Becca Solodon, Leading for Community Impact, Senior Director of Operations, Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation When Becca Solodon was sixteen, she was diagnosed with a rare, aggressive cancer in her foot. Within months, she underwent chemotherapy and a below-knee amputation that…
Lauren Trujillo, Executive Director, Santa Barbara Library Foundation, Katherine Harvey Fellows Program, Growing Edge Leaders When Lauren Trujillo landed her first job in development, she was sure it would be her last. Fresh out of UCSB and working in gift…
Michael Medel, Dean of Business, Scheinfeld Center, Media Arts, & PE Katherine Harvey Fellow (2013-14) It was being called into the principal's office—the kind of moment that usually spells trouble—that unexpectedly set Michael Medel on a path towards teaching and,…
Rachel Johnson Emerging Leaders 2017, Growing Edge Leaders 2024-25 Rachel Johnson’s role as Chief Program Officer at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) Foundation combines her passions for accessible education, the arts, and social justice. Born in Toronto, she came to…
Jeff Bochsler, Senior Vice President of Mortgage Lending Katherine Harvey Fellows Jeff's career path as a senior vice president of Mortgage Lending feels almost destined. His father was in the mortgage industry, which despite Jeff’s reluctance, paved a potential early…
Mario Mendez, Community Awareness Accountability & Action Manager/ Senior Field Staff Wilderness Youth Project, Emerging Leaders Cohort 8 After a childhood marked by movement, from Colombia to Saudi Arabia to the Netherlands and finally to the United States, Mario Mendez…
Sarah York Rubin, Executive Director Santa Barbara County Office of Arts & Culture Courage to Lead Sarah's early interest in the arts was cultivated by her parents, both public school educators, who frequently took her to performances, lectures, and museums…
Chelseá Jensen, Director of Mental Health, Good Samaritan Shelter Leading for Community Impact It was a quarter-life crisis and a period of self-reflection that led Chelseá Jensen to leave her busy public relations job in Los Angeles and attend seminary…
Lucille Boss, Emerging Leaders Program Housing Programs Manager, County of Santa Barbara Even from a young age, Lucille Boss's career has been guided by her interests and inquisitiveness. She was a swimmer from elementary through high school and in college…
Katherine Harvey Fellows Cohort 4, 2006-07 LFW Board Member, Emerging Leaders Facilitator It was due to the difficulties of her experience as a college student at UCSB that Katya Armistead was inspired to return, years later, as an administrator. Katya’s…