helping local businesses thrive
Who we are
The SBBT Fund was established in March of 2020 as a committee-advised fund in partnership with the Santa Barbara Foundation, which serves as SBBT Fund's fiscal sponsor. Every dollar donated goes directly to supporting small local businesses in your community.
Currently, we are working to support Santa Barbara County in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns and reopening. But our long-term vision extends beyond this current crisis and into a brighter future of all of Santa Barbara County.
What we believe
We want to the greater Santa Barbara area to be a desirable place to start, build and sustain businesses because we believe that local businesses are the lifeblood of a community.
Dave & Caroline Powers
Caroline and Dave Powers have lived in Santa Barbara for eight years with their two sons. They relocated from the East Coast and love the Santa Barbara area for its outdoor beauty and adventure, sense of community and people. With roots in both retail and hospitality, the Powers established the Santa Barbara Better Together Fund (SBBTF) to mitigate the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on local businesses.
Dave is president & CEO of Deckers Brands, a global footwear and apparel company based in Santa Barbara County. He has been at the company in various roles since 2012. Prior to joining Deckers, Dave held executive leadership roles at Converse and Timberland. Dave strives to build a culture of trust that brings out the best in people. He is passionate about consumer-led insight, innovation and improvement as well as doing good for people and the planet.
Caroline became a certified holistic health coach in 2011, starting a practice that works with individuals to improve health and longevity through nutrition. Previously, she graduated from Ohio Wesleyan University and worked in retail for 10 years before becoming a full-time mom. Caroline serves on the board of Child Abuse Listening Meditation (CALM) and as chair of the Community Relations Committee. She is passionate about community interconnectedness and support.
Michelle Apodaca
Michelle Apodaca leads the global corporate giving program at Deckers Brands as the director of Deckers Gives and serves as a liaison to the company’s board of directors. Before joining Deckers, she created and managed the VIP and Repeat Guest Program at The Ritz-Carlton Bacara. Michelle sits on the board of directors for the Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce. She is an active member of the corporate outreach committee for Child Abuse Listening Meditation (CALM). Michelle currently resides in Santa Barbara with her husband and son.
Amy Cooper
Amy Cooper is a well-known business leader and community advocate in Santa Barbara and is thrilled to be leading Economic Development efforts for SBBT. With three decades of experience in business development, brand strategy and communications, she expanded on her success as the founder of Plum Goods and now consults full-time on creating thriving commercial experiences, business incubation and tenant recruitment. She has served on multiple committees working to reshape downtown Santa Barbara, and has lived, worked and raised her daughter here over the past 25 years.
Keith Higbee
Keith Higbee is a Managing Partner at Strategy, Growth & Ventures a global strategy consultancy. He has over 25 years of experience in innovation strategy and management consulting. Keith has long been involved in public – private economic development initiatives and is applying that experience to help create a thriving, sustainable economy for Santa Barbara. He moved to Santa Barbara 6 years ago with his wife and is raising his two children in town.
Jackie Carrera
Prior to being named president & CEO of the Santa Barbara Foundation, Jackie Carrera served as the Santa Barbara Foundation’s chief revenue & business development officer. She has 30 years of professional experience in the social sector, including consulting nonprofits on fundraising, governance and management, and serving as the president and CEO of the Parks & People Foundation in Maryland for over two decades.
Carlo Brignardello
Carlo Brignardello is a principal at Cresa, a global corporate real estate advisory and brokerage firm. Carlo has spent his expansive business career of over 30 year in corporate real estate representing publicly traded and privately held companies nationally and globally in their portfolio strategy and execution.
Jessica Sanchez
As director of donor relations at Santa Barbara Foundation, Jessica Sanchez is responsible for developing and strengthening relationships with donors and fund advisors, She shares best practices in philanthropic giving and facilitates meaningful engagement experiences for donors. Prior to joining the foundation, Jessica worked for Farmers Insurance as a customer service representative and as a tutor for Carney Educational Services where she assisted children in meeting academic and social needs.
Joey Zumaya
Joey Zumaya is a business and community leader with a passion for the underserved. After spending over a decade in business communications consulting, he pivoted to the online learning industry. Through headline-making acquisitions (Lynda.com, LinkedIn and Microsoft), he has emerged as a strong leader at LinkedIn where he now oversees activities across government, business, community relations and diversity initiatives. Joey serves on multiple community and nonprofit boards at the local and national level.