Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara Sets New Leadership

The Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara has announced its leadership for 2009. Rachael Ross Steidl and Fleurette Barsom-Janigian have been named co-chairwomen of the oversight committee, and Stina Hans and Tish Gainey have been named co-chairwomen of the research committee.

The Women’s Fund is a collective donor group, which has awarded more than $1.4 million to local nonprofit organizations since its inception five years ago. Women’s Fund’s more than 375 members pool their charitable donations, research critical community needs and then vote on which agencies will receive the funds collected during the year. The oversight committee is responsible for Women’s Fund policies, operations, membership development and communications. The research committee is responsible for conducting independent research of local programs addressing critical community issues and creating the process that determines where the collected funds will go.

The Women’s Fund focuses on nonprofit organizations in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria that meet the critical needs of women, children and families. The Orfalea Fund has been a generous collaborator since 2006, and the Santa Barbara Foundation has been a partner and fiscal home for the Women’s Fund since 2004.

On Monday, the Women’s Fund will announce the recipients of a new round of grants totaling $725,000.

Steidl served on the oversight committee for two years and helped launch the Women’s Fund Web site in 2008. She is the founder and CEO of ParentClick.com, an online resource for local families in 24 cities nationwide and known locally as SBParent.com. She is actively involved in the community and serves as board president for the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, as well as on committees for Youth Making Change, school PTA, and is a former Santa Barbara Foundation’s Katherine Harvey Fellow.

Steidl was honored by the Junior League of Santa Barbara as Woman of the Year for 2008. Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, recognized her with the Small Business Award for the California Small Business Association. She has a master’s degree in clinical psychology from Pepperdine University. She is also a Santa Barbara native and the mother of three girls.

Barsom-Janigian served on the oversight committee last year. Before moving to Santa Barbara in 2006, she lived in Los Angeles, where she was an active member of the Junior League, chairing different projects and events. She was also an educator, teacher trainer and did administrative work for more than 10 years. She has a bachelor’s in education from USC, and has a master’s in school administration from California Lutheran University.

Barsom-Janigian is currently involved in the Assistance League of Santa Barbara and is a sustainer in the Junior League of Santa Barbara. She also volunteers as an advocate for children with special needs in the public school setting. She is married to Dr. Eric Janigian and enjoys raising their two young children.

Hans has been a member of the research committee for three years, co-chairing it in 2008. She has worked as an educational services consultant and reader for UCLA in undergraduate admissions, as well as an adjunct professor at SBCC for the past 10 years.

Her corporate career includes the presidency of Vista Hospital Systems Inc. and MCBA Inc., a business software provider. During her 25 years in the business world, Hans served on a number of boards, including the international boards of the Young Presidents’ Organization and the World Presidents’ Organization. She is the only woman to receive the Weaver Award for being a “leader among leaders.” In the 23 years Hans has been in Santa Barbara, she has served on various community and educational boards.

In addition to serving on the research committee for the past three years, and as research co-chairwoman in 2008, she is currently active with SBJM Scholarship Board and Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara and serves on those boards. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Massachusetts, Columbia Point, and her master’s in counseling and guidance from Cal Lutheran. She and her husband have two grown sons and one daughter.

Gainey is a longtime Santa Barbara resident. For many years she worked as a project director for a firm that produced children’s television programming and multimedia educational products. She has been active in the community in educational, nonprofit and governmental capacities. Gainey served as board chairwoman at Marymount of Santa Barbara and as site council president at both La Colina Junior High and San Marcos High schools. Gainey has served on the boards of Catholic Charities, the St. Cecilia Society and the Hope Ranch Homeowners Association.

A current member of the oversight committee of Santa Barbara County’s Planning & Development Process Improvement Team, Gainey also served on the 2nd District Neighborhood Council, and was appointed by the Board of Supervisors to serve on the Goleta Vision Committee. In 2006, 2nd District Supervisor Susan Rose honored her for her work in Planning Process Improvement. Gainey has a bachelor’s in political science from UC Berkeley and a certificate in financial planning from UCLA. She and her husband have one son at New York University.

Leslie Dinaberg is a frequent Noozhawk contributor and a member of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara.