial Anniversary and will be hosting uniquely memorable events all year long. President Leonard Himelsein said…“Moving the Club into a new era while maintaining its historical elegance is critically important to me.” Himelsein is honored to serve his second term as President and joining him is the Club’s board of directors and they are listed below.

The Knox School of Santa Barbara, for Gifted and Talented Children, is pleased to announce that Mrs. Kari Van Bebber Ramirez has taken up the helm as the new Head of School, beginning this 2018/2019 school year.  The school’s Founder, Dr. Angela Tanner, will continue in her role as Director.
 

Local employees and job-seekers at all career stages can take charge of their futures with Career Skills Institute courses through the SBCC School of Extended Learning. During November, several of these tuition-free short courses are geared toward improving management and workplace communication skills. The Career Skills Institute is endorsed by LinkedIn and focuses on providing training for the workforce in a unique, flipped-classroom setting, powered by Lynda.com.

The United Nations Association of Santa Barbara & Tri Counties has awarded its inaugural 2017 Santa Barbara Peace Prize to environmental leader Rinaldo S. Brutoco, founding president of the World Business Academy, now in its thirtieth year.

With approximately 263 million vehicles on the road, the United States is a country made up of drivers that trust their vehicles to get them everywhere as safely, reliably, and efficiently as possible. However, there’s a good chance a vast majority of these drivers may not know they’re unknowingly sacrificing safety, wasting money and time, and unnecessarily harming the environment along the way.

SBCC has once again received recognition for its outstanding educational programs. College Choice, a leading authority in college and university rankings and resources, ranked Santa Barbara City College at #9 for Best Online programs. The full ranking can be viewed here.

Santa Barbara Unified School District opened recruitment for the Director of English Learner and Parent Engagement, a position held by Dr. Jacqueline Mora since July of 2015. Dr. Mora was recently appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Education Services at Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Recruitment for the Director of English Learner and Parent Engagement opened on September 28, 2017 and will close on October 27, 2017. 

Santa Barbara Unified School Board of Education will consider a policy change limiting interdistrict transfers at its regularly scheduled Board meeting on October 10, 2017. The policy change under consideration is a result of a district funding model shift to basic aid this fiscal year. Basic aid is when the district is in a position to generate more revenue through local property taxes than the State provides through traditional funding formulas.

Photo: SBCC Geologist and administrative assistant Libby Gans (left) and geologist and Professor Emeritus at UCSB, Dr. Arthur Sylvester

Bennett's Educational Materials will not be closing the store as previously reported, but instead moving into a different unit inside the Magnolia Shopping Center (next to Subway). The new address is 5148 Hollister Avenue, Santa Barbara, CA 93111. Our last day at our old location is September 30th, and the first day at our new location will be Sunday, September 8th. Thank you for your support and we hope to see you at our new location.