Founder, Chief Energy Officer

Seth has over 25 years of experience in business and community leadership. He is the founder of Mission Wealth, a nationally recognized wealth management firm serving hundreds of high net worth clients across the U.S.

Seth is a thought-leader in conscious financial planning, helping people reframe their perspective of wealth beyond just the financial to lead more balanced, impactful, and fulfilling lives. He was recognized by Real Leaders magazine in 2015 as one of the Top 100 visionary leaders who strive to create a better world. In 2016, he was asked to speak on the TEDx stage to share his powerful message.

Seth is an engaged member of the YPO organization; serving on the local board, the executive committee of the Leadership Development Network, as the former Chair of the Financial Services Network and now as a global speaker/facilitator resource.

He has served on numerous non-profits and led various community development initiatives, including as the founding leader and subsequent judge for Fast Pitch SB, a venture-pitch model for the non-profit sector. Seth is a member of Social Venture Partners (SVP), on the advisory Council for the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County, an Advisory Member for the Planned Giving Committee of the Music Academy of the West and a coach for youth sports.

Seth was raised in an environmentally aware family with his dad’s role as the Assistant Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. This passion for environmental stewardship inspired him to serve on numerous environmental non-profits over a 20 year timeframe and to eventually found Sustainablefuture.org in 2016.

Director of Engagement

Deirdre promotes SustainableFuture.org’s mission with incredible partnerships across Santa Barbara County, and cultivates relationships with member organizations across cross-sections of the community within: business, universities, the public sector, non-profits, and faith-based organizations.

For the past twenty years, she had been working in natural resource management– protecting, preserving, and promoting the nation’s wild places while educating the public on a myriad of issues. Previously, Deirdre worked for the federal agencies charged with managing the nation’s extraordinary protected lands and marine protected areas. She has a history of encouraging support for environmental programs, and looks for areas of synergy with local communities, conservationists, and user groups, while simultaneously building an ethos of stewardship among non-traditional partners. Deirdre interprets the science of research and conservation to the public in meaningful ways, and her role with Sustainable Future is the culmination of a life-long passion for environmental health and resource protection. Deirdre loves the work she does and finds caring for the world we live in personally and professionally gratifying. She is grateful to be able to be able to call Santa Barbara home.

Platform Design and Technology Associate

Jacob is the Platform Design Associate for Sustainable Future - in this role he gets to design custom campaigns for member organizations, and create compelling strategies for the community-at-large to tackle issues related to sustainability. He is thrilled to be part of our team and has an abundant amount of creativity to lend to this role! Jacob is well-suited to this, as he is a leader in sustainability at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he currently studies Environmental Studies with a concentration in Technology Management. As a student, Jacob has worked on numerous sustainability initiatives over the past three years. He first founded Isla Vista Compost Collective, a residential composting program of Isla Vista Surfrider, in an effort to better manage his community’s waste stream. Around the same time, Jacob also founded UCSB Greeks Go Green to develop more sustainable Greek chapter houses and a more sustainable Greek culture at UCSB. Jacob hopes his sustainability expertise will be a great asset to Sustainable Future as he guides the usage of Sustainable Future’s engagement platform among local organizations and citizens of Santa Barbara County.

During his free time, Jacob enjoys gardening at his plot at the UCSB Greenhouse and Garden Project. He also is very passionate about sustainable agriculture. Jacob assisted his family with the creation of a sustainable farm in their backyard in the Bay Area this past year. They now manage a cow, goats, chickens, bee hives, and a vegetable garden.

Member Development Associate

Olivia Bernheimer recently joined Sustainable Future as our Member Development Associate, which means she gets to do a bit of everything related to sustainability! Such as: inspiring individuals and businesses to commit to taking micro-actions which will promote stewardship while saving resources and money, creatively thinking about ways to share messages around sustainability, while also providing outstanding customer-service to our member organizations. This is a natural fit for Olivia, who is a fourth year student at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is incredibly passionate about social justice and promotion of sustainability, and is thrilled that she was able to join the Sustainable Future team. She grew up near sunny Palm Springs, and this inspired her enthusiasm for solar and wind power practices. At UCSB, she is the Director of Communications for the Associated Students, Office of the President and the Internal Vice President. She also works in a psychology laboratory and is the Director of Health and Wellness for a political party on campus. She is excited to see the amazing things that Sustainable Future will do and can’t wait to be a part of the progress.

