Our Team

Bethany Sutherland is a multi-disciplinary problem solver with a passion for cultivating community through collaboration, creativity, and confidence. She holds a B.S. in Engineering Physics and a minor in Art from Westmont College. Since living in Santa Barbara, she has worked across industries in sales, project management, and non-profit executive leadership. Her versatile background includes initiatives in arts education, medical technology, health and wellness, diversity, and STEAM. She is excited to bring her experiences to the Goleta Education Foundation and support strengthening education initiatives in the community.

In addition to her work with GEF, she leads social-emotional learning with AHA! as a facilitator and community liaison. Bethany also enjoys performing and teaching dance in the community. She loves spending time with her husband and friends, enjoying walks on the beach, and hiking the beautiful mountains in Santa Barbara.

Dan joined the Goleta Education Foundation Board in 2018. He has worked for the University of California (UCSB and UCLA) since the 90’s, currently serving as an Assistant Dean in the College of Letters & Science at UCSB. Dan also previously served as a Senior Program Officer and Student Aid Director with the Santa Barbara Foundation.

He and his wife Lisa have one son who attends a Goleta school. Born in Seoul, South Korea, Dan and his family immigrated to Northern California where he stayed through high school. Dan moved to the Santa Barbara area to attend college and graduated from UC Santa Barbara, with a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology, and CSU Northridge with a Master of Arts in Education Administration. Dan has volunteered for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara for the past 20+ years and recently served on the Board of the Santa Barbara Tennis Patrons.

As a lifelong proponent of education at all levels, Dan is committed to helping our community strengthen access to educational resources to support our many deserving and capable students.

Brandon joined the GEF in 2021, and currently serves as the Director of Development at the Lobero Theater Foundation.  Previous to that, he was a member of the UCSB Development team for 15 years.  Brandon was born and raised in Pennsylvania, and graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Psychology. 

He and his wife, Katie, enjoy supporting the local community and attending live entertainment both at the Lobero and the many other great venues our community has to offer.  Additional involvements include the First Presbyterian Early Childhood Center and volunteering as a coach for youth sports organizations.  He is also a member of the SB Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals.  

Brandon and Katie are proud parents to a Dos Pueblos High attending son, and a daughter at Kellogg Elementary.  Goleta area education, as a result, is both a community interest as well as a family focus.

Felicia Roggero received her BA from UCLA and her Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership from Cal Lutheran. She has been an educator for over 30 years in the Santa Barbara area and has always had a passion for student learning. She is currently the principal of Foothill Elementary School and Goleta Family School, which is part of the Goleta Union School District. Felicia became involved with the Goleta Education Foundation as a volunteer as part of the annual Lemon Run. The run is a great community event that initially supported the district’s music and physical education programs. As an administrator, she targeted these funds into her school’s band program to open opportunities for all students. GEF has evolved into much more since then.

Felicia became a Board member because she truly believes in the foundation’s mission of supporting all of Goleta’s school children. Over the last several years, she has served as principal in three very diverse school populations. She sees firsthand the impact this organization has on the students and staff she works with daily. In her spare time, Felicia enjoys spending time with her family, especially her children who are both proud graduates of Goleta schools. She also loves taking hikes with her husband and two dogs in the beautiful hills overlooking the ocean. Felicia is grateful to be part of such a dedicated Board that truly believes in providing opportunities for all children.

Matt is a Santa Barbara native who previously worked for Vons and Santa Barbara Bank & Trust. Currently, he works for Walpole as a CPA. Matt specializes in individual tax preparation, with knowledge of accounting for businesses.

Matt and his wife are parents to four small children so he is accustomed to little sleep, which is perfect for tax season! Weekends are spent with family enjoying the beach, pool, park, and downtown areas.

Blair is also a public artist with many public and private art installations. For twenty years she maintained a downtown ceramic studio, but her career path began to change in 1994 when she received a three-year California Arts Council Artist-in-Residency grant to establish and teach in “The Splash Zone,” an indoor-outdoor ceramic studio at Peabody Charter School. Built with vision and generous community support, the Splash Zone is still going strong today, helping students tell their stories through the ancient art of clay.

