The SBCC Foundation recently welcomed four new members to its board of directors: directors-at-large Daniel Emmett, Madeleine Jacobson, Ben Scott, and ex-officio member Dr. Kathy Scott.
The SBCC Foundation board of directors, which provides leadership to the foundation, is currently composed of 11 community leaders who serve voluntarily and five ex-officio members who serve by virtue of their leadership positions at the college.
Emmett, CEO of Next Energy Technologies, has spent 25 years working at the intersection of energy and the environment with a focus on solutions to improve energy efficiency in commercial buildings and adoption of renewable energy. He was managing director of Innovo Energy Solutions Group, specializing in bringing clean technologies to market.
Emmett also served as the executive director of Energy Independence Now, overseeing programs in policy and advocacy to address petroleum dependence, and climate change. Before than, he led a portfolio-wide energy efficiency and conservation program for one of Southern California’s largest owner/operators of Class A commercial office buildings.
Emmett also worked on clean fuels and energy conservation issues as the energy programs director at Environment Now Foundation, and in Indonesia and Central America doing conservation-based development for U.S.AID and Conservation International.
He holds a BA in environmental studies and economics from UC Santa Cruz, and a masters in international development policy from Stanford University. He serves on the boards of the Environmental Defense Center and the UCLA Law Institute on Climate Change and the Environment.
Jacobson moved to Santa Barbara with her husband Peter 15 years ago from the Boston area. In Boston she was a member of the Children’s Hospital League, a fundraising organization for Boston Children’s Hospital. She had several roles on the League’s Board of Directors including president, and chairperson for the annual fundraiser.
After familiarizing herself with Santa Barbara’s many nonprofits, Jacobson decided to become a Court Appointed Special Advocate with the CASA organization. It was a difficult but quite rewarding volunteer effort, and her first case lasted five years, she said.
Her husband, who was teaching modern Middle East history, introduced her to SBCC. She was invited to join the foundation’s board of directors toward the end of her CASA tenure and that became her focus for the next 10 years. As an advocate, she participated in numerous fundraising and community awareness efforts during her tenure on the board, and served as board president, chair of the governance committee, and development chair.
Jacobson graduated from Boston University with a bachelor science in communications.
Ben Scott is the senior vice president/director of commercial banking at Montecito Bank & Trust, responsible for the bank’s commercial banking including all commercial lending activities with investors, operating businesses and nonprofit organizations. He has been in financial services for some 20 years, the last 13 years in Santa Barbara with Montecito Bank & Trust.
Scott is currently a member of the boards of directors for the SBCC Foundation, the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County, and Jordanos, Inc.
He graduated from Carpinteria High School and received his bachelor’s degree in government and economics from Claremont McKenna College. He lives in Carpinteria.
Kathy Scott, SBCC interim executive vice president/educational programs, has an extensive background within the California Community College system.
For the last four years, she served as the executive vice president/academic affairs at Long Beach City College. Before that, she served as the associate vice president of academic affairs at Pasadena City College and at Ventura College as an instructional dean, Title V grant director, and dean of institutional effectiveness.
Prior to becoming an administrator, Scott was a tenured faculty member in English at Ventura College, serving also as department chair, member of the curriculum committee, and an officer of the Academic Senate. She has also been the accreditation liaison officer at two institutions.
Scott holds an MA in literature from CSUN. She earned her Ed.D. in higher education leadership from Cal Lutheran University.
The SBCC Foundation has provided Santa Barbara City College with private philanthropic support since 1976, serving as the vehicle through which individuals and organizations may invest in the college and its students.
For more information, visit http://www.sbccfoundation.org.