Social Media Contributor and Ocean Ambassador

Siena is our Social Media Contributor and Ocean Ambassador, specializing in ocean conservation issues. She contributes compelling and informative articles to our social media platforms related to ocean conservation efforts and micro-actions the public can take to help preserve our oceans. As an Environmental Studies major at the University of California, Santa Barbara, Siena is passionate about ocean conservation efforts and looks forward to conducting marine ecosystem field research in Thailand.

Siena is also the Director of Isla Vista Compost Collective at UCSB, a student-run composting program with Isla Vista Surfrider that provides residents with an easy opportunity to reduce their food waste. In addition, she enjoys being the Fashion Committee Director of Isla Vista Trading Post, a student-run organization that collects unwanted clothing and hosts pop-up thrift shops to redistribute the clothing to the community for free. Their mission is to encourage the public to shop second-hand due to the negative environmental impacts of the fast fashion industry. Additionally, Siena interns for the Coal Oil Point Reserve as a Snowy Plover Docent. She educates beach-goers about the endangered Snowy Plovers living on the reserve and enforces the reserve rules.

Advisory Council

David Auston is Adjunct Professor in the Departments of Electrical & Computer Engineering, and the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California Santa Barbara. His current activities are focused on climate change mitigation & adaptation.

Prior to joining UCSB, he was the first President of the Kavli Foundation, dedicated to supporting basic scientific research in astrophysics, neuroscience, nanoscience, and theoretical physics.  He has been a member of the technical staff and department head at AT&T’s Bell Laboratories, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Applied Physics and Dean of the School of Engineering and Applied Science at Columbia University, Provost of Rice University, and President of Case Western Reserve University.

David Auston has contributed to research in the fields of lasers, nonlinear optics, and solid-state materials. He is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers, the Optical Society of America, and the American Physical Society.

A native of Toronto, Canada, David Auston earned bachelors and masters degrees in engineering physics and electrical engineering from the University of Toronto and a Ph.D. in electrical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley.

Advisory Council

Dean Axelrod is the Associate Director for Partnerships & Philanthropy for Direct Relief. Direct Relief is the seventh largest charity in the United States, and it is the largest and most respected charitable, non-governmental, provider of material medical aid in the world.

Dean moved to Santa Barbara with his family in 2013 to establish a branch office for the financial services firm Edward Jones. Prior to his time as a Financial Advisor, Dean was the Division Manager for the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Tucson, Arizona, where he provided general management and leadership for court facilities in Tucson and Yuma Arizona during the Great Recession. For six years leading up to his time at the Bankruptcy Court, Dean owned a boutique professional services firm providing legal counsel, strategic planning, executive coaching, and marketing consulting, and established himself as a trusted advisor.

Dean earned an MBA and JD from the University of Arizona, and a BA in English from Boston University. Dean sits on the board of the Santa Barbara Rotary Club and he serves on the marketing committee of the Santa Barbara chapter of the Anti-Defamation League. He also volunteers with Partners In Education, as a guest consultant for Women’s Economic Ventures, and as a coach for the Dos Pueblos High School mock trial team.

Dean offers more than 30 years of professional experience combined with a passion to help others do better and live better.

Engagement Team

Jordan benShea has over twenty years of experience in communications, strategic thinking, marketing, nonprofit development and organization.

Born and raised in Santa Barbara, California, Jordan graduated from University of California at Berkeley with a BA in Mass Communications and Media, and an emphasis in Business Administration and Journalism. As Owner and Strategist of her strategic communications consulting company, SkyView Projects, Jordan enjoys working with authentic brands and nonprofits. With an avid appreciation for giving back, she serves on nonprofit boards, serves as an advocate for local nonprofits, and is the Executive Director of a nonprofit based in northern California helping veterinarians. 

