Local leaders encourage continued investment from the community to support CEC’s bold climate action plans.

August 9, 2021 SANTA BARBARA, CA – The Community Environmental Council (CEC) is pleased to announce new members to its President’s Council, a group of past executive directors, board members, founders, and esteemed CEC friends who have given significantly of their time, effort, and resources to the organization. These dynamic community leaders bring a wealth of experience that will propel CEC’s ambitious initiatives for climate action. As active, consistent champions of the organization, they advocate, network, and use their influence to help build continued investment from the community on behalf of CEC.

New CEC President’s Council Members

Katie Davis is a former vice president of web and ecommerce at the tech company Citrix, where she became involved in corporate sustainability initiatives. In 2012, she trained with Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project and became a climate change speaker and activist. As Chair of the Sierra Club Los Padres Chapter, elected member of the Sierra Club California Executive Board, she advanced the CEC and Sierra Club partnership on a steady array of initiatives, helping achieve local goals for 100% renewable energy, 100% electric buses, carbon neutrality, and more. Katie was also appointed by local elected leaders to the Community Advisory Council for Central Coast Community Energy and the Santa Barbara Air Pollution Control District. She previously served on CEC’s Partnership Council for three years, and volunteered with CEC on presentations, rallies, lobbying, and advocacy work.

Karl Hutterer, Ph.D., is Emeritus Director at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History where he served as executive director for 12 years. He served as the Director of the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture at the University of Washington for 10 years, where he also held an appointment as Professor of Anthropology. Karl has held positions at numerous other universities, including in the Philippines, at the University of Hawaiʻi, the East-West Center in Hawaiʻi, Bryn Mawr College, and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He is an elected fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and has served on several national and state boards of museum and nonprofit organizations. He previously served on the CEC Board of Directors for eight years.

Bruce Kendall is a professor and associate dean at the Bren School of Environmental Science & Management at the University of California, Santa Barbara. His research seeks to advance the science that underlies endangered species conservation and sustainable fisheries management. Bruce’s broad interest in environmental safeguarding has also led him to work on expanding campus sustainability at the University, as well as developing opportunities for graduate students across the campus to participate in interdisciplinary research and education. He previously served on the CEC Board of Directors for six years.

Kim Kimbell is a founding partner in the law firm of Allen & Kimbell, LLP in Santa Barbara, where he practiced for 48 years with an emphasis on real estate law. In the past, Kim has served as president of the Goleta Valley Historical Society and chairman of the Santa Barbara County-appointed Gaviota Planning Advisory Committee. He is currently active in numerous other civic and charitable organizations, including the Dean’s Council of the Bren School at the University of California, Santa Barbara, San Roque St. Vincent’s de Paul Society, and the Coastal Ranches Conservancy. Dedicated to the environment, he has returned to the CEC Board of Directors repeatedly, serving more than 25 cumulative years, including five as board president.

Maryanne Mott, a Montana beef rancher and life-long philanthropist, is the daughter of former General Motors company director and board member, Charles Stewart Mott, and serves as a trustee of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation and chairwoman of the Ruth Mott Foundation Board of Trustees. In 1985, Maryanne and her late husband Herman Warsh founded the Warsh-Mott Legacy, a private foundation that makes grants to progressive organizations addressing democratic rights and governance, food sovereignty, and emerging tech. Maryanne became a founding board member of CEC in 1970 and helped shape the development of the organization.

John Steed, J.D., engaged in private law practice for 31 years after earning his degree from Harvard Law School in 1977. He specialized in corporate law, financial services, and real estate transactions with private law firms in Orlando, Salt Lake City, Atlanta, and Tokyo. Following his retirement from legal practice in 2010, he has focused on protecting the environment and combating the climate crisis, both by serving in leadership positions in non-governmental organizations and by facilitating opportunities for collaboration between U.S. and Japanese companies in the fields of renewable energy generation and power storage. He currently serves on the National Advisory Board of the Union of Concerned Scientists and the Advisory Council of the Environment and Human Rights Division of Human Rights Watch. John served on CEC’s Board of Directors for seven years, including four as board president.

About the Community Environmental Council (CEC)

Recognized as a 2020 California Nonprofit of the Year and 2020 City of Santa Barbara Climate Hero, CEC has worked since 1970 to incubate and innovate real life environmental solutions that directly affect the California Central Coast. Our current work advances rapid and equitable solutions to the climate crisis – including ambitious zero carbon goals, drawdown of excess carbon, and protection against the impacts of climate change. Our programs lead to clean vehicles, solar energy, resilient food systems and reduction of single-use plastic. Learn more about why CEC is one of only a handful of nonprofits in Santa Barbara County to have the highest possible ratings on Charity Navigator and Guidestar at CECSB.org/impact. Find CEC on the web at CECSB.org and on Facebook.com/CECSB, Instagram.com/CEC_SB, Twitter.com/CECSB, and LinkedIn.com/CECSB.