Board of Directors

Luz grew up in the greater Los Angeles area and is the daughter of hardworking immigrant parents. The product of public K-12 schools, she graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and Chicano/a Studies from Stanford University (where her activist and advocacy work took hold as an elected Undergraduate Senator). She went on to obtain Master of Planning and Master of Public Administration degrees from the University of Southern California (USC).

Luz has over ten years of professional experience working in the fields of economic development, land use planning, community development and communications. She currently works as the Executive Director of Public Affairs and Communications for Santa Barbara City College (SBCC).

She is an active member of her community and serves as an elected Trustee on the Goleta Union School District Board. She is also an Executive Committee Member for the Santa Barbara Sierra Club and is on the Board of the Planned Parenthood Central Coast Action Fund.

She loves living in Goleta (the Goodland) with her husband, Diego, their children Sebastian and Aurora and two dogs.

Andria Martinez Cohen has worked as a professional in the field of economic development for more than a decade. After working for a local non-profit organization dedicated to micro-enterprise development called Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) for nearly 4 years she joined the National Development Council (NDC) as a loan officer and underwriter for their CDFI affiliate, the Grow America Fund, in late 2009. NDC is a national non-profit dedicated to increasing the flow of capital to underserved urban and rural areas for job creation and community development. Her passion is to help entrepreneurs and women overcome adversity and achieve success through education, opportunity and financial empowerment. She is a strong advocate for underrepresented communities and working class families.

Andria’s community involvement in Santa Barbara includes volunteer work with the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara providing free income tax preparation services to low income families and teaching financial literacy in Spanish. Andria was a candidate for City Council in Santa Barbara’s district elections in 2015 and, although she lost the election, in 2016 she was appointed to a four-year term with the City of Santa Barbara Parks & Recreation Commission. In addition, Andria is a member of the following local organizations: Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee, Democratic Women of Santa Barbara, SB Channel Keeper, Sierra Club, Planned Parenthood Young Advocates, Santa Barbara Bicycle Coalition, and Friends of Los Banos. Born and raised in Long Beach, CA, Andria moved to Santa Barbara in 2005. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics with minors in Spanish and Portuguese from the University of California Los Angeles. She resides on the eastside of Santa Barbara with her husband, Eric Cohen, her daughter, Aya Flores Cohen, and dog, Chico.

Amanda grew up in Maryland and moved to Santa Barbara in 2014 to join Vitamin Angels, a nonprofit whose mission is to help at-risk populations in need gain access to lifesaving and life changing vitamins and minerals. As the Asia Regional Program Manager at Vitamin Angels, Amanda is responsible for finding new organizations that are eligible to receive vitamin grants and supporting them through the process of applying for, receiving, and distributing vitamins and deworming medication. Previously, Amanda worked at The Global Fund for Children, where she managed a portfolio of grantees working to ensure that children in East and Southeast Asia are educated, healthy, and safe. Amanda is also passionate about girls’ empowerment and women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights, volunteering for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Santa Barbara Country and Planned Parenthood Central Coast. Amanda holds a BA from Vassar College and an MA in International Affairs from The George Washington University.

Kate moved to the South Coast in 1977 and attended schools in Carpinteria before heading to UC Berkeley for her undergraduate degree. After graduation and time spent abroad, she returned to Santa Barbara and was elected to the Santa Barbara School Board in 2006. She is the senior member of that board and finishing her third term as board president. Kate received her Master in Library and Information Science from San Jose State University in 2015 and is currently the library director at Cate School in Carpinteria She has raised three children with her husband, Ian, a research scientist.

Catherine served as WPC President from 2016 to 2018. She is a lifelong feminist, committed to SBWPC vision and mission. She emigrated from Brussels, Belgium in 1986 and attended SBWPC first event in 1988. She served on the board in the 1990s then took a break to concentrate on her legal career. She returned to the Board in 2015 and served as President from 2016 to 2018. She is passionate about women’s rights here and abroad. She volunteers with Partners in Education and is the President of the Chad Relief Foundation, a NGO working with refugees in southern Chad. where she travels regularly. By day, she is a criminal and civil trial attorney with Sanger Swysen & Dunkle.

