Having completed five years leading Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara (GIGSB), Barbara Ben-Horin has announced she will leave the CEO position of the pro-girl nonprofit at the end of the year.
Throughout 2020, Ben-Horin has been instrumental in helping Girls Inc. weather the challenges to the organization and its service model during the pandemic.
Since Ben-Horin joined the nonprofit in January 2016, the organization has expanded its Teen Center programming, overhauled its emergency planning, and advanced its advocacy efforts on behalf of girls’ rights and opportunities.
“I believe deeply in Girls Inc.’s vision of empowered girls in an equitable society and have been energized by the ‘why’ of our work,” Ben-Horin said. “I am impressed every day by the girls and teens we serve and am grateful to the deeply dedicated Girls Inc. staff.
“I believe my efforts have moved Girls Inc. forward, and that it is the right time to turn the reins over to new leadership.”
Before assuming the CEO position with GIGSB, Ben-Horin served as CEO of the Santa Barbara City College Foundation and as director of development at the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.
“The Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara board and staff are grateful to Barbara for her dedicated service and for the foundation she helped build, upon which we will grow the organization’s future,” said Tracy Jenkins, GIGSB Board president.
“Crisis opens our minds to new modes of thinking and doing, once considered impossible or too bold to imagine,” said Ben-Horin. “Girls Inc. has carefully and successfully served girls and teens during the pandemic, extended our support to their families, and developed partnerships to serve the larger Santa Barbara community.
“Our efforts fill me with pride and hope for Girls Inc.”
The board of directors will start its search for new executive leadership early in 2021.