Four accomplished community members have been elected to the Board of Directors for the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
Elizabeth Cholawsky is an experienced technology executive with expertise in product innovation, client services, marketing, and public company governance. Currently an operating advisor with Updata Partners, she previously served as CEO of HG Insights and Support.com and is a Board member for American Riviera Bank, GSI Technologies, and Wellesley Information Services. Ms. Cholawsky holds a doctorate in political science with a concentration in econometrics from the University of Minnesota, and a bachelor’s degree from Franklin & Marshall College. She is an avid supporter of the nonprofit organization Exceeding Expectations.
A financial services professional with more than 20 years of experience, Erika Culwell is a financial advisor and vice president at Wealth Enhancement Group, an independent firm based in Santa Maria/Lompoc. Previously, she served as a financial advisor at Vivid Financial Management and at Auro Wealth Management, both in Lompoc. Ms. Culwell has volunteered with the Lompoc Education Foundation and Empty Bowls, the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County’s long-running annual fundraising effort. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration at the University of La Verne.
Sandy Seale received a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Princeton University before earning a master’s and a doctorate in engineering at MIT. After accepting a postdoctoral position at UC Santa Barbara, she went on to co-manage the Network for Earthquake Engineering Simulation at the campus’s Earth Research Institute. Ms. Seale has served on Boards for the Montessori Center School and the Land Trust for Santa Barbara County. In 2007, she helped establish the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy Foundation to support the school’s engineering program. She currently serves as director of development at the Las Cumbres Observatory.
Since 1989, Ashley Parker Snider has worked in sales and marketing at Fess Parker Winery in Los Olivos. She serves on the Santa Barbara Vintners Foundation Board and is a past Board president for both the Santa Barbara County Alzheimer’s Association and Cottage Rehabilitation Hospital Foundation. Ms. Parker Snider is also a past Board member at Direct Relief and Bishop Garcia Diego High School, where she served as director of admissions and public relations from 2010 to 2012. She earned a bachelor’s degree in English at Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.
“The Scholarship Foundation Board of Directors is certain to gain from the talents of these four extraordinary women. I continue to be impressed by the caliber of people who volunteer their time and hard-earned expertise in service to our organization. This latest group is no exception, and I very much look forward to working with each of them,” said Scholarship Foundation President and CEO Melinda Cabrera.
The Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara is the nation’s largest community-based provider of college scholarships, having cumulatively awarded in excess of $167 million to some 64,000 county students since its founding in 1962. A nonprofit organization, the Scholarship Foundation also provides free financial aid advising services. For additional information, visit www.sbscholarship.org.
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