Jordan is also on the Board of Directors of Fairview Gardens, where she is the Development Committee Chair and Master Plan Committee member. She also plays a strategic role in the annual Empty Bowls fundraiser, served on the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan working group, and has been a Coach for Fast Pitch SB, a communications training program. Jordan was chosen to participate in and completed a seven month Board Leadership Institute through the Santa Barbara Foundation, achieved certificate of completion from Philanthropy University nonprofit leadership program, is a member of the Joan Garry Nonprofit Leadership Lab,  and has won the California Cox Conserves Hero award for her environmental stewardship.

Advisory Council

Gay Browne is an environmental advisor and founder of Greenopia, a comprehensive guide to green businesses. It originated as a print-guide series in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, and rapidly expanded nationwide through the launch of Greenopia.com. Greenopia is currently revamping its business criteria and will re-launch in Third Quarter 2018, with a membership-based business directory, an accompanying mobile app, a daily financial tracker to monitor eco-purchases and a green financial rewards program.

Greenopia has over fifty rated categories of businesses that range from restaurants to nail salons to burial services. This criterion is based on life cycle analysis principles, tracking impacts from material extraction, manufacturing,

packaging, transportation, usage and disposal as opposed to just one supply chain area of a business or product. It also includes social concerns and other ethical considerations found in Environmental, Social, and Governance, (ESG). Through this process, Greenopia takes the guesswork out of sustainability and helps people make healthy, green decisions in their everyday lives.

Gay’s green journey was inspired by her own health challenges. As a former asthma sufferer, she began to search for ways to improve her family’s living environment, and in 1994, she constructed the first green home in Pacific Palisades. In sourcing and working with contractors, interior designers and furniture dealers, she soon realized that there was a wealth of green options, but no simple resource for locating them.

Consultant

Cheryl Bube is passionate about environmental advocacy and community-driven sustainable actions. She has fifteen years of professional experience with SoCal non-profit organizations advocating environmental conservation, ocean science education, and research. Growing up in the beautiful coastal town of San Clemente, California, Cheryl was inspired to seek ways to minimize her local ecological footprint and solve resource management problems.

She holds a B.S. in Marine Biology with a minor in Environmental Science & Policy from California State University, Long Beach. She completed her Masters of Environmental Science & Management degree from UCSB’s Bren School, specializing in Conservation Planning with a focus in Strategic Environmental Communication and Media.

Advisory Council

Laura Capps has spent 20 years developing strategic communications and issue advocacy campaigns for the nation’s highest profile public officials, including President Bill Clinton, Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Secretary John Kerry’s presidential campaign, as well as leading non-profit organizations.  She is an elected member of the Santa Barbara School Board and serves on the board of the Community Environmental Council and Planned Parenthood Action Fund.  Laura runs her own public affairs practice, Mission Partners,  providing services in media relations, crisis communications, project management, and development strategies and focusing in five issue areas:  climate, food systems, education, poverty and immigration.  Laura began her career in government and public service by serving four years in the Clinton White House, working first as an aide to George Stephanopoulos and then as a speechwriter for President Clinton.  She was Senator Edward M. Kennedy’s Communications Director in the U.S. Senate, serving as his primary spokesperson and developing strategic communications plans on a wide range of issues. In 2003-2004, Laura was a senior aide to John Kerry in his presidential campaign.  She has built a reputation as a respected advocate for environmental, ocean conservation, and climate issues through her roles as SVP for Government Affairs and Communications at Ocean Conservancy and as Communications Director for the Alliance for Climate Protection the non-profit founded and chaired by Vice President Al Gore.  

Advisory Council

Frank Chen is passionate about exploring creative and innovative solutions through inclusive and collaborative planning processes. He is a Los Angeles native with a background in urban and regional planning. His work with Santa Barbara County started in 2015 as a CivicSpark Fellow. Now as a full-time Program Specialist for the Sustainability Division, he works toward reaching the County’s energy and climate action goals. He coordinates the County’s Sustainability Committee, an interagency group that supports alternative transportation, energy efficiency, renewable energy, waste reduction, water conservation, land-use, and sustainable agricultural practices.

