Board of Directors

Mike Brown (Foundation Vice President)

Mike holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the California State Polytechnic University- Pomona and a Masters of Business Administration degree from California State University – Channel Islands. He had a 14 year career as a Project Engineer, Engineering Supervisor and Program Manager with Honeywell and was a Captain for Sky West Airlines for seven years. Currently he serves as the Vice President / Business Manager of AMETEK-Pacific Design Technologies. He and his wife Janice have twin sons who graduated from the DPEA in 2019.

Lisa Couch (Foundation President)

Lisa is a registered mechanical engineer in California.  She received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley.   Lisa worked for 34 years in heavy industrial engineering, design and consulting for upstream energy.  She started her career with Chevron as a design engineer and joined TJ Cross Engineers, Inc. as President in 1995.  The company provided multi-disciplinary engineering and design for heavy industry clients.  The company was sold in 2015 to Parsons Corporation.  In 2017, she helped start-up Anacapa Engineering and Design, Inc. to mentor the next generation of engineers in renewable energy.  To date, the emphasis has been dairy biomethane, solar PV and Carbon Capture Sequestration.

Jamie Flint (Past Foundation Treasurer)

Jamie graduated from UC Santa Barbara with a Business degree, emphasis in Accounting. She has been practicing in the field for the last 30 years and is currently self employed with a variety of small business clients. Jamie has held many volunteer positions, especially in our local schools, while raising her two daughters, who both have been students in the DPEA.​​

Greg Hartley

Greg is a Portfolio Chief Engineer at Raytheon Vision Systems in Goleta.  In his 34 years in Raytheon and Hughes Engineering, he has worn many hats in Technology Development and Engineering Management related to Electro-Optical Infrared Systems.  His primary background is in Electrical Engineering where he helped develop various advanced focal plane electronic systems.  Before that he was in Air Force Special Operations where he supported cutting edge avionics including Guidance Systems, Forward Looking Infrared, and the world’s first GPS.  Greg is passionate about Mentorship and getting students interested in Science and Engineering.  He has volunteered at the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy, helping with the Carousel of Physics, as well as speaking at various schools and grade levels to further awareness of this amazing career field!  He and his wife Shauna have two sons who graduated from DPEA and are now Engineers as well.

Abby Honikman

Abby brings over two decades of legal and business experience to the Formative Foundation’s board, along with relevant non-profit and foundation experience reflecting a lifelong commitment to education and community service. She currently serves as Legal Counsel for the Investment Group of Santa Barbara and previously held senior in-house roles, as well as earlier practice in commercial transactions and tax law. A proud graduate of the University of Wisconsin Law School (J.D.) and the University of Wisconsin–Madison (B.A.), Abby combines a strong professional background with a deep appreciation for curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking. Outside of her legal career, she has raised three children and volunteered extensively in their schools and related educational programs. She is energized by initiatives that nurture curiosity and innovative thinking, and she strives to reflect those values in her service to the Foundation.

John McClure

John is an executive coach and mentor with over 30 years of experience helping individuals and teams attain maximum effectiveness and manage through change. His background includes working with a wide range of leaders from the C-Suite of multi-billion dollar companies, series A-C start ups, to supporting the board members of nonprofits. John’s operational experience spans 27 years with Intel across 7 different countries. He lived 15 years abroad and held a variety of leadership roles spanning from General Management of geographic regions to Product Development. John has been an Executive Coach for 8 years. He has been able to combine his entrepreneurial, organizational, and operational acumen with a wide range of first-hand experience in driving change as a leader, producing a great mix of drive and empathy.  John has extensive experience with organizational development initiatives and is especially skilled in change management and org design.

Eckart Meiburg

Eckart received his Diploma and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. As Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, he teaches and conducts research in the field of computer simulations. Within the community, he has helped organize Science Fairs, and he has coached local Math Superbowl and Mathcounts teams.

