Debbie Cox Bultan, a longtime executive of the Democratic Leadership Council, has joined the Coastal Housing Coalition as its executive director.

Cox Bultan, a Goleta resident and UCSB graduate, will be working with a broad coalition of community groups, elected officials and business leaders to find and promote practical solutions to the South Coast’s housing crisis and ensure more housing for Santa Barbara County’s workforce.

For the past 13 years, Cox Bultan was a senior official at the Washington-based Democratic Leadership Council, a centrist political think tank once chaired by former President Bill Clinton. She served the DLC as senior vice president and chief financial officer, as well as chief of staff and national political director, working with a national network of hundreds of state and local elected officials on message and policy development.

Cox Bultan started work at the Coastal Housing Coalition on March 17 and a day later was testifying before the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors at a contentious hearing on the Goleta Community Plan update. Although her arguments didn’t prevail, she had ensured that her business-backed group would be joined at the hearing by a diverse coalition of community organizations, including Pueblo, a social justice group representing low-income residents, and SB CAN, a leader in the progressive community.

“We are thrilled that Debbie will be leading our organization,” said Steve Amerikaner, board chairman of the Coastal Housing Coalition. “Her experience and vision made her the ideal choice and we look forward to her work ahead.”

Before joining the DLC, Cox Bultan worked on a number of statewide, congressional and state legislative campaigns in California, including serving as executive director of Californians for an Open Primary. She is a graduate of and former board vice president of Leadership Santa Barbara County.

Click here for more information on the Coastal Housing Coalition or call 805.882.1475.