Loss of her studio created a pivot point for Blair, and in year 2000 she started to teach music in the elementary classroom. She also gave professional development workshops integrating music with standards- based curriculum, and since 2002 has been sharing her curriculum “The Music Box: Music in the Elementary Classroom” with UCSB’s Master of Education program. She’s taught summer art classes for Arts at Laguna since 1995. She retired from Isla Vista Elementary School in 2015 after 12 happy years teaching both music and art.

Blair continues with her own art projects, especially enjoying large chalk street paintings, a discipline she has embraced for the past 35 years.

In addition to her service on the GEF board, Blair is currently the president of the Looker Foundation, a family foundation based in Los Angeles, founded in 1995. She is a fluent Spanish speaker.

Dolores Inés Casillas is Professor in the Department of Chicana and Chicano Studies and Director of the Chicano Studies Institute at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She is the author of Sounds of Belonging: U.S. Spanish-language Radio and Public Advocacy (NYU Press, 2014), which received two book prizes, and co-editor with María Elena Cepeda (Williams College) of the Companion to Latina/o Media Studies (Routledge Press, 2016) and co-editor with Mary Bucholtz and Jin Sook Lee (UC Santa Barbara) of Feeling It: Language, Race and Affect in Latinx Youth Learning (Routledge Press, 2018). Her next book, under contract with New York University Press, examines language learning and language play as heard through different sound media (Instagram Reels, Tik Toks, What’s App).

Prof. Casillas is also the Lead Project Investigator (PI) on a recently awarded $3m Hispanic Serving Institute (HSI) grant by the National Science Foundation (NSF-HSI). Together with UCSB colleagues in Environmental Sciences and Environmental Management, the grant helps establish the Center for Equitable Environmental Sciences (CEES) at the Chicano Studies Institute (CSI). CEES reframes STEM at UCSB by making racial, social, and environmental justice fundamental to STEM undergraduate experiences. She is also the Lead PI on a Crossing Latinidades $310,000 grant, funded by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, which brings together scholars across geographical regions to discuss the significance of sound cultures to Latinx communities.

For the past ten years, Prof. Casillas has done extensive research and community work on promoting academic achievement among Latinx youth and supporting college pathways for them. In addition to GEF, she is also a Board Member of Adelante Charter School, adual-language (Spanish-English) K-6 elementary school in Santa Barbara as well as Dos Pueblos Little League (DPLL).

Adam joined the Goleta Education Foundation Board in 2023. After earning his BS in Business Economics from UC Santa Barbara he adopted the Santa Barbara area as his home. Adam has spent the last 20 years as a financial planner and advisor to families, business owners, retirement plans, and foundations. He co-founded Ariadne Wealth Management in 2014 and brings his years of experience as a small business owner to GEF’s board.

He is an active member of the Goleta community, coaching both AYSO and Dos Pueblos Little League. Adam’s family also has deep ties to Goleta USD, with one child already alumni of GUSD, two currently attending, and his wife Kacie a long-time teacher in the district.

Mark Korte-Nahabedian is Chevron’s Corporate Affairs Advisor for the West Coast Decommissioning Program. He has worked in diverse roles at Chevron, including as an energy transition advisor and as a geologist. Prior to working at Chevron, Mark worked as an exploration and development geologist specializing in subsurface resources across California. Mark is a Registered Professional Geologist in the State, with a Bachelor’s degree in Geological Sciences from University of California, Santa Barbara, and a Master’s degree in Geological Sciences from San Diego State University. Mark also studied for several years at Santa Barbara City College.

Mark is passionate about community service and serves on the board of directors for the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce, The United Boys and Girls Club of Santa Barbara County, and the GEF. Mark lives in Santa Barbara, California with his wife, Kara, and is a proud father to three children. Mark is passionate about the energy transition and sustainability, education, and the environment.