Krista Pleiser, Laura Benard and Jon McCuskey have been appointed to the board of directors of the Coastal Housing Coalition, it was announced by board president Craig Minus.
Pleiser has worked for the past 11 years as the government affairs director for the Santa Barbara Association of Realtors, where she works on housing policy and protecting and promoting private property rights and homeownership.
Before moving to Santa Barbara, Pleiser worked for several Los Angeles City Council members and a state senator. She earned a degree in political acience from Loyola Marymount University and a master’s degree in public policy from California State University at Northridge.
McCuskey is a mortgage consultant at OnQ Financial and has more than 10 years as a sales manager and loan officer. He holds a degree in geography from UCSB.
McCuskey volunteers for Old Spanish Days, Santa Barbara Organization of Realtors Golf Tournament, Village Properties Teachers Fund Golf Tournament, Old Spanish Days Volunteer and Galaxy Cycling. He also enjoys skiing and surfing.
Bernard earned a B.S. degree in engineering with a focus on architectural design from Stanford University.
After graduation, she joined The Cearnal Collective as a project manager, where she leads teams that deliver a variety of projects, including single family residential, tenant improvements, and mixed-use/multi-family.
Bernard currently serves as co-chair of Emerging Professionals for the American Institute of Architects Santa Barbara chapter and is a board member of the Stanford Club of Santa Barbara. She has volunteered with Community Solutions and participated in the Open Architecture Collaborative.
The Coastal Housing Coalition (CHC) is a nonprofit organization, established 11 years ago, that is dedicated to finding solutions to the South Coast’s housing crisis and reversing the adverse impacts the lack of workforce housing is having on our economy, environment, and civic life through advocacy, education, research, and special projects.
The coalition annually hosts Santa Barbara County’s only housing conference, the Santa Barbara Housing Conference.
— Rochelle Rose for Coastal Housing Coalition.