Public Sector Team

Jennifer co-leads the Sustainability Division of the County of Santa Barbara Community Services Department, where she oversees the implementation of the County’s Energy and Climate Action Plan. The plan outlines carbon-reduction activities everyone can do, such as biking and carpooling, powering our lives with renewable energy, and minimizing what we send to the landfill. She also leads the County’s exploration of community choice energy to accelerate the transition to more sustainable energy sources.

Jennifer has more than 16 years of experience in the public and private sectors championing and implementing sustainable practices, primarily related to resource conservation, renewable energy, mitigating the impacts of climate change, and improving air quality. Jennifer graduated with a Master of Public Affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas and a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Sciences and Environmental Management from The University of Virginia. She is the Vice Chair of the City of Santa Barbara’s Transportation and Circulation Committee.

Engagement Team

Born and raised in beautiful Alaska Zach has a deep appreciation for nature and is passionate about the pursuit of global environmental sustainability.

His career consists of 12 years of digital marketing experience holding positions at Oracle, AGIA, and AppFolio.

Zach founded Devine Digital and for the last 7 years has been helping businesses thrive with effectively crafted web design & marketing strategies.

He graduated from Montana State University with a Marketing degree with a background in Computer Science.  

Zach loves being outside, staying active, spending time with family and exploring the world.

Engagement Team

Nadra Ehrman is a Residential Community Manager with The Towbes Group in Santa Barbara, CA and has been with the company for 9 years. Prior to moving to Santa Barbara, she lived in San Diego and worked for non-profit, property management organizations, San Diego Youth and Community Services and St. Vincent de Paul. In both organizations, she worked in programs providing housing and support services to at-risk youth.

In her current Community Manager role, she displays a strong commitment to sustainable business practices. She has assisted in several green certifications of residential properties and has spearheaded many sustainability initiatives throughout the entire portfolio.

Her community involvement includes co-chairing the Partnership Council of the Community Environmental Council, being a member of the Santa Barbara Green Business Program Steering Committee, The Towbes Group, Employee Advisory Board Committee and is a Katherine Harvey Fellow alum.

Currently, she is completing a Master of Science in Social Entrepreneurship at USC with an anticipated graduation of May 2018. When not working, in school, or serving on committees, she enjoys spending time with her 12-year-old daughter, participating in dance classes, running, reading, relaxing at the beach and working out at the gym.

Engagement Team

Julia Evans is a woman with a mission to empower individuals in achieving vibrant health with holistic health practices as a Health Coach. From a place of vibrant health, people have the energy and clarity to make a greater impact in our world.

Julia has joined Sustainable Future to put into action campaigns that will protect our ocean and dramatically reduce one-time use plastic consumption. She’s inspired to focus her efforts on supporting Santa Barbara in going strawless; helping reduce the 500 million straws that are used daily in the USA.

Advisory Council

David Fortson is LoaCom’s co-founder and Chief Executive Officer. Believing business is one of the most powerful tools for making a better world, and seeing tremendous opportunities to expand the power and influence of the nonprofit sector, David founded LoaTree and later co-founded LoaCom in hopes of mashing up the best assets of the private and nonprofit sectors. 

David’s areas of interest and focus include business development, digital ecosystem development, strategy, and blurring the lines between nonprofit and private sector worlds. Before LoaCom, David worked for technology entertainment company Sonos, invented, manufactured and sold nationally a dog product called The Brush Buddy and was the founding Executive Director of a regional nonprofit called Santa Barbara County Action Network. David is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara with degrees in Ecology and Environmental Studies. 

In his off hours, David spends as many hours as possible outdoors with his wife Terra and their daughters playing in the sand, sun and surf.

Advisory Council

Laura has more than 25 years of experience in ocean and environmental science education and outreach, working for the National Park Service, National Marine Sanctuary System and as a teacher and environmental educator. She leads a variety of projects and programs including professional development for teachers and creating education and outreach materials for the public designed to increase ocean awareness and stewardship. Laura earned her undergraduate degree at UC Berkeley in Zoology and her Masters at UC Santa Barbara in Deep Sea Biology. Laura is on the Board of Directors of the Community Environmental Council and member of the Women's Fund of Santa Barbara.

