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). Chris returned to Santa Barbara - the most beautiful city of all! - in 1998 with her husband Mark and their three children. She returned to UCSB as well, to work in the education abroad office on campus for 15 years as an academic specialist. While there, Chris fostered her interest in digital media by assisting with their website development, graphic design, electronic newsletters, and educational videos. Recently retired, she is co-captain of her Women’s Fund group 4 Empowerment and is working with them on increasing the diversity of their group membership. Although happily settled in Santa Barbara, Chris and Mark continue to explore the world as avid travelers.

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 has been a member of the Women’s Fund Membership Committee and currently serves as Grantee Liaison and member of the Communications Committee. 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.

Eileen White Read, a former Wall Street Journal reporter and contributing writer, is CEO Emeritus of Pasadena Community Gardens Conservancy; a University of California-certified Master Gardener; and a longtime resident of Montecito. As an expert in progressive nonprofit communications and development, she has managed projects at major national and international NGOs including the Center for American Progress, Vital Voices Global Partnership, the Microcredit Summit Campaign, and the American Civil Liberties Union.

Lori has been a member of the Women's Fund since 2022. She has a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Colorado and a degree in Computer Science. She has worked as a computer programmer at Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory. She has spent the last fifteen years owning and working in a small engineering software company which sold in 2018. Previous Lori has volunteered as board member of the Albuquerque Academy Parents Association, heading the newsletter and library committees. She and her husband Ken moved to Santa Barbara in 2009 and have two sons, Hurst (Carbondale, CO) and Alex (Irving, CA).