I am a native of Chicago and have lived in Santa Barbara for 32 years. I graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in journalism. I was a reporter for the Champaign-Urbana News Gazette—the first woman in that newspaper’s history to be assigned a city beat. I was a writer and editor for several California newspapers, was a partner in a public relations firm, coordinated publicity for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, did magazine travel writing, and volunteered for the PTA and other local organizations. For the past five years I have been on the board of the League of Women Voters of Santa Barbara and am currently (until June 2017) the communications director. I was data entry coordinator for the county 2008 Obama campaign and have been involved in several local political campaigns. I hope to see more women involved in politics and am a strong supporter of WPC’s issues and goals.

EJ has been a political activist since she graduated from UCSB in 1958. She is a retired teacher of 40+ years. She has traveled to every continent on the planet and taken a dip in both the Arctic and Antarctic Oceans (and has the tattoos to prove it). EJ moved back to Santa Barbara in 2003 to help her daughter, Farfalla, raise Rosalind (13 years old now). Besides serving on the WPC Board, she is on the Democratic Women’s Board, VP of the Democratic Service Club, and an elected official of the Democratic Central Committee

Dr. Anna Everett, is a Professor of Film, Television and New Media Studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She moved to Santa Barbara in 1997. She lived in Goleta early on, and currently resides in Santa Barbara’s 2nd District. At UCSB, Dr. Everett’s former administrative positions include: Interim/Acting Associate Vice Chancellor for Diversity, Equity and Academic Policy; Chair of the UCSB Department of Film and Media Studies, Director of the UCSB Center for Black Studies.

She is a former Fulbright Senior Scholar, among other honors and awards. Her many publications include the books Returning the Gaze: A Genealogy of Black Film Criticism, 1909-1949; Learning Race and Ethnicity: Youth and Digital Media (for the MacArthur Foundation’s series on Digital Media, Youth, and Learning), New Media: Theories and Practices of Digitextuality, AfroGeeks: Beyond the Digital Divide, Digital Diaspora: A Race for Cyberspace, and Pretty People: Movie Stars of the 1990s.

Since 2014, Dr. Everett has been a member of SBWPC and member of the Candidate Development Committee and later a member and subsequent co-chair of the Media Committee. Presently, she also serves as the Chair of the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women.

Elsa Granados joined the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee Board in 1999.  As a board member, she has served as a member of the executive committee in the capacity of Vice President of Policy, Vice President of Organization and Secretary.  She has also served as the Chair of the Elections and Appointments and the Outreach Committees.  She also participated on the Fund Development, Candidate Development and Membership Committees.  Ms. Granados has a B.A. in Psychology and an M.A. in Public Administration.  For the past 19 years,  Ms. Granados has served as the Executive Director of Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center.  She has been a member of the board of directors of the California Coalition Against Sexual Assault (CALCASA), and of the Fund for Santa Barbara.  In addition, she served on the Santa Barbara County Affirmative Action Commission.

Charlotte A. Gullap-Moore is a board certified Adult Health Nurse Practitioner and the business owner of Moore On Health™. When she is not caring for patients, she is advocating for the advance practice nursing profession, participating in events benefitting the community, working in her organic garden or exercising. Charlotte and her husband moved to Santa Barbara in 2011 after living abroad in Shanghai, China. She is from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and a proud alumna of Temple University. Charlotte is a lover of life and believes that to whom much is given much is required.

Lisa has served on the board for 19 years in a variety of positions, including President. Lisa loves working with such a dynamic, diverse group of women. Lisa serves on the Carpinteria-Summerland Fire Board and her Homeowner’s Assoc. Board.  She volunteers with Carpinteria Seal Watch, Carpinteria Beautiful, and as a Medicare Counselor. Lisa also enjoys being with her grandchildren as well as playing/teaching mah jongg.

Hathor is an artist and mask maker. She has been a social justice activist since the 1960s. Her awards include 1997 Gay and Lesbian Business Association Humanitarian Award, NASW 2013 Public Citizen of the Year, and 2013 Independent Local Hero award.

