2027 LEAP Awards
2027 LEAP Awards
Friday, February 26, 2027
Doors open 11:15 am
Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
The 2027 LEAP Awards luncheon will bring together community leaders, philanthropists, and partners who believe in creating brighter futures for children and families.
This year we are honoring Catherine Brozowski, Executive Director of the Audacious Foundation, Chuck Flacks, immediate past President of LEAP’s Board of Directors and Homelessness Services Coordinator for the City of Goleta, and Distinguished Alumnus Dr. Jesus Fandino for their outstanding service to children and families on the central coast.
Proceeds from this event will support LEAP programs.
Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort
633 E Cabrillo Blvd, Santa Barbara, CA 93103
Sponsorship Opportunities
Contact Kara Shoemaker, Director of Development, at karas@leapcentralcoast.org.
LEAP Awardees
Catherine Brozowski has served as the Executive Director of the Audacious Foundation for 11 years, a charitable foundation focused on Whole Child Education in Santa Barbara County. In her role, she partners with nonprofit allies to strengthen Santa Barbara County’s youth programs, with an emphasis on nature-based learning, healthy habits, and play.
Previously, Catherine was Vice President at the Orfalea Foundation for eight years, where she led the foundation’s Education portfolio—supporting broader student success efforts—and oversaw Operations, Finance, and Human Resources, including during the organization’s planned sunset. She has also served as Vice President of Programs at the Santa Barbara Foundation, and Corporate Giving Manager for Washington Mutual.
Chuck Flacks has spent more than 40 years working in community development, affordable housing, social research, workforce development, and homelessness services. Much of his early career was in San Diego, working in communities that had long experienced poverty and disinvestment. While there, Chuck also raised his two children, Mo and Olivia, now adults.
Chuck grew up in Santa Barbara, attending Monte Vista Elementary, La Colina Junior High School, and San Marcos High School. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, and a master’s degree in family counseling from San Diego State University.
Distinguished Alumnus
Dr. Jesus Jaime Fandino is an internal medicine hospitalist with Sutter Health, practicing at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, where he cares for hospitalized patients. He aspires to grow into mentorship and leadership roles in medicine. A proud product of the Central Coast, Jesus’s path to medicine began in Isla Vista, where as a teen he was part of the IV Teen Center, a program that gave local youth a place to belong and a way forward. That early experience of community and mentorship shaped his belief that good care, like a strong community, is built on showing up for people. Bilingual in Spanish and English, Jesus is deeply committed to the community that shaped him—a community where the mentors and staff who believed in him shared his Mexican American roots, showing him early what was possible. He is honored to return to LEAP as a Distinguished Alumnus.
Ken & Jo Saxon
Paul Didier
Lori Goodman & Rabbi Evan Goodman
Katya Armistead • Dr. Liz Barnitz • Jackie Carrera • Jon Clark • Ashley Costa • Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons • Ernesto Paredes • Carrie Towbes, PhD • Jordan Killebrew • Monique Limón • Kristen Miller • Steve Ortiz • Ken Saxon • Wendy Sims-Moten