Public Sector Team

Marisa Hanson-Lopez is a Sr. Program Specialist in the County of Santa Barbara’s Sustainability Division. She oversees emPower Central Coast, the County’s residential energy efficiency program, and is leading a multi-jurisdictional effort to develop a county-wide Clean Energy Roadmap. Prior to joining the County, she helped design a national residential retrofit program for the Country of Montenegro, and developed an energy efficient lighting plan for the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles. She holds a Master of Science in Sustainability Management from Columbia University.

Business Team Champion

For the last 22 years, Megan has worked the helm of both the social enterprise and sustainability movements as a consultant, executive, and business owner working within the private sector, non-profit sector, and inside Governmental and Non-governmental organizations including the US State Department, Conservation International, Counterpart International, Women’s Economic Ventures, Citigroup, and several start ups.

In 2008, Megan helped build Be Green Packaging from the ground up with its founders as Senior Vice President. Megan was the Chairwoman of the EcoAdvisory Board from 2009-2016. Simultaneously, Megan created a brokerage firm in 2010 to advocate for and sell what Be Green Packaging made.

In 2012, she co-founded The Adventure Capitalists, which designs, builds and operates triple bottom line companies.

In 2014, she became a founding Board Member and Executive of Ellipz Lighting USA, a vision company that manufactures innovative LED lighting worldwide.

Megan holds a Master’s degree from George Washington University’s School of Business and Public Management, and has two Bachelors degrees in Ethnobotany and Alternative Medicine.

Megan is the Executive Producer of the podcast and youtube show, “One Hour of Sunshine”, which interviews business owners and leaders ready to tell their story about how they access their intuition in business and throughout their daily navigation.

Advisory Council

David Jackson was raised in New York City and after finishing graduate studies at Columbia, he began a working in philanthropy. He has previously worked in development for Little Orchestra Society in New York and helped co-found Pullum Center in Los Angeles.

David currently lives with his wife and two sons in Santa Barbara, CA, dedicating his time to researching potential grantees for Zegar Family Foundation (ZFF), and serving on the board of Pacific Pride Santa Barbara. Working from ZFF’s New York-based office, he has helped increase the number of grantees in the field of education, partnering with T.E.A.K. Fellowship among others.

David is presently leading an effort to expand his family foundation’s outreach to more organizations based in California. Recently, ZFF helped open the first children’s science museum serving California’s Central Coast, MOXI. David’s larger goal is to increase support for groups working to achieve preservation of natural resources and sustainability for the environment. He joins the outstanding efforts of Sustainable Future to pursue this critical goal.

Business Team

Noam Karoly leads efforts for Sustainable Procore; the grassroots, employee-run environmental advisory board at Procore Technologies. In addition to being an Implementation Manager at the company, Noam works across departments coordinating internal sustainability programs designed to educate, empower, and excite fellow Procore employees while promoting internal sustainable business practices.

After earning a degree in Environmental Studies and Technology Management from UCSB, Noam has found a way to couple environmental passion with Hi-Tech corporate management and regularly works with Procore leaders to maximize operational savings and shift the Procore culture towards one that emphasizes personal sustainability.

Notable Sustainable Procore programs include a bi-annual Bike to Work Day, reusable bamboo utensil drives, sustainable cooking course, Proper Waste Disposal education material and more.      

Though sustainability efforts currently focus on improving internal business procedures, Noam intends to bring sustainable business planning to the forefront of the construction industry by empowering contractors to build efficiently and sustainably using technology solutions that promote responsible material procurement and waste-mitigation.

When he’s not working at Procore, Noam and can found hiking the beautiful mountains of Santa Barbara, joyriding down the coast and enjoying the beach with his Australian Shepard pup, Escher.

Engagement Team

Kathi King is the Outreach and Education Director at CEC and plays a key role in organizing CEC’s annual Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival. Kathi is behind CEC’s Rethink the Drink bottled water reduction program in area schools. She is on the board of the Montecito Association and has served as the Co-Chair for the Montecito Village 4th of July festival for the past three years. A founding member of the Santa Barbara Climate Reality Chapter, Kathi has attended two Climate Reality Leadership Corps trainings and is a certified Climate Reality Leader.

