“The past year has been the most remarkable experience of my life,” exclaims Donna Barranco Fisher, the executive director of Storyteller Children’s Center, which is a free preschool for homeless and at-risk Santa Barbara kids aged 18 months to five years old. “After children are done with our program, they’ve been completely transformed,” Donna tells me passionately about the center, which includes two separate sites and fosters social and emotional development.
I have met Donna on different occasions, since she is one of the most involved and devoted community members. The list of nonprofits that have benefitted for her commitment is lengthy, including Transition House, CALM, Girls Inc., Jodi House, Hospice of Santa Barbara, and the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, where she’s currently the board chair. But the job at Storyteller is tailor-made for Donna’s amazing skills, which she honed through getting a Master’s degree in early childhood education from Mills College and a bachelor’s degree in child development from Chico State.
When asked about the most rewarding aspect of her work, she gets emotional, explaining, “The children that leave the Storyteller Children’s Center will be part of the community instead of on the outside looking in.” The center will be holding an open house on June 30.