Barbara Anderson

Barbara has been a resident of the Santa Ynez Valley since 1990 and has made significant contributions to community organizations both locally and in Santa Barbara. She has served as the chair of the Theaterfest Board, the Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital Auxiliary, and P.E.O. Currently, she is also a board member of the Santa Ynez Valley Hospital Foundation. In recognition of her community service, Barbara was named Woman of the Year in 2007.

 Together with her late husband Norm, Barbara ran a food distribution company and several retail businesses across California. Barbara holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education and presently manages several properties in Solvang.

Verva Enoch

Verva Enoch has been a Santa Ynez Valley resident since 1989 and has been deeply involved in the community from the start. She has been an active member of the Santa Ynez Rotary since 1995 and served as club president from 2000 – 2001. Putting her skills as a CPA and past partner at C&D to work for our elderly neighbors, she is the current Treasurer for Atterdag Village of Solvang.

While meaningfully contributing to her community and enjoying a very successful professional life, Verva and her husband Bruce have raised five children. Retirement hasn’t slowed her down as she now shares her myriad talents with the Santa Ynez Valley Foundation, we know she will also find time to spend with her grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Hayley Firestone

Hayley Firestone moved to the Santa Ynez Valley with her family as a young teenager in the early 70’s when the family launched The Firestone Vineyard. Spending time on the family ranch, working in the vineyard, and attending school in the Valley set the path for her passion for this community.

Hayley’s professional path has led her to teaching in independent schools in California and Boston, to working in the family’s winery, to fundraising for schools and non-profits, to ranching, to recently starting and running a coffee company.  Throughout her adult life, her focus on building community through time on school boards and other non-profit involvement led her to The Valley Foundation and its commitment to improving the Santa Ynez and Los Alamos valleys.

Hayley and husband, Dennis Patrick, have six adult children and two grandchildren who live across the US.  Dennis and Hayley are deeply committed to the preservation of the Valley life for its residents and Hayley is honored to serve as a member of the Board of the Valley Foundation.

Michael Grenier

Michael Grenier moved to the Santa Ynez Valley in 2014, having previously lived in Los Angeles and New York. After growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Michael graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and UCLA. He has spent the past 25 years working in finance including senior positions in investment banking and at Cerberus Capital Management before founding his own firm, Ballard Canyon Capital. Michael is a member of the Vikings of Solvang and an avid cyclist. He resides in Solvang with his wife, Amy, son, Alexander, and daughter, Gretchen. He feels blessed to raise his family in the Santa Ynez Valley and is eager to give back to the community in any way he can.

Morgan Halme

Morgan grew up in Ballard and Solvang, graduating from Santa Ynez High School in 1992. He went on to UCLA and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History. He then built a career in Los Angeles as an award-winning advertising and marketing leader. He currently the director of marketing at Platinum Performance in Los Olivos. Morgan is also on the board of the Paloheimo Foundation, a family foundation benefiting the arts, education and Finnish cultural initiatives in the US. He is the son of Paul and Susan Halme of Solvang. His father Paul is a former Santa Ynez Foundation director and Man of the Year. Morgan resides in Solvang with his wife Hilary, daughter Paige, and son Mac.

Jon Hooten

Jon Hooten is a nonprofit executive with 25 years experience in fund development, public affairs, marketing, and brand design. Currently he serves as Executive Director of College Advancement at Allan Hancock College, where he leads the college's foundation, public affairs, and institutional grants office. Before moving to Los Alamos in 2015, he lived for nearly 20 years in Claremont (Calif.), where he completed his doctorate and helped launch an educational startup with $50 million in seed funding focused on ethical leadership and social impact. He lives in Los Alamos with his spouse and daughter and can usually be found on Friday nights at one of the town's restaurants.

Debbie Jones (Board President)

Debbie Jones is a long-time Gaviota resident and has been a leader in education and nonprofits in the Valley for many years. Educated as an attorney at Georgetown University, she is past chair of the Dunn School Board of Trustees, has served on the board of the Family School, and is a deacon at Santa Ynez Valley Presbyterian Church. She has also been involved locally in PEO, an organization that provides scholarship and support for young women. She and her husband run the Pork Palace in Gaviota, which produces show pigs and Heritage meats.

Michael Nicola

Michael Nicola studied at Chouinard Art Institute and California Institute For The Arts and is a self-defined “serial entrepreneur”  in the fields of clothing/costume/interior design, at one co-owned a literary agency, extensive background in the fitness industry, and marketing. For the past thirty-five years he has been a real estate broker and developer who has a passion for “community building, one house at a time,” in both California and New Mexico.  

Michael has been an activist dedicated to community service for most of his life, serving on and founding several boards including APLA (AIDS Project Los Angeles), MECLA (Municipal Elections Committee of Los Angeles) which was the first political action group serving the LGBTQ community. Since moving to Los Alamos in 2015 with his husband Gabriel Bustamante he has served as president of the Los Alamos Cemetery District, FOLAC (Friends of the Los Alamos Cemetery) The Los Alamos Business Association, The Los Alamos Senior Center and most recently NBAR (North County Santa Barbara Board of Architectural Review. 

Spencer K. Turnbull

Spencer K. Turnbull is a small business owner and a healthcare attorney. He was born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley, where earlier generations of his family farmed and ranched. Mr. Turnbull grew up steeped in the Valley's culture of community engagement and service, and is grateful for the opportunity to serve the Santa Ynez Valley Foundation. He has spent most of his career in public service practicing law, holding various positions in the Office of Inspector General for the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services and the U.S. Dept. of Justice. In 2019 Mr. Turnbull and his husband returned home to Santa Ynez and founded Santa Ynez General, a destination concept shop that has earned national press coverage.

Mr. Turnbull has served on the Board of the Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce and the SY Beautiful initiative, and is active in mentoring young attorneys. He is a graduate of Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, Stanford University, and the UCLA School of Law. Mr. Turnbull and his husband have one daughter, two Great Danes, and an acre's-worth of gardening to catch up on. In his spare time, he enjoys learning new things through travel, conversation, and reading.

Chris Urquidez

Bio coming soon!