Jill O'Gorman

Jill is a trust and estates attorney with the law firm of O’Gorman & O’Gorman, LLP in Goleta.  She received a BA in Communication Studies with a specialization in Business Administration from UCLA and a JD from Loyola Law School. She started her career at the Santa Barbara law firm of Griffith & Thornburgh, LLP, where she has the honor of becoming the firm’s first female partner. In 2003, she left that partnership to form O’Gorman & O’Gorman, LLP with her husband. Jill has been passionate about supporting education through her volunteer efforts over the years.  In addition to volunteering to support the DPEA while both of her sons were in the program, she has held several volunteer positions at local schools, including serving as Mountain View Elementary School PTA President and co-coaching Mountain View 5th & 6th grade Math Superbowl Teams to 1st place victories. Jill believes in the importance of hands-on and collaborative learning.

Michelle Pickett

Michelle is an experienced corporate attorney and has practiced law in Santa Barbara for over 20 years.  Prior to moving in-house at Yardi Systems, Inc., Michelle was a shareholder at Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck advising entrepreneurs, corporations, partnerships and nonprofits in various industries including water and agriculture, technology, gaming, and entertainment.  Michelle has volunteered her time and expertise to the community’s nonprofit sector.  Presently, in addition to serving on the Board of the DPEA Foundation, she also serves on the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara City College Foundation and is a member of the CEC Partnership Council. ​

Liz Salentine (Foundation Secretary)

Liz is a graduate of Cal Poly, SLO with a BS in Business Administration and a minor in Marketing. Liz worked for Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in the high tech industry for over 20 years. As an Advanced Systems Engineer and Program Manager, she supported contracts with General Motors, Hitachi Data Systems and the Navy Marine Corps. After retiring from the “corporate world”, Liz immersed herself in raising her two children and being involved in their schools and activities. Over the years, she has held many volunteer positions including serving as PTA President at Foothill elementary school.​​

Michael Shaner (Foundation Treasurer)

Michael is a 2011 graduate of the DPEA and received his B.S. degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Accounting from Cal Poly, SLO. He is a licensed CPA with 10+ years of experience in auditing businesses ranging in size, type and industry including non-profits. Currently, he is an Audit Manager at the public accounting firm Bartlett, Pringle, & Wolf, LLP.

Liz Thompson

Liz is newly retired from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo. She was most recently the Director of General Engineering and a professor in Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. She holds a BS in Industrial Engineering from Cal Poly, SLO, a MS in Industrial and Systems Engineering and an MBA from University of Southern California, and a PhD in Education from University of California, Santa Barbara. She taught at Cal Poly for 32 years and held various positions on campus including Acting Department Chair of both Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering and Materials Engineering, Co-Director of Liberal Arts and Engineering Studies, Director of Women’s Engineering Programs, and CENG Interim Associate Dean. She taught over 25 different courses and received, along with her collaborators, over $12 million of funding from the National Science Foundation. She researched equitable classroom practices, integrated learning, and institutional change.

THE FORMATIVE FOUNDATION GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE PAST SERVICE AND HARD WORK OF ITS FORMER BOARD MEMBERS:

  • John Martinis, 2007-2010

  • Alison Butler, 2007-2011

  • Kathy Logan,  2007-2011

  • Lisa Daniels, 2007-2012

  • Lars Bildsten, 2007-2013

  • Eric Tran Le, 2011-2014​

  • Steve Green, 2011-2014

  • Denise Tisdale​, 2013-2014

  • ​Gary Simpson, 2007-2016

  • Susan Christol Deacon, 2007-2016​​

  • Carol Rezec, 2014-2017

  • Mei Sheng Ng, 2012-2017

  • Sandy Seale, 2007-2018

  • Karen Lehman, 2012-2019

  • Daren Hillebrandt, 2016-2019

  • Igor Mezic, 2017-2019

  • Kevin Wojcik, 2017-2020

  • Sheetal Gavankar, 2020-2022

  • Doug Whetter, 2016-2023

  • Daniel Husthing, 2017-2023