The Coastal Housing Partnership board of directors has announced its newly elected officers for the 2009-10 year: Elizabeth Winterhalter as president, Robert Silsbee as vice president, Teri Gauthier as chief financial officer and Ron Lafrican as secretary.

Winterhalter is vice president and mortgage loan officer at Bank of Santa Barbara. Previously, Winterhalter was president of a marketing consulting firm, a personal loan consultant for a boutique real estate financing and investment firm, and a business owner in Santa Barbara.

Silsbee is planning and resources manager for UCSB’s Administrative Services Division. A Santa Barbara County resident since 1976 and lifelong South Coast resident, Silsbee is aware of the issues facing homebuyers in the local area. At UCSB, Silsbee worked with a team of university planners and architects to obtain entitlements to construct 312 new units of family housing for faculty, staff and students on the North Campus, to purchase the 1,325-bed Santa Catalina student residence hall (formerly named Francisco Torres), and to review design and financing of the 976-bed San Clemente graduate student housing complex.

Gauthier is vice president and team leader for Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, Real Estate Department. She has more than 31 years of experience in the mortgage lending industry. She has been an active member of the Coastal Housing Partnership board for the past 10 years.

Lafrican is the benefits and compensation manager for Cottage Health System. Lafrican has more than 17 years in the human resources field with the past eight of those at Cottage Health System. He has earned both local and national recognition for Cottage through Santa Barbara County’s Green Award and the designation from the American Heart Association as a National Fit Friendly Workplace.

“This executive committee believes that housing is a critical component of an employee benefit package. They are focused on continuing to expand and improve our services, so that that our member employers can provide a significant housing assistance benefit for their employees,” said Corby Gage, executive director of Coastal Housing Partnership. “And in this market, the value of our services has never been greater or more opportune. I am thrilled to be working with this team.”

The Coastal Housing Partnership, a nonprofit organization, was founded in 1987 by a group of South Coast employers for the purpose of making homeownership more achievable for local employees. In the past 22 years, Coastal Housing Partnership has helped more than 10,000 local employees become homeowners.

— Julia Ullemeyer represents the Coastal Housing Partnership.