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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.

Kathy Wenger

Position
Membership Events Manager
2017-18
Year Joined
2015
Biography

Kathy has been a member of Women's Fund since 2015. She is originally from St. Joseph, Missouri and moved to Washington, DC after graduate school. She and her husband split their time between Santa Barbara and DC. Kathy was the Tournament Director of the professional men's and women's tennis tournaments in DC for ProServ, Inc. She then served on the Executive Committee of the Wolf Trap Foundation for the Performing Arts as their Marketing Director. After leaving Wolf Trap she started her own event production and design company serving corporate clients needs with entertaining groups of 50-3500 people. Kathy has been actively involved in volunteer work in the DC area for 30+ years. She served on the Board of Directors of the Round House Theatre in Bethesda, Maryland and as Chair of their openings of two theatre spaces. Since 2009, she has served on the Steering Committee for the Women on the Move luncheon in DC in support of MS research. She also chaired a gala for the Make-A-Wish Foundation in DC, a Board member and gala chair for NARAL MD and as a member of a variety of nonprofit committees.

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.

Linda van Buren

Position
Individual Member Liaison
2023
Year Joined
2016
Biography

A transplant from New York, Linda has had the very good fortune to call Santa Barbara home for the past 50 years and volunteering in the community in various capacities has been an integral part of her life here. Initially Linda's efforts were directed toward the arts, especially with the Music Academy of the West, Opera Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Symphony. That emphasis changed when she joined the Women’s Fund in 2016 as a member of the Encore group. Her enthusiasm for the Women’s Fund was so immediate that she soon formed Encore Too and Encore Three and continues to be the Captain of both groups. The Women’s Fund has enabled Linda to address the needs of women and children in our community in a way she never imagined possible. While not engaged with the Women’s Fund, she continues her 50 year plus career as a travel advisor. The little leisure time that remains is devoted to traveling the world with her husband, gardening, reading and caring for their toddler granddaughter.

 

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.

Mary Brown

Position
Group Captain Liaison
2020-2021
Year Joined
2018
Biography

Mary Colette Brown came to California from Michigan in 1980 to pursue her career in Speech Pathology. She worked with schools, hospitals, and in private practice until happily finding a home with the Santa Barbara County Education Office in 1988, from which she has recently retired. She is married to husband John Riparetti and they have two children: Marguerite, an assistant professor of gerontology at the University of Minnesota, and Thomas, a San Marcos High School physics teacher. She most enjoys spending time with grandson, Clark. Mary has served on the boards of Santa Barbara Middle School, the LAM Foundation, and Las Aletas, a division of the Assistance League. She joined the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara in 2018 and is co-captain of the group, GET FOCUSED. She also serves on the Membership Committee and works with the Major Events Committee to develop Grants in Action programs.

Marybeth Carty

Position
New Member Events Co-Chair
2022-23
Biography

Marybeth Carty is the Executive Director of the Natalie Orfalea Foundation. She served as the Community Partnership Manager for Venoco, Inc. for 15 years, having directed the company’s charitable giving and philanthropic outreach and interfacing with hundreds of different nonprofit organizations per year. Prior to that she spent 9 years directing grant funded educational programs for the Carpinteria Unified School District. Marybeth proudly serves on the Santa Barbara County School Board as Past President , is Past President and board member  for Santa Barbara Partners in Education,  and is Vice Chair of the Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse’s Fighting Back Mentor Program Task Force. Marybeth is active in her local community , and started the first Carpinteria Women’s Fund group, “Hearts of Carp” .  She is a board member of the Carpinteria Children’s Project, chairs both the Carpinteria Woman’s Club and the Carpinteria Woman’s Club Building Foundation, and serves on the Advisory Board for the Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center and the 93013 Fund.  Marybeth also chairs the steering committee for Hospice of Santa Barbara’s Compassionate Care of Carpinteria Initiative. She resides in Carpinteria with her husband, Martin, and has 2 adult children, Dayna and Joel, 2 grandchildren, Siena and Jameson and a Golden Retriever named Nico.

Maureen Ellenberger

Position
Individual Member Liaison
Year Joined
2016
Biography

Maureen joined the Women’s Fund as an Individual member in 2016 after relocating from the Boston and Washington DC areas. She served on the Research Committee and as the Research Chair in 2019-2020 as well as the Board of Directors through 2020. Maureen’s professional background includes working in the software technology arena as well as founding and leading an IT services company to a successful exit. Before retiring she spent seven years at the US Veterans Affairs headquarters responsible for an enterprise program, Veterans Relationship Management. Maureen’s current efforts are focused on the environment, homeless housing and health programs as well as education and prevention of sex trafficking in our county. She is currently serving on the Sierra Club Chapter as treasurer, the Doctors Without Walls SB Board of Directors, the executive committee of SAFE and is an active member of the Fearless Grandmothers of Santa Barbara.

Renee Courington

Position
Membership Co-Chair
2023-24
Year Joined
2022
Biography

Renee joined the Women’s Fund as an Individual member in 2022 after relocating from the Bay Area. Renee’s professional background includes positions with several technology start-ups and founding an IT services company. She has been an active angel investor focusing on health-tech, technology and small business opportunities. Renee’s philanthropy efforts involved youth, homeless families and education including leadership positions with the Woodside High School Foundation, Girl Scouts of Northern California Giving Circle, LifeMoves, National Charity League and FIRST/Vex Robotics. Renee has a BS in Economics from The University of Alabama.

Stina Hans

Position
Individual Member Liaison Team Lead
2022-
Year Joined
2005
Biography

Stina has been a member of the Women’s Fund since 2005. She has a BA from the University of Massachusetts and an MS from California Lutheran University. Her corporate career includes the presidency of Vista Hospital Systems, Inc. and MCBA, Inc. During her 30 years in the business world, Stina served on a number of boards including the International Boards of the Young President’s Organization, the World’s President’s Organization and the Chief Executives Organization. She is the only woman to receive the Weaver Award for being a “leader among leaders.” In the nearly 40 years Stina has lived in Santa Barbara she has served on various community and educational boards. She has served in many positions in the Women's Fund: Research Co-Chair in 2008 and 2009, Grantee Liaison in 2010-11, Steering Chair in 2012-13, Chair of the Women’s Fund Presentation of Grants Event from 2014-2016 and Group Captain Liaison from 2016-2022.

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