The Cancer Foundation of Santa Barbara has added five new members to its Board of Trustees. They are Leslie Baines, Lisa Guadagno, Dr. W. Warren Suh, Priscilla Higgins and Arick Fuller.

“We welcome our new trustees and eagerly anticipate the wealth of expertise and diverse perspectives they will bring to our board,” said Lori Willis, executive director of the Cancer Foundation. “Their leadership and vision will further enhance our ability to support local cancer patients and families for years to come.”

The volunteer board is charged with fulfilling the foundation’s mission: to ensure superior cancer care for all residents of Santa Barbara County.

Baines graduated from American University. She is an experienced senior CEO with corporate and nonprofit fiduciary, investment, finance, audit and governance experience through corporations and board memberships with universities, companies and nonprofits.

Baines has been chair, vice chair or CEO of 11 forprofit or nonprofit organizations. Locally, she is currently on the board of the Granada Theatre in Santa Barbara, chairing its investment committee and is a member of the finance committee.

Baines has served on the executive committee of the Duke University Health System. She was board chair at Duke University Medicine, chair of the American University Board, executive committee of Signature Theater in New York City, and a member of the Roundabout Theatre Board in New York.

Guadagno has two decades of experience in financial services. Her focus is on cultivating strategic partnerships, driving innovation, and shaping global strategies.

Currently serving as an industry advisor, board member and executive consultant at Extern, Outamation, and Sunshine Ventures, she provides guidance on market trends, growth initiatives, innovation, and enhancing employee experiences.

Guadagno holds an MBA and a BA in economics and business. Her commitment to diversity, inclusion and belonging is seen in her involvement with the West Coast Lead Employee Resource Group and Ability, as well as her contributions to CALM and Transition House.

An advocate for professional development, she initiated a mentorship program for early-stage professionals in India. Guadagno lives in Santa Barbara.

Dr. W. Warren Suh joined the Cancer Center in 2009 following his faculty position with Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

He holds a joint degree in Medicine and Public Health in Healthcare Services Outcomes Research from the University of Chicago’s Pritzker School of Medicine and Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Dr. Suh completed his internal medicine residency at Mayo Clinic, then a radiation oncology residency from the University of Michigan, where he was the chief resident.

Higgins was born in Zambia and raised in East Africa. She was educated in England at Cambridge University, where she received a BA in natural sciences, followed by a Ph.D in physics. She also earned a masters in international education at Stanford University. 

Higgins’ career has been in education and the computer and telecommunications industry, in the UK and more recently in Silicon Valley, where she ran the technical training and technical publications department for a telecom company.

Higgins is president of the Higgins-Trapnell Family Foundation, which focuses on the relief of human suffering, education and the environment. She has served on the boards of Direct Relief International; and the Trapnell Fund at Oxford University, founded by her father who was one of Britain’s pioneering African ecologists.

Since 2008, she has been on the Santa Ynez Valley Foundation Board, and currently serves on the Santa Ynez Valley Community Outreach Board. She previously served on the Cancer Foundation Board from 2016-23.

Fuller, of Santa Barbara, has been involved with cancer-related foundations for some 20 years. Most notably, he is a founding member of The Friendship Paddle, whose mission is to raise money and support annually for a selected individual battling cancer or other life-threatening illnesses.

Fuller is a former patient of the Santa Barbara Ridley-Tree Cancer Center and The City of Hope, and has experienced firsthand the excellent care and facilities provided to local cancer patients.

Fuller is a UCSB graduate. He works with his brother Andrew in their three-generation family apartment development and investment company.

Fuller is vice president of Santa Barbara Commercial Mortgage, a private lending and investment affiliate of the company.