Wendy Eley Jackson has close to 30 years experience in film and television. She received her B.A. from the University of California at Berkeley and her M.F.A. from the University of Georgia. Jackson has she has recently received the Producers Guild of America mark for her work on the multi-award winning documentary, MAYNARD for Netflix and her new documentary, Welcome To Pine Lake is a CBS News Original feature film. Her grass-roots work in politics led her to become a member of the American Voters League founded by her father-in-law, the Honorable Maynard Jackson, Jr., the first African American Mayor of Atlanta. She has devoted herself to working for equity and inclusion along with activists, Stacey Abrams, Tyrone Brooks, and Helen Butler and she continues to advocate and empower young women to use storytelling, activism and their vote to effectuate change. She and her husband, Maynard Jackson III have four children and reside between Atlanta, GA and Santa Barbara, CA.

Karena is a graduate of UCSB and the Santa Barbara College of Law.  She sees her service on the SBWPC Board as complementary to her other community work on SB Women’s March, the Board of Zona Seca and the Asian American History Committee of the SB Trust for Historic Preservation. She was a member of the District Elections Committee that successfully advocated for district-based elections for Santa Barbara City Council.  She is trained as a mediator and has been a long-time advocate for restorative justice, bringing speakers and training to the Santa Barbara Courts, School Districts, and UCSB. She was also involved in creating an elective course in Restorative Justice at the Colleges of Law. A former employee of PUEBLO (now CAUSE), she edited the Immigration Committee’s participatory oral history project, In the Shadows of Paradise: Testimonies from the Undocumented Immigrant Community in Santa Barbara.  Karena formerly worked with Babatunde Folayemi at the Pro-Youth Coalition Community Initiative to Reduce and Prevent Gang Violence, and has been involved with other youth work, including Primo Boxing, Say Yes to Kids Program and City at Peace.  Karena was appointed to serve on the City of Santa Barbara Community Development and Human Services Committee for over a decade.

Dr. Teri Jory was born and raised in Las Vegas NV before moving to Santa Barbara earning my PhD in political psychology, statistics, and public policy. She owns a production company creating award winning educational and community videos. As a community organizer (President, Our Mesa Neighborhood Inc),Teri empowers residents, business owners, and community leaders to discuss issues, reach consensus and move forward to solve problems. In addition to empowering her neighbors, Teri works to empower survivors of human trafficking by serving on the District Attorney Human Trafficking Task Force Chairing Policy and Legislation as well as serving on the Board of Standing Together To End Sexual Assault (formerly Rape Crisis Center). As a 4th degree black belt, Teri continue the work of the empowerment model. She created and teaches a DFWM Personal Safety workshop DFWM (don’t F*** with me) empowering women and all genders around the world. Teri is deeply committed to her community and work to ensure all have the opportunity to attain their true potential. She is honored to be serving on the Board of the Women’s Political Committee furthering my mission of making this a more just and peaceful world.

Carol Keator is the former director of the Santa Barbara Public Library System, an avid reader, and passionate champion for intellectual freedom, social justice and equality for all.

Sandy Kievman worked in the District Offices of two members of the Los Angeles City Council and for the Los Angeles City Attorney over a period of thirty years. Her positions in all of those offices involved putting City and County resources together with clergy, schools and community members to resolve community problems.

Sandy created and served as Executive Director of KYDS (Keep Youth Doing Something), nonprofit 501c3, which addressed the issue of providing positive after school and weekend activities for at-risk youth.
She assisted the LAPD in founding the San Fernando Coalition on Gangs to provide assistance, through service providers, in reducing gang violence. The organization gained national recognition and became a model for other cities. In addition to working together they implemented Children’s Day, a resource fair for parents, which drew 50,000 people per year for four years.
In the ten years of employment with the LA City Attorney’s Neighborhood Prosecutor Program, Sandy coordinated John School, a restorative justice program aimed at reducing prostitution by focusing on the men who hired prostitutes and resolved community problems that did not need to involve the attorneys and connected the attorneys with City, County and Community resources that could assist in resolving problems

Since her retirement and move to Santa Barbara, Sandy has been on the Board of SBWPC, as well as Jewish Federation and her homeowner organization. She has been an active member of Newcomers and is taking art classes

Stacy moved to Santa Barbara in 2012 and has enjoyed being a member of SBWPC’s Young Feminist committee and the Feminist Club at Santa Barbara City College. She is currently an undergraduate studying biopsychology at UCSB. She believes in upholding democracy, culture, sisterhood, and human dignity.

