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Blair Raber

Position
Individual Member Liaison
Biography

Blair Raber founded the Celiac Disease Program at Children’s National Health System
in Washington, D.C. with her husband, Steve. The Program is dedicated to improving
the lives of children having this disease by pursuing innovative treatments, increasing
awareness, and improving diagnosis rates. Blair served on the Children’s Hospital
Foundation board for 10 years.
Blair and Steve have two daughters, Kate and Maggie, and a son-in-law, Will. Before
raising her family, Blair served as an environmental technical editor at SAIC, Inc. in
McLean, Virginia. Her work included researching medical waste tracking methods in
French speaking countries for the Medical Waste Management Act of 1988. Blair was
born and raised near Richmond, Virginia. She received her B.A. in French from the
University of Virginia. During the pandemic, Blair became certified as an EMT and
started a compost operation for her garden that provided homegrown berries, kale, and
varieties of lettuce.

Cristina Castelo Rodriguez

Position
Online Contributions Manager
2023-24
Year Joined
2021
Biography

Cristina Castelo Rodriguez has been a member of the Women’s Fund since 2021. She received her BA from UCLA with a double major in Psychology and Sociology, Masters in Counseling from LMU and Doctorate in Education from USC. She worked as a High School Counselor and College Office Director for four years. She transitioned to higher education in the Community College sector working at various colleges before obtaining a tenure Counseling position at Los Angeles Pierce College. She currently works as the Articulation Officer focusing on transfer curriculum development. Cristina has volunteered in various capacities at her children’s schools as well as the Santa Barbara Scholarship Foundation. Currently, Cristina is on the Women’s Funds Membership Committee assisting the Contributions Director.

Elizabeth Weems

Position
Celebration of Grants Co-Chair
Year Joined
2022
Biography

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.

Ginny Holt

Position
Individual Member Liaison
Biography

Ginny and her husband Terry are transplants to Santa Barbara from the Chicago suburbs. They are proud parents of four children and 5 grandchildren. (Two of her daughters are new members of the Women’s Fund!) In Chicago, Ginny worked as an Audiologist and was active with several philanthropic organizations. She was on the Board of Directors of the Chicago Foundations for Women and founded a giving circle that focused on the needs of women of color in the northern suburbs. Ginny has been a member of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara since 2017. She spent several years volunteering as a Grantee Liaison. She is now a member of the Individual Member Liaison team, helping Individual Members become acclimated and engaged with the Fund. Ginny is drawn to the power of collective giving that is front and center at the Women’s Fund. She is pleased to be part of this inspiring group of generous women.

Julie Sorenson

Position
Group Captain Liaison
2022-23
Year Joined
2006
Biography

Julie Sorenson has been a member of the Women's Fund since 2006 and a captain of INSPIRED since 2008. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in Human Development/Family Studies with a minor in Psychology at Cal Poly. Her work experience began with direct care and management in group homes. She worked at Devereux for ten years, working primarily as a medical case manager. Since 2013, she has been V.P. of Customer Service for Sprigeo, a web-based reporting system for student safety. She is married with two daughters in their twenties. When her children were younger, she worked with ParentClick/SBParent.com, doing Marketing/Sales. Julie manages social media and newsletters for Leading From Within. She is also the Community Coordinator for the Katherine Harvey Fellows (KHF) alumni. A program alum from the KHF class of 2010-11, Julie is an involved community member, volunteering at local organizations. Still inspired, she is excited to share her passion for the Women's Fund by supporting both captains and members as one of the Group Captain Liaisons.

Kathy Weber

Position
Contributions Manager
2022-23
Year Joined
2009
Biography

Kathy joined the Women's Fund in 2009 and is captain of the Funding Friends group. She joined the Finance Committee as Contributions Manager in 2019. She is originally from Pasadena and has BA and MS degrees from the University of Wisconsin. Her 35-year career at the University of Michigan included information technology and bioengineering, focusing on child passenger safety. Since moving to Santa Barbara in 2004, she was active in Newcomers as newsletter editor and database manager, and she served on the SBMA Women's Board as webmaster and treasurer. Kathy is currently Secretary of the Ensemble Theatre Company Board of Directors, and she is an active supporter of the SB Symphony and the SB Maritime Museum.

Lauren Trujillo

Position
Membership Chair
2020-2021
Year Joined
2019
Biography

Lauren Trujillo first came to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB where she received a B.A. in History. She is a UCLA MLIS graduate and is the Foundation Director of the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation. Lauren is also a member of the Junior League, Santa Barbara Northside Optimist Club, Santa Barbara Young Professionals, and sits on the board of the Women’s Literary Festival of Santa Barbara. She is thrilled to join the membership team and give back to our community as a member of the Women’s Fund.

Laurie Wolf

Position
Group Captain Liaison
Biography

Laurie Wolf went to college at the University of Massachusetts where she played field hockey and ran cross country and track. She received a degree in Business Administration, graduating Summa Cum Laude, along with a masters in Sports Management. Upon graduating she worked as the events manager at convention centers in Ohio and Nevada. She moved to Santa Barbara in 1984 to start her own business as co-owner of a company that produced trade shows. Because of her love of health and fitness Laurie became a Holistic Health Practitioner in 1990 and slowly transitioned to starting her own practice, which she continues to serve today.
Laurie has volunteered on the CAMA Women’s Board and served as treasurer during her tenure there. She has volunteered as a docent at Lotusland since 1994, and helps with special events. She enjoys hiking, biking, yoga, photography, traveling and gardening.

Linda Putman

Position
Group Captain Liaison
Year Joined
2016
Biography

Linda has served as co-chair of the WFSB Committed Group since its inception in 2017. She is currently a Group Captain Liaison and a Board Member. She moved to Santa Barbara in 2007 to join the University of California, Santa Barbara in the Department of Communication where she is currently a Distinguished Emerita Professor. At UCSB, she served as Department Chair from 2010-2013 and currently serves as a Board Member of The Club and Guest House at UCSB. She is a past president of three professional associations—the International Communication Association, the International Association for Conflict Management, and the Council on Communication Associations. She holds a MA from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, and two honorary doctorates—University of Montreal in Canada and Aalto University in Finland.

Lynn Karlson

Position
Membership IT Liaison
2023-2024
Year Joined
2018
Biography

Lynn rejoined the Women’s Fund in 2018, participating with both the Membership Committee and a Special Projects workgroup. She grew up in Colorado and has a Master’s Degree in Agricultural and Resource Economics from Colorado State University. Before moving to Santa Barbara in 1989, she worked in both the Research and Public Affairs Departments of the Kansas City Federal Reserve. She has served in various nonprofit leadership roles in Santa Barbara, including as Board Chair for the Channel Islands YMCA, the Nonprofit Support Center, and The Arts Fund. She was the Vice President for Family Education Services at Independent Means Inc. before taking on the role of Executive Director for the Youth and Family Services YMCA from 2008-2016.

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