Kathi has a B.S. degree in Telecommunications and Film from San Diego State University and worked in the television industry in Los Angeles for several years. She was the Associate Producer of the still-popular sitcom “Full House.” Kathi and her husband Jeff moved to Santa Barbara in 1998. Their two children attended Santa Barbara public schools for grades K-12 and Kathi served on several PTA boards and committees between 1998 and 2015. She did post-graduate work in Environmental Studies at Santa Barbara City College, where a class project led to Santa Barbara’s single use plastic bag ban.

Advisory Council

Sharyn Main has over three decades of experience in philanthropy and the non-profit sector in Santa Barbara County.  She is a strong believer in the power of the non-profit sector to drive community change.  Coming to philanthropy from the non-profit sector has given her insight to working effectively with community partners to achieve their goals.  Sharyn is Senior Director of Community Investments at the Santa Barbara Foundation with an emphasis on development and implementation of community initiatives.  Her current focus is on the LEAF Initiative to advance regional strategies for land conservation, protection of ecosystems, and support of agriculture and food systems in Santa Barbara County.  The Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan and the Conservation Blueprint were both developed and supported through LEAF.   She also oversees the Creative Communities project, a countywide master-planning effort to build a stronger arts and culture sector.

Prior to joining the foundation, Sharyn co-developed GreenCare for Children, a program to reduce toxins in childcare centers, and helped lay the groundwork for the Alliance For Living and Dying Well and the Early Childhood & Education Collaborative.  She previously worked for a family foundation focused on arts, environmental protection and historical preservation, and served as the Assistant Director of Pollution Prevention Programs at the Community Environmental Council where she co-founded and led the South Coast Watershed Alliance for over a decade.  Sharyn is a fourth-generation Santa Barbara County resident and has been actively involved in the arts and environmental protection throughout her life.

Education Ambassador

Kori is a passionate advocate for sustainability within businesses, schools, and throughout the Santa Barbara community. Kori is looking forward to bridging the gap between business owners, consultants, and community members to achieve the common goal of sustainability education and achievement that is necessary to make Santa Barbara the leading example for sustainability within the school system.

Her passion for sustainability sparked when she attended a consortium for sustainability study abroad program at EARTH University in Costa Rica. Through the program, she learned about EARTH University’s unique approach to education, investigated and analyzed community issues, and assessed the social and environmental impact of our actions as individuals and companies. She has worked with and attended sustainability conferences at Santa Barbara City College, California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, and the University of California, Santa Barbara and has done analytical reporting for Santa Barbara City College using AASHE STARS. These opportunities provided her with a solid foundation of operational success, and an understanding of environmental and human health benefits within institutions. Since then, she has become an accredited LEED GA, and has worked for the Central Coast Green Building Council and The Santa Barbara County Green Business Program.

Advisory Council

For Perrin Pellegrin, Managing Partner and project manager at Innovative Workshop Consulting, the emphasis is on the workshop approach to sustainability policy and climate impact analysis. A LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional, Perrin entered into the sustainability field well before LEED was a household term, with the distinction of working on one of the first 25 green buildings in the U.S. to be certified as such. She has the distinction of being the first Sustainability Manager in the entire University of California system, a position she held at UCSB for 8 years.

Perrin brings her 18 years of experience to each project, helping her clients balance what they want with their capacity, and to grow from there: “We want them to be cutting edge,” Perrin says, “and we work together with them on that. We don’t pass things off, we are hands on and we love what we do. It’s exciting to see what people achieve.”

IWC has worked with a wide range of clients—institutions of higher education such as UCSB, UC Riverside, Santa Barbara City College, and Ventura County Community College District, as well as municipalities such as the City of Santa Barbara—creating and delivering sustainability projects that minimize environmental impact and maximize the quality of life for those who work and study in these buildings. Perrin has created sustainable strategic and climate actions plans for countless organizations throughout her career, and has become known for delivering on time and often surpassing expectations. Perrin says that one of the areas of sustainability that really excites her currently is more “concerned with the wellbeing of the people inside the building, it’s qualitative, and concerned with things such as lighting and how your body is affected.”

