Girls Inc. of Carpinteria is pleased to announce the appointment of Jacquelyn Pawela-Crew, senior director of healthcare and life sciences consulting at Salesforce, as the organization’s new board president. The nonprofit has also appointed four new members to its Board of Directors: Hayley Fedders, Anu Sharma, April Simpson and Bianca Vega.
“Jacquelyn is a tremendous leader and we are so excited to have her serve as our new board president,” said Jamie Collins, executive director of Girls Inc. of Carpinteria. “We’re also thrilled to welcome an incredibly talented group of new members who are committed to our mission. Hayley, Anu, April and Bianca have diverse expertise in their respective fields and we know their support will help us advance our work in helping more girls reach their greatest potential.”
Jacquelyn Pawela-Crew has served on the Girls Inc. of Carpinteria board for five years. As a healthcare strategist, she has more than two decades of experience directing innovative programs, strategies, and initiatives across diverse organizations that align with corporate objectives, business requirements and healthcare and technology regulations.
Pawela-Crew holds a Ph.D. in chemical engineering from Stanford University and a B.S. in engineering from Yale University. She is also a member of the board for the Yale Club of Santa Barbara. Additionally, she has served as a board member for Girls Inc. of the Pacific Northwest, the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Centers and the Portland Business Alliance, and as a volunteer for the Portland Business Alliance Leadership Program and for the National Charity League, Portland Chapter.
Hayley Fedders is the founder of Studio Seaside, a Carpinteria-based design agency specializing in branding and web design. Her trade skills are built around interactive digital media design and product design technology. Fedders holds a bachelor’s degree in industrial arts from San Francisco State University. Outside of her business, she spends most of her spare time outdoors and traveling with her husband and two young children.
Anu Sharma is a pediatrician at Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics. With more than 25 years of experience, she focuses on under-resourced and marginalized communities, at-promise youth, and civic engagement in innovative spaces. She encourages her young patients to volunteer in their communities and helps older teens to register to vote in her office as part of their annual physicals through an initiative she is involved with called Vot-ER.
With a passion for child advocacy, and advancing social justice and health equity, Dr. Sharma’s volunteer experiences range from Covid-19 vaccine clinics in Santa Barbara, mass free clinics in New Orleans post-Hurricane Katrina, and disaster relief to fishing villages in South India destroyed by the 2004 tsunami. Having grown up in Louisiana, she received her medical training in New Orleans and New York before ultimately moving to Carpinteria. Dr. Sharma credits Girls Inc. of Carpinteria for providing a safe and nurturing space for own daughter after school for the past seven years, and being a “vital part of her personal growth and education.”
April Simpson is an executive producer and distributor of mainstream content in the digital realm of several high-profile talent podcasts and social media channels, regularly consulting with individuals, corporations and nonprofits and show producers. For more than a decade, she produced nationally syndicated shows airing across the US for broadcast and online. As a veteran storyteller, content producer, editor and feature reporter, Simpson has had the opportunity to interview top A-list athletes, dine with Michelin star chefs and conduct one-on-one interviews with names such as Harrison Ford, Robin Williams, Morgan Freeman, Nicole Kidman, Susan Sarandon and many more. She has also shot, edited and hosted food and travel features from Beijing, China to Amalfi Coast, Italy.
A Ventura resident, Simon previously served as a volunteer communications director for Uncaged.com, a young anti-human trafficking nonprofit, where she helped guide, build and manage the organization’s brand message on all mediums.
Bianca Vega is the assistant head of school at Santa Barbara Middle School. A Santa Barbara native, she joined Teach for America in Los Angeles after college and later was awarded the Fund for Teachers fellowship, and received a grant to study the habitats of manatees and dolphins in Belize. She has taught in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Thailand, Mexico and Colombia prior to moving back to California.
Vega holds a master’s degree in education from Loyola Marymount University and a bachelor’s degree in human biology with a specialty in gender issues from Standford University. In her free time, she enjoys reading, dancing, spinning and traveling.
Additional new officers to Girls Inc. of Carpinteria’s Board of Trustees include: Angelina Lane, vice president; Katie Convoy, secretary; and Orlando Hernandez, treasurer.
For a complete list of all of Girls Inc. of Carpinteria’s Board of Trustees, or to learn more or make a donation, please visit www.girlsinc-carp.org.
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Girls Inc. of Carpinteria is a member of Girls Incorporated®, a nonprofit organization that inspires all girls to be strong, smart, and bold. Our programming focuses on the development of the whole girl: we deliver life-changing programs and experiences designed to equip girls to overcome serious barriers and grow up healthy, educated, and independent. A combination of long-lasting mentoring relationships, a pro-girl environment and research-based programming prepares girls to lead fulfilling and productive lives and become role models in their community. Girls Inc. of Carpinteria currently serves more than 1100 youth in the Carpinteria Valley, from K through 12th grade. To learn more, become a volunteer or offer support, please visit www.girlsinc-carp.org/.
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