“It’s good being here” says Kirsten McLaughlin, the market vice president of Santa Barbara for Cox Communications, “getting to live here and work here and make a difference.”
She’s reflecting about her work in the community, serving on the boards and committees for numerous nonprofits, including Partners in Education, the Goleta Chamber of Commerce, the Business Giving Roundtable Advisory Committee, the S.B. Chamber Business Leaders Council, and the Junior League of Santa Barbara. She’s perhaps most proud of sitting on the steering committee for the South Coast Business & Technology Awards. “This one is particularly meaningful to me because it benefits the S.B. Scholarship Foundation and I was a foundation scholarship recipient back in the day when I was heading to college!” she tells excitedly.
Kirsten is very centered and present while conversing over a cup of tea at The French Press on State Street. She was born and raised in Santa Barbara, and both of her parents worked for SBCC. “For a while, I thought I was going to be a teacher,” says Kirsten, who attended San Marcos High, where she played water polo. She also participated in Youth in Government, a statewide program for high school students that takes them to Sacramento, where they learn how to craft legislation. “That got me interested in politics,” explains Kirsten.