Chris is a licensed psychologist (now retired) with over 30 years of experience working in a university setting as an administrator, adjunct faculty member, and senior staff psychologist at a university counseling center. She is passionate about women’s issues, having been Assistant Dean/Director of the Center for Women and Men @ UC Irvine. She is a proud member of the 4 Empowerment group in the Women’s Fund.
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).
Danuta has been a member of the Womens Fund since 2020, and a grateful resident of Santa Barbara for 33 years. She is currently Co-Chair of the Educational Events Committee. Her professional life spans several careers including marine ecologist, marketing representative for the Consortium of Venetian Artisans, business consulting principal at IBM, and co-owner of Facilitate.com, developers of brainstorming and decision-making software. She is a member of the Grants and Partnership Committee for Together Women Rise, a women-based philanthropic organization dedicated to achieving global gender equality.
Danuta holds a degree in marine biology from UC Berkeley and an MBA in marketing and MIS from UCLA. She enjoys life with husband Mike and cats Rose-Tyler and Quinn the Eskimo, and revels in her two daughters and new grandson.
Elizabeth enjoys organizing events for the Membership and Educational Events Committees. She grew up in Santa Barbara, attending Dos Pueblos High School and Santa Barbara Business College. She has extensive experience organizing large and small scale events for the fashion and art industry. She is an accomplished professional portrait artist who has been in the arts for 30 years. She has two children, Kathryn and Charlie, both of whom reside in Los Angeles. She enjoys Pilates, Mah-Jongg and lunches with friends.
Kathy has been a member of the Women's Fund since 2018. She is Chair of the Volunteer Engagement Committee and a member of the Events Committee and the Operations Management Team. She has a B.S. in Elementary Education, M.S. in Elementary Education, and an M.A. in Educational Leadership. She has taught elementary through high school, and has served as a District Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, California State Board of Education Academic Trustee, and Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services for the Santa Barbara County Education Office. She retired in 2019 after a rewarding 35-year career in public education. She and her husband, Whitt, have lived in Santa Barbara since 2009 and have two amazing children, Meghan (Washington DC) and Trey (NYC). She is thoroughly enjoying travel, hobbies, fitness, play and volunteering with the Women’s Fund in retirement.
Katie has been an active member of the Women's Fund since 2019, first as a group member and later taking on the role of captain of her own group in 2023. She has loved growing within the organization and is excited to step into her new role as the volunteer coordinator for the educational events committee.
Passionate about supporting women-led initiatives, Katie has been involved with several organizations over the years, including the National Charity League and Junior League.
She earned a bachelor's degree in Child Development and spent many years teaching preschool at a local school before making the decision to stay home with her four children.
Kelly joined the Women's Fund in 2021 with her mother to give back to the community together. Kelly came to Santa Barbara in 2010 from San Diego to study Hydrology at UC Santa Barbara and later received her Masters at the UC Santa Barbara Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. She currently works as an Engineering Capital Project Lead at Goleta Water District managing the research, design and construction of drinking water infrastructure projects, as well as performing as-needed water and economic data analysis. Kelly is involved locally volunteering with Angels Foster Care and a Bren Alumni group focused on water markets research funded by the Walton Family Foundation. She enjoys DIY remodeling of her home, kayaking, sewing and is a passionate Formula 1 Racing fan.
A member of the Women’s Fund since 2011, Linda has a Masters in Law & Social Policy and a Masters in Social Services from Bryn Mawr Graduate School of Social Work & Social Research. Linda’s work has focused primarily on Child Advocacy, advocating for and establishing Music & Arts Education programs, and strengthening communities. She has served as president on many hard-working boards including The Children & Families Action Network (Alameda County, CA), Solvang School Education Foundation (“SAM”), Valley Community Theatre, Santa Barbara Strings, and The Santa Ynez Valley Foundation. It is an honor to be part of accomplishing the work of The Women’s Fund directing the collective philanthropy of women to help other women and children and families to transform lives for the better.
Lorie has been a member of the Women’s Fund for just two years, but the power of collective impact quickly inspired her to get more involved. A Santa Barbara resident for over four decades, she and her husband raised their two daughters here, deepening her connection to the community.
With a successful career in residential real estate and investments, Lorie has also dedicated her time to service. She has been a board member of the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors and Life Chronicles, as well as an active volunteer with Dignity Moves and the Goleta Valley Art Association’s after school art program.
Passionate about lifelong learning and community engagement, Lorie is delighted to serve on the Women’s Fund Education Committee. In her free time , she enjoys road cycling, painting and cooking.
As a member of the Women's Fund since 2018, Roberta currently serves as a Board member and the Educational Events Committee Chair. She retired from a long career in public education that encompassed diverse roles in teaching, curriculum and administration at preschool through university levels in Northern California. She loves learning, has a rather nerdy background as a historian educated at UC Davis, and will happily engage anyone in conversation about how the past affects the future. Since moving to Santa Barbara in 2015, she and her husband Matt have been involved with several local not-for-profit agencies in their effort to add value to the community they dearly love.