Dr. Carrie Towbes will be honored Wednesday as the Santa Barbara Foundation’s 82nd Person of the Year — a recognition that is not only well-deserved but almost inevitable for someone whose name is synonymous with generosity across the Central Coast.
The award also extends an extraordinary family legacy, with both her mother and father having received the same honor. For Towbes, service is not merely a pursuit but a deeply rooted part of her upbringing and core to her identity.
“I don’t remember a time when my parents were not giving back,” Towbes said. “It was just what they did, and felt like part of my DNA.”
She said she remembers her late mother, Gail, always being “out and about,” volunteering with the PTA and the St. Vincent’s Children’s Center, serving as president of the Junior League of Santa Barbara and becoming a founding member of the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
She said her dad, Michael, who served on numerous local nonprofit boards, including Cottage Hospital, the SBCC Foundation, Lotusland and the Granada Theatre, owed his success to the people of this community, and he “believed in working hard to build a better world and giving back to the community that had given him so much.”
That commitment began formally in 1980 when, during Towbes’ senior year of college, her parents established the Towbes Foundation with a $500 donation to the State Street Ballet. That seed, planted in her mother’s love for dance and the performing arts, has grown into a multimillion-dollar foundation that has granted $25 million to more than 400 organizations since its inception, transforming the Santa Barbara community in profound and enduring ways.
After the passing of her mother in 1996 and her father in 2017, Towbes stepped fully into the role of steward — carrying forward the legacy while also shaping it in her own way.
“My dear friend Jon Clark (president of the James S. Bower Foundation) advised me to focus on areas that I know best,” Towbes said, adding that it’s a philosophy that now guides the foundation’s priorities, with an emphasis on education, mental health and youth initiatives.
A licensed psychologist with more than 30 years of experience specializing in child clinical psychology, Towbes brings deep expertise in child and adolescent development, youth mental health, and family systems.
“These are the areas where I have the most knowledge and can offer thoughts and ideas,” she said. “I try to volunteer where I have the skill set to be useful.”
That skill set has benefited numerous local nonprofit organizations. She has devoted countless hours working as a psychologist in schools, hospitals and community mental health centers and for nonprofit organizations. She has been a clinical supervisor at CALM and a member of the First 5 Santa Barbara County Community Advisory Committee. Her leadership has extended to the boards of Planned Parenthood of California Central Coast, the Storyteller Children’s Center and Crane Country Day School.
“Carrie embodies the true spirit of generosity, leadership and service, dedicating her time, expertise and resources to ensuring that our community is a more inclusive, compassionate and supportive place for all,” Storyteller Children’s Center Executive Director Gabriella Garcia wrote in her nomination letter.
For Towbes, giving back is both personal and purposeful.
“First and foremost, giving back makes our community stronger and has a direct impact on people,” she told Noozhawk. “Knowing that we are improving people’s lives makes me feel really good. My hope is that the foundation will be in a position to create systemic change.”
While Towbes said she is committed to driving systemic change, she also recognizes that meaningful change can occur one person at a time. It’s that insight that guides her latest philanthropic effort, of which she is especially proud: the newly established Youth Mental Health Providers Recruit, Retain, Rest and Recuperation (4R) Grant Program, launched in partnership with the Santa Barbara Foundation.
The fund aims to support those working on the front lines of youth mental health — ensuring they have the resources to sustain themselves in that challenging field. In its first grant cycle, the 4R Grant Program awarded $150,000 to 15 nonprofit organizations across Santa Barbara County.
The importance of personal connection and family has always guided Towbes’ approach. It was fitting, then, that she received news of the Person of the Year award while skiing in Colorado with her husband, cousin, daughter and her daughter’s fiancé.
“The fact that both of my parents had also received this award is especially meaningful to me,” she said. “I kind of felt like I just received an A+ on my report card and wanted to show them. It’s a profound honor — one that connects me to my parents, knowing how proud they would be.”
Towbes will be honored along with George Burtness at the Santa Barbara Foundation’s 82nd Persons of the Year awards luncheon from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Rotunda at the Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort, 633 E. Cabrillo Blvd. Click here for more information.
In addition to the Santa Barbara Foundation, the celebration is supported by sponsors Montecito Bank & Trust; Noozhawk; Cox; The Kellogg Organization; Bartlett, Pringle & Wolf; Cindy and Steve Lyons; Patty MacFarlane; Katina Zaninovich; and Ventura Rental Party & Events.
