Alex joined the Women's Fund in 2023 as a part of SABI, a group of friends and moms in the Mountain View area. Alex was born in Los Angeles and attended UCSB earning a degree in Global and International Studies. She worked at Bacara Resort and Spa as a Membership Sales Manager before starting a career at Zoom Video Communications as a Sales Account Executive. She still works at Zoom and has a 9 year old daughter and two mini goldendoodles who keep her very busy. Alex was part of National Charity League growing up and has continued on her philanthropic adventure at her places of work.

Born and raised in Colorado, Betsy attended Denison University in Granville, Ohio, and moved west to launch her 30-year career as a medical journalist, first as a newspaper reporter and then for International Medical News Group, a series of physicians' newspapers. After living in San Diego and then Los Angeles, she and her journalist/novelist husband, David, eventually moved their family to Santa Barbara. They restored a 1906 home near the Mission while their two children attended local schools, later settling in Toro Canyon. In a mid-life career change, Betsy returned to school to complete her masters' and doctorate degree in psychology at Antioch University Santa Barbara. She now balances her small clinical practice in medical psychology with writing, teaching, and grandchildren adventures.

Chris first came to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB. After graduating, she spent the next 20 years living and working in many beautiful cities around the world (Boston, Kyoto, San Francisco, Hong Kong, and Seville, Spain) before finally returning to her favorite city of all — Santa Barbara. Chris has an MBA from UC Berkeley, worked in international finance, and spent 15 years at UC Santa Barbara in the education abroad office. Although happily settled in Santa Barbara, Chris and her husband Mark continue to explore the world as avid travelers.

Concetta joined the Women’s Fund in 2018, shortly after moving to Santa Barbara from the San Francisco area. She has 40 years of diversified management and consulting experience in the financial services industry. Concetta spent 28 of those years with Wells Fargo Bank, retiring as Senior Vice President. During her career, she worked in practically every aspect of retail banking, and every level from the branch to executive management. Concetta is a Chair Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the American Foundation for the Blind, and of the Moraga Educational Foundation. Most recently she served as VP of Activities for the local chapter of Newcomers. She was born in Italy, speaks Italian and Spanish, and earned a BA degree from the State University of New York at Albany.

Courtney joined the Women's Fund in December 2022 as part of New Friends, a newly formed group of mostly members of SB Newcomers. She is a native Californian, raised in Rialto and she earned a degree in English/Psychology from Occidental College. During her three careers, she was a public relations consultant, owned a cafe-catering business, and then served as a high school English Teacher with LAUSD (Los Angeles).
Since moving to Santa Barbara in 2019, she has been active with SB Newcomers (VP Activities and President) and with PEO (chapter president), and she has taken many classes at SBCC's Extended Learning Program (watercolor painting, woodworking, life drawing, and choir).

Cynthia Brown, who joined the Women’s Fund in 2013, is a Research Professor of French (Emerita) at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where she taught for 40 years, after receiving her PhD degree from UC Berkeley. She retired from teaching in 2019, but continues to carry out research and has published numerous books and articles on late medieval female patronage and the influence of the transition from manuscript to print on 15th - and 16th -century literary culture.
She held several administrative positions at UCSB, including Chair of the French and Italian Department and Associate Vice Chancellor of Academic Personnel. In 2013 she was named Chevalier des Palmes Académiques by the French Government. Cynthia has been married for almost 30 years to Art Ludwig, a retired electrical engineer, with whom she has supported and shared a love of music, art and theater in Santa Barbara. They enjoy his two children, six grand-children and four great-grandchildren.

Denise has been a member of the Women’s Fund since 2009. Her career as a development professional spanned more than three decades and a variety of causes, from public television and education to family planning and the environment. A resident of the Santa Barbara area since 1986, she has served as Vice President for Development for Planned Parenthood, Channel Islands YMCA, Santa Barbara Botanic Garden, and more recently as Development and Communications Director for Storyteller Children’s Center and Family Service Agency. She currently serves as Women’s Fund Grantee Liaison, as well as a member of the Educational Events, Resource Development, and Communications Committees. Denise holds a MBA from Northern Michigan University and bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in marketing from Western Michigan University. She lives with her husband in Mission Canyon.

Gia was born in Beijing China and grew up in the capital city among its 21 million population. She vowed to change the world at the age of 8. She landed in Los Angeles at 18 years of age, graduated with honors from Otis College of Art and Design at 23, with a bachelors degree in Art specializing in product design. Gia was a participant in several non-profit projects in college, working with organizations like SPY, Rediscover Center Venice, and Jacaranda Foundation (Malawi, Africa). She pursued a career of Entrepreneurship in the jewelry industry and the automotive industry, and she is now exploring real estate and finance with a CEPA designation and a real estate license in the making. She moved to the beautiful city of Santa Barbara at the end of 2024 to start fresh in a safe and peaceful place. Gia is currently single; she enjoys volunteering at the shelter taking shelter dogs on day trips to the beach. She’s excited to realize her childhood dream of changing the world one step at a time through volunteering with amazing women of our community.