Paula Lopez is a ninth generation Santa Barbara native. She is a direct descendent of Lt. Pablo Cota a founder of the Presidio Santa Barbara. Paula attended local schools and graduated UCSB with a bachelor’s degree in History of Public Policy and a minor degree in Political Science.

Paula worked as an Emmy Award winning broadcast journalist in the Los Angeles and Santa Barbara television markets for thirty years. While at KCAL in Los Angeles she anchored award-winning coverage of the Los Angeles Riots, the O.J. Simpson murder trial and the Northridge Earthquake. At KEYT Santa Barbara Paula anchored and reported for the evening broadcasts and produced and hosted the award-winning live town hall meetings on important community issues. She also emceed events for Old Spanish Days, and the Unity Telethon for decades.

Paula is the recipient of the Women of Achievement Award from Women in Communications, the Champion Award from the Santa Barbara Community Action Commission, the Community Hero Award from the Santa Barbara County Education Office the Influential Latino Award from Latino Today, and the Hispanic Achievement Award from the Santa Barbara Achievement Council.

Currently Paula is a realtor for Keller Williams Santa Barbara and the principal for Paula Lopez Productions.

Meredith Murr grew up on the East coast and steadily moved her way west until landing in Santa Barbara in 2001 to get her PhD from UCSB. Meredity joined SBWPC in 2018 and serves on the Elections & Appointments and Legislation & Advocacy committees. She volunteers with Planned Parenthood and the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County, and serves on the Goleta Library Advisory Commission. She currently works as a consultant who advises academic institutions on science strategy and planning.

Christina has served in the public and non profit sectors for several years. Her true passion is social justice – women’s equity, immigrant rights, marriage equality, gun safety, education parity for all students, health care for all, environmental justice, and further strengthening the community safety net.

Ms. Pizarro received her Bachelor’s degree from University of California, Berkeley and earned a Master’s in Public Administration and Public Policy from the University of Southern California’s Sol Price School of Public Policy. She enjoys volunteering, taking lengthy trips abroad, interacting with people from all walks of life, and expanding her cultural competency.

Jennifer Smith is an attorney and the Executive Director of the Legal Aid Foundation of Santa Barbara County.  Jennifer was born and raised in San Diego and, like many others, first came to the Santa Barbara area to attend UCSB. Her first volunteer work on a political campaign came during college when she campaigned against Prop 22, a ballot initiative to ban same-sex marriage. During her senior year, she interned with the Planned Parenthood Action Fund under Christine Lyon, where she first learned about SBWPC. She would go on to attend law school at UC Davis, earning her JD with a certificate in Public Service. She began her career with Legal Services of Northern California and later returned to the Santa Barbara area, working with the Legal Aid Foundation and UCSB’s Employee & Labor Relations unit. Around 2016, Jennifer was inspired to become more politically active. In 2017, Jennifer was appointed to the Goleta Planning Commission and graduated from the Emerge California training program. Jennifer’s goal is to engage more young professionals and other emerging leaders in the Goleta area to encourage their participation in SBWPC and our community. The City of Goleta will be moving to district elections in 2022 and it will be important to inspire and encourage feminist candidates from all neighborhoods to participate. Jennifer lives in Goleta with her partner Carl Neufeld and their cat Toni. 

Pam grew up in central Indiana with short stints in Florida and Washington, D.C. She was a single parent for 19 years with a son and daughter, living in and rehabilitating Victorian houses in Muncie, Indiana. There she was active in her neighborhood association and helped to establish a reinvestment corporation to revitalize the area.

She has degrees in home economics education, community education and curriculum. She worked in the fields of vocational rehabilitation, mental health and developmental disabilities as a counselor and administrator.

She moved to Goleta 23 years ago and is married to David Tambo. She enjoys traveling around the globe since retiring from Hillside House in 2012. At home she serves on the Hillside House board as well as SBWPC and is involved with the League of Women Voters and the Association for Women in Communications. In the evening she likes to knit and do needlework.