The Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation (SBTHP) elected six new members, and presented annual community awards and certificates of appreciation during its 62nd Annual Meeting held in the El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park chapel.

SBTHP members elected Cassandra Ensberg, Akil Hill, Jen Lemberger, John Majewski, Nicole Wasserman, and Brent Wilson to the board for a three-year term.

Following the election, SBTHP presented the following awards:

Robert Hoover received the Pearl Chase Historic Preservation and Conservation Award for his 25-plus years of service to SBTHP, serving 17 years on the board as well as an assortment of volunteer committees.

DJ Javier received the George and Vivian Obern Preservation Stewardship Award for the Year of the Dragon Mural and work to preserve public art throughout Santa Barbara.

James Krautmann received the President’s Award for his extraordinary contributions to SBTHP in the prior year.

Leslie Zomalt received the Life Honorary Director Award for her contributions to the organization’s mission through her many hours of volunteer service, and offering her expertise as a historian, community leader and educator.

William Mahan and Fred Sweeney were chosen as Life Honorary Members for their sustained efforts supporting SBTHP’s numerous public programs and historic preservation and conservation.

Certificates of appreciation went to:

Shannon Toribio for his contributions to the creation and opening of SBTHP’s newest exhibit Manongs on the Central Coast: Forming Communities Across Generations.

Jace Turner for his partnership and collaboration with SBTHP’s director of the Presidio Research Center, Dez Alaniz, to create “Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon: Local History Edition,” focused on local history in and around El Presidio de Santa Bárbara State Historic Park and the Presidio Neighborhood.

SBTHP concluded the meeting by presenting the Dedication of the Terease Chin Education Fund, in honor of Terease Chin and her service to SBTHP and her numerous contributions to the organization’s education programs.

For a full list of award winners, visit sbthp.org/award-winners.

New board members:

Ensberg has been a member of the Santa Barbara community for some 35 years. She is trained as a visual artist with a focus and appreciation of the power that history and art play in architecture.

She became a licensed architect in 1996 and formed Ensberg Jacobs Design with her partner, architect Tom Jacobs. A local volunteer, she works to promote respect and appreciation of our natural history and environment and how equity, diversity, inclusion, and education are necessary to realize positive change. She is an advocate for the arts, especially in architecture.

Ensberg serves on the board of the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara (she created the Kids Draw Architecture Program; has served on the City Arts Advisory, and currently is Historic Landmarks Commission member.

As a Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation member she serves on the Historic Resources committee. She has also been a professional member of the American Institute of Architects.

Hill is a member of the Gilbert family (one of the early Black families to migrate to Santa Barbara from the South). His experiences as the son of an Air Force veteran and former Black Panther shaped his understanding of race and place from an early age.

Following in his mother’s footsteps, he became involved in anti-racism work as a high schooler in the 1990s.

He served as the president of the Black Student Union at Santa Barbara High School, and worked closely with his mentor and community activist, Babatunde Folayemi to support youth of color in Santa Barbara.

Hill has worked at SBCC for the last 20 years and has continued to do community work with an emphasis on supporting youth and families.

He served on the SBUSD Combatting Anti-Blackness Task Force; was co-founder of the Black Faculty and Staff Association at SBCC; and was the driving force behind the inaugural Santa Barbara County Black Graduation Celebration in 2023.

Lemberger, who is co-owner of Chaucer’s Books, is a long-time Santa Barbara resident who believes history is not just past, but is a living, breathing entity that should be part of our culture, education, and understanding.

Her studies in public health and library science focused on community interactions and adult engagement. At Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, Lemberger studied social epidemiology and how the built environment, social structures, and community interactions influence individual health.

At University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee’s School of Information Studies, she studied the history of public libraries and community engagement practices.

She has worked for nonprofits, educational institutions, and government entities, including the Santa Barbara Public Library, W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Direct Relief, and the California State Library.

Majewski is professor emeritus in the UC Santa Barbara History Department, where he teaches courses on slavery, abolitionism, and the U.S. Civil War.

Majewski holds a BA from the University of Texas, Austin, a M.Sc. from the London School of Economics, and a Ph.D from UCLA.

He is the author of “A House Dividing: Economic Development in Pennsylvania and Virginia Before the Civil War” (Cambridge University Press, 2000); and “Modernizing a Slave Economy: The Economic Imagination of the Confederate Nation” (UNC Press, 2009); as well as numerous articles, essays and reviews.

A winner of a distinguished teaching award, he served as dean of the Division of Humanities and Fine Arts at UC Santa Barbara from 2014-20.

“I’m honored to serve the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation Board,” said Wasserman. “As someone born and raised in Santa Ynez, where I grew up in my family’s restaurant, my passion for local food and wine has always been at the forefront of my life.

“Since age 21, I’ve dedicated myself to the wine industry. Now, alongside my husband Zac, we own and operate Frequency Wines in the iconic Presidio neighborhood.

“I also serve as the direct-to-consumer director for Au Bon Climat Winery, a role I’ve proudly held since 2016,” she said. “As a mother to my spirited 17-month-old daughter Roswell, I am deeply committed to fostering connections within this vibrant community, and I look forward to contributing to its preservation and growth.”

Born and raised on the Central Coast Wilson grew up in Lompoc and worked for his family’s local carpet shop, which allowed him to see the impact small businesses can have in the community.

Now, as general manager of Longoria Wines (another small, family-owned business), he said he looks to display leadership, both in the wine industry and the surrounding community.

Wilson said he embraces the challenge of an ever-changing business landscape and realizes the importance of working with the community surrounding his workplace.

As a member of the SBTHP Board he said he “looks forward to building relationships with others who want to make an impact on the wonderful city of Santa Barbara.”

Board members reelected to a new three-year term are:
John Doordan
Nina Johnson
James Krautmann

Board members elected to a one-year term are:
Michael Neal Arnold, president
Cody A. Makela, first vice president
Kyle Slattery, second vice president
James Krautmann, secretary
Shelley Bookspan, treasurer

To view the entire Board of Directors, visit sbthp.org/staff.