Executive Board
Paula Lopez, President
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 Coldwell Banker Realty Santa Barbara and the principal for Paula Lopez Productions.
Dana Goba – Vice President, Organization
Dana Goba was born and raised in the metro-Detroit area where she grew up volunteering at numerous organizations. When she moved to Santa Barbara in 2002, she began a career in health and human service nonprofits. Dana has worked for United Way and Cottage Health, and she is currently with the Central Coast Medical Association. She is a past president of the Rotary Club of Santa Barbara Sunrise and is on the board of ASAP Cats. She joined SBWPC in 2016 and is serving on the Elections & Appointments committee.
Karena Jew – Vice President, Policy
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.
Vicki Allen, Secretary
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. Contact
Lisa Guravitz, Treasurer
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. Contact
Board Members
Rachel Aarons
Rachel is a psychotherapist who has been in private practice for over forty years. She currently specializes in working with trauma and attachment wounds going back into early childhood when there is no language and no explicit memory. Before she discovered her vocation as a therapist, she was a philosophy professor at the University of Toronto. She is the author of four books, three in therapy and one in philosophy.
Rachel’s passion for women’s issues began with the first book gifted to her by a colleague back in the 60’s entitled “Sisterhood is Powerful.” She went on to found and coordinate a Women’s Resource Center in a rural logging town north of Vancouver in Canada. Years later, she reiterated this feminist theme by founding and coordinating the Women’s Empowerment Project at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara including an annual grant, a women’s film series and a women’s speaker series. She is currently a member of the Justice and Equity committee at USSB with a focus on women.
In her more than twenty years in Santa Barbara, Rachel has been involved with the Santa Barbara Women’s Foundation, the SB Women’s March, Dining for Women, the Dolores Huerta Street Renaming Project, the EEL committee of Democratic Women, and the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee. For SBWPC she served on the L&A committee, the ERA committee, the E&A committee and several Candidate Assessment Teams.
She has 2 amazing sons and an equally impressive one-year-old grandson.
Marisol Alarcon
Marisol Alarcon is an immigration attorney located in Carpinteria. She is a dual citizen of the United States and Chile. She was born in the United States to immigrant parents, so she understands the unique challenges of growing up with parents whose first language is not English. She believes in contributing to the community and is currently a board member of the Latina Professional Alliance, Santa Barbara County Bar Foundation and Teen Legal Clinic. In the past, she has served as President of Santa Barbara Women Lawyers and has been a board member of the Carpinteria Children’s Project and Family Service Agency. She is also a member of the Santa Barbara Latino Giving Circle, which was inaugurated in 2019.
EJ Borah
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. Contact
Tish Gainey
Tish is a long-time resident of Santa Barbara. For many years she worked as project director for a firm producing children’s television programming and multimedia educational products. She has served on many boards including the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara as Research Chair, Greater Santa Barbara Ad Club, The Cecilia Fund, Santa Barbara Education Foundation and the Leadership Roundtable of THRIVE Santa Barbara County, a Cradle to Career Initiative. She is a member of Social Venture Partners where she has been a “Fast Pitch” coach and worked on projects addressing early childhood education, Adverse Childhood Experiences and capacity building for the local nonprofit Just Communities.
She is a firm believer in the power of education and has been an active advocate for equity and access to quality education for all members of our community. She has a B.A. in Political Science from U.C. Berkeley, a certificate in financial planning from UCLA and a certification in trusteeship from Harvard. As a member of the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee, she currently serves as co-chair of the Elections and Appointments Committee and as a member of the Candidate Development Committee.
Elsa Granados
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. Contact
Hathor Hammett
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. Contact
Teri Jory
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
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. Contact
Sandy Kievman
Sandy Kievman retired after thirty years of working for Los Angeles City Council and the City Attorney of the City of Los Angeles. Although her jobs had different titles, her role in each job involved community relations, helping to solve problems by building coalitions of residents, nonprofit organizations, service clubs, local businesses and City and County organizations, for the purpose of collaborating in finding solutions to community problems.
Sandy founded and chaired two organizations, Keep Youth Doing Something (KYDS), a successful program aimed at keeping underserved youth from being involved in gangs and also the San Fernando Valley Coalition on Gangs, a community based policing program, consisting of 52 organizations, aimed at breaking down barriers between police and at-risk youth.
Upon retiring, Sandy moved to Santa Barbara and volunteered in the Mayor’s office; is on the Community Relations Committee for Jewish Federation; and is a Member of the Board of Santa Barbara Gray Panthers. She served on the Board of the Santa Barbara Women’s Political Committee for several years and has been a member of the E&A Committee for close to seven years.
Andria Martinez Cohen
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. Contact
Meredith Murr
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.
Erica Schweitzer
Erica moved to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB, graduating with a B.A. in Film and Media Studies. While working as a media producer at the local public access station, she developed a passion for civic engagement and community work. Currently pursuing a career in media development and strategy, she continues to utilize her skills to support and serve others, with the goal of developing visual stories that are both purpose driven and influential. In her free time Erica produces for the community production “The Resource SB” and serves on the board of the Association for Women In Communication SB. She is grateful to work with the women of SWPC and hopes to address intersectional women’s issues at the local level.
Hannah Sullivan
Hannah and her family moved to Goleta, CA in 2006, where she attended and graduated from Goleta Valley Junior High School, Dos Pueblos High School and Santa Barbara City College. After receiving her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Communication Studies from Sacramento State, she moved to Santa Barbara to serve as a District Representative for former State Senator Hannah-Beth Jackson and Assemblymember Steve Bennett, which allowed her the great fortune of seeing the needs of our community first hand.
She remains an active community member in Santa Barbara County and is a strong advocate for reproductive rights, social justice and tenants rights. She co-chairs the Young Feminists committee and serves on the Elections & Appointments and the Legislative & Advocacy committees.
Pam Flynt Tambo
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. Contact