Advisory Council

Matt Riley co-founded Infinity Renewables in April 2008 with the goal of developing quality wind projects with a focus on landowner and community issues. Mr. Riley’s experience in the wind industry spans almost two decades, during which time the wind industry has experienced unprecedented growth. Navigating the complex issues inherent in wind project development is his core strength, which was demonstrated during the origination and execution of many operating wind farms in the U.S. Mr. Riley holds a Master of Environmental Science and Management and a Bachelor of Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Faith Based Team Champion

Aaron Ritter joined Sustainable Future in 2018 as the faith-based organization team Champion. He lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, Kristen, and two children, Matthew and Michelle.

Aaron is a financial advisor passionate about making a positive impact, especially regarding environmental issues. He is firmly guided by his life mission of stewardship and his spirituality. He is in leadership at Unity of Santa Barbara and has been involved with the Environmental Defense Center, Community Environmental Council, Food From the Heart of Santa Barbara, and other organizations aligned with his vision and purpose.

Aaron is driven by an important ethical responsibility to do whatever he can to help solve the unprecedented challenge of climate change. He is a purpose-driven, committed member of SustainSB.

Advisory Council

Michael serves as principal at Ponvalley, a family office meets think tank that invests in positive impact companies solving important problems in the areas of environment, water, food, shelter, education and wellbeing.  Michael began his career at Smith Broadcasting Group and helped sell the company to Boston Ventures in 2004.  He then became a Musician (DJ'd with Kanye/Guns N Roses/Rihanna) and later Entrepreneur (The Playlist Generation: b2b streaming music service;  Creative Space: Adaptive Reuse in LA/SF).  He has been an active investor/advisor to over 40 companies and funds since 1998.  Recent investments include Aspiration, Lyft, Pinterest, SMS Assist, Nebia & Rubicon Global.  

He is a Venture Fellow with Bren School at UCSB, sits on the board of Pvblic Foundation, the Advisory Council at Salk Institute, the United Nations Media Council on Social Impact and chairs the Climate subcommittee at Blockchain For Impact.  He also was cofounder of SustainSB, a precursor community environmental initiative to Sustainablefuture.org.

Engagement Team

Kylie Wagner, a Santa Barbara native, is a UCLA grad with a B.S. in Environmental Science. While working in sustainable building management in San Francisco, California, she completed her 200-hour yoga training through CorePower Yoga. Since moving back to Santa Barbara, Kylie works as the Director of Sustaianability for the Impact Hub and is currently pursuing her 500-hour certification through the Santa Barbara Yoga Center. Kylie’s yoga practice embraces elements from her training in Vinyasa, Yin and Therapeutic yoga.

Advisory Council

Sigrid Wright is CEO/Executive Director of the Community Environmental Council -- a nonprofit focused on regional solutions to environmental concerns. For energy/climate related issues, she is a co-founder of the Central Coast Climate Collaborative, co-author of the Santa Barbara County Regional Energy Blueprint, editor of more than a dozen CEC policy documents, and program facilitator for the South County Energy Efficiency Partnership (SCEEP). For food system issues, she is on the executive team and advisory board of the countywide Food Action Plan and member of the national Carbon Farming Innovation Network. For more than 15 years she led the annual Santa Barbara Earth Day Festival production team.

Sigrid holds a B.S. in Journalism from the University of Oregon and an M.A. in Communications Design from the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts at the University of Baltimore. Prior to coming to CEC, she worked for several organizations in Washington, D.C., including the Alliance to Save Energy and the National Wildlife Federation. She is an alum of the Santa Barbara Foundation’s Katherine Harvey Fellows program and the Courage to Lead program for non-profit leaders, and sits on the board of Leading From Within. She is also a commissioner for the Santa Barbara County Commission for Women. She received the 2015 Women of Achievement Award from the Association of Women in Communications, Santa Barbara.

Engagement Team

Joe Coito is an entrepreneur, recreational event creator and consultant. For twenty-three years, the lifelong athlete and sports enthusiast has owned and operated Santa Barbara Triathlon, Inc., which produces one of the oldest events of its kind in the country. Over the years Joe has organized countless multi-sport events and adventure travel programs, including a cross-country triathlon from the Santa Monica Pier to the steps of New York City Hall to raise money for AIDS awareness, an overland experiential expedition in Baja, Mexico for CEOs of multinational companies, and a triathlon-inspired corporate teambuilding program to benefit the Orange County Children’s Hospital. For more than a decade, Joe and his team managed the logistics for the local Summit for Danny, proceeds of which directly benefit the Daniel Bryant Youth and Family Treatment Center. In the past, Joe also produced and then consulted for the Santa Barbara Terry Fox Run, a charity event held around the world to raise money for cancer research.

Philanthropy is a critical aspect of all of Joe’s endeavors. Since adding a fundraising component to the Triathlon in 2002, the event has raised more than half a million dollars for local charities and nonprofit organizations. In his sporting event consultant capacity, Joe focuses on developing partnerships with organizations that share his passion for giving back to the community while highlighting the importance of fitness and fun.

For seven years, Joe served on the board of the Santa Barbara Athletic Round Table (SBART), an organization dedicated to supporting student athletes. In addition to holding the position of Chief Financial Officer, in 1999 SBART awarded Joe the Russ Hargreaves Memorial Award for his role in bringing quality sports programs to Santa Barbara. In 2014, the Santa Barbara Independent named Joe a “Local Hero” for his notable contributions to the community.

Engagement Team

Celine Mol has been engaging with SustainSB since its formation and officially joined SustainableFuture as the Community Manager in early Spring of 2018. She graduated with honors from UCSB with a Bachelor’s Degree in Statistical Science and is now getting her Master’s Degree in Environmental Science & Management from UCSB’s Bren School. At Bren, she is specializing in Corporate Environmental Management and focusing on Eco-Entrepreneurship. Celine is a data science nerd with a passion for environmental entrepreneurship, and hopes to use her degree to build sustainable cities designed to thrive.

Engagement Team

Joan Sanger received a B.A. from Wellesley College and a J.D. from the University of Texas Law School. Joan has managed successful political campaigns, was the staff attorney and issue director for Chet Edwards in Texas and worked for Ann Richards there as policy and ethics advisor.

Joan has provided ethics training services to 23 Texas state agencies—including a comedy ethics program. She handled an ethics training project for the Province of Ontario, and a large ethics review and plan for the Government of Canada, PWGSC. Joan designed and taught a University of Waterloo course in leadership, creative thinking, project design, communications and entrepreneurship as well as being the U.S. Co-op Science Job Liaison. She has conducted over 500 seminars worldwide, including for the U.S State Department (now sort of embarrassing…but it will get better!).

She currently has an Internet business in addition to the ethics training work, including www.CesandBob.com to assist displaced workers. She has chaired Boards, such as the Foundation Board for ARC/Texas, Waterloo College Institute, the Canadian PM’s Election Ethics Platform and served as a mentor in Communities in Schools, on the Democratic National Platform Committee, on the Texas Taskforce on Judicial Ethics, and now the Harmony Project of America Board of Advisors. She is active on homeless issues in Santa Barbara as well. She currently has a photography show, utilizing mannequins to highlight our over use of gadgets.

Engagement Team

Jacob’s expertise is in positioning premiere entertainment, lifestyle, and consumer brands through high level marketing strategy. With an educational background in film and politics, Jacob seeks world changing solutions for positive and creative people. He embraces technology-driven solutions and aims to make them widely accessible. With an appreciation for nature and hope for the future of human ecology, Jacob supports forward-thinking environmental & political leaders and aims to further meld artistry and science.

In 2001, before wifi, social networks and smartphones, Jacob co-founded Oniracom as a student at UCSB. Oniracom operates based on his vision for positive and lasting change, continuously evolving digital solutions along the ever-changing tech & new media landscape. Partners such as Jack Johnson, Santa Barbara Bowl, Warner Music, Topspin, Universal, SONOS, among others, trust Oniracom to produce authentic stories that rapidly increase brand growth and awareness.