Press releases are posted on Independent.com as a free community service.
(SANTA BARBARA, CA) — The Santa Barbara Foundation (SBF) welcomes four new trustees to its board effective January 1, 2024. SBF's incoming board members are Innovative Produce owner George Adam and attorney and house counsel at Main Street Produce and Freshway Farms Alexandra Allen, both of Santa Maria, and certified financial planner and founder of Impact Family Office Kiah Jordan of Santa Barbara, and philanthropic consultant and former President of the Orfalea Foundations Lois Mitchell from Carpinteria.
The new trustees join incoming board chair Matt Rowe, incoming vice chair Angel Iscovich, MD, treasurer Danna McGrew, incoming secretary Michael Pfau, chair emeritus Steve Hicks, as well as Phil Alvarado, Dr. Richard Beswick, Pamela Gann, Rafael Gonzalez, Pamela Macal, Robert Nakasone, Ernesto Paredes, Susan Richards, Lynn Scarlett, Alexander Simas, Tracy Stouffer, and Zohar Ziv.
“We are thrilled to welcome George, Alexandra, Kiah and Lois to our board,” explained SBF president and CEO Jackie Carrera. “Their experience in the community and expertise in agriculture, investing and finance, law and philanthropy will expand and deepen the Foundation's ability to respond to our region’s most pressing challenges.”
SBF thanks outgoing trustees Rev. Randall Day, James Rogers and Ginger Salazar for their years of service to the community as members of the Foundation’s board.
Immediate past board chair Steve Hicks completed his term as chair on December 31, and will remain an officer in the role of chair emeritus of the board of trustees.
“Our new trustees represent the Santa Maria Valley, Carpinteria and Goleta with half residing in North County,” Carrera added. “By including voices from across Santa Barbara County, we can better ensure that the unique strengths and challenges our diverse communities’ are represented, uplifted and addressed in all we do at SBF.”
About George Adam
A fifth-generation Santa Maria Valley grower, George J. Adam earned a Bachelor of Science in agricultural business from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo in 1983. He returned to work with his father, uncle and cousins for Adam Farms as a harvest manager. George and his spouse Debbie have since been business partners in numerous farming- related entities over the past 30 years including: La Brea Ranch, LLC; A&A Farming, Inc.; Innovative Produce; Faith Farming (labor contracting); Guadalupe Cooling; Beachside Produce (sales); and Royal Oak (H2A labor).
George has served as a board member of the Grower-Shipper Association of Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties and is currently on the boards of Preservation, Inc. and Western Growers Association. Additionally, he serves on the AgWest Local Agency Committee and occasionally volunteers as a guest lecturer at Cal Poly SLO in the ag policy class. Mr. Adam was a founding board member of the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Museum and currently serves on the Marian Regional Medical Center Foundation board.
George and Debbie have been married for 39 years and are proud of their four children – Jeff, Philip, Nicole and Bridget – along with their seven grandchildren. He spends his free time hunting and hiking the beaches and back country of the Central Coast with family and friends.
About Alexandra Allen
Alexandra Allen holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo and a master’s degree in education from the University of Mary, Bismarck, North Dakota. After having worked for several years as a teacher, Alexandra earned a Juris Doctorate degree from UCLA School of Law, where she served as the Women’s Law Union Executive Director and was a UCLA Law Review editor. She practiced law as an investment management attorney in Los Angeles and Washington DC with the international law firm K&L Gates.