Dr. Lynn Fitzgibbons is an infectious disease specialist in Santa Barbara, California, where she plays a role in patient care, community health, and medical education. She earned her medical degree from the University of California, San Diego, and completed her residency at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, followed by an infectious disease fellowship at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. Currently, she serves as the Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital and the Medical Director for Infection Prevention and Control.
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Dr. Fitzgibbons has long been committed to serving underserved populations. In 2006, she was one of the first clinicians involved with Doctors Without Walls, an organization dedicated to providing medical care to those experiencing homelessness. In 2009-10, she spent a year in Uganda as an attending physician, providing clinical care in a resource-limited setting. She continues this work locally, serving as the Medical Director for the Cottage Center for Population Health and providing care to vulnerable patients at the Santa Barbara County Infectious Disease Clinic. In addition, she has served on the Board of Directors for the Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics for the past four years and was recently appointed to the Board of Directors for the Sansum Diabetes Research Institute, as well as collaborating on projects with organizations such as Direct Relief and LEAP.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Dr. Fitzgibbons helped with the local response, for which she was recognized as Outstanding Physician of the Year in 2020 by Cottage Health. Her work earned her additional recognition in 2022, when the Central Coast Medical Association honored her as Santa Barbara County Physician of the Year.

She describes her husband, Danny Fitzgibbons, as her rock. Danny is a math teacher at Santa Barbara Middle School and the founder of Equalitech, a past nonprofit organization that aimed to bridge the digital divide by improving access to technology for underserved communities from 2015-2021. Either Dr. Fitzgibbons or her husband can be found most weeks coaching their children, Devon (13) and Robbie (11), in soccer, water polo, or track.

In her personal time, Dr. Fitzgibbons has developed a passion for marathon running. Over the past year, she completed the Boston, New York, and Chicago Marathons. She greatly appreciates the joy and camaraderie she finds in the local running community and feels a deep connection to the Santa Barbara community at large.
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Ernesto Paredes grew up in Santa Barbara, attending local public schools through SBCC before transferring to USC, where he earned his B.S. in Gerontology. His first job was with the Channel Islands YMCA, then in 1991, he accepted a position with Easy Lift Transportation. Ernesto became the executive director for (CASA) Court Appointed Special Advocates in 2001; he was then recruited back to Easy Lift in 2005 as their executive director, where he is now. A self proclaimed “community advocate,” he loves his work in the nonprofit sector.
[expander_maker id=”1″ more=”Read more” less=”Read less”]Ernesto has served on many local boards of directors in leadership positions. Currently, he serves on the boards of Cottage Health, the Santa Barbara Foundation, the Towbes Foundation, and is the newly elected president of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival. You can also find Ernesto volunteering as an emcee and/or auctioneer for many other nonprofits.

Ernesto has also been recognized for his community efforts. Recognitions include Court TV’s “Every Day Hero” national award, Santa Barbara Independent “Local Hero” award, Pacific Coast Times’ “40 under 40” award, Leadership of Santa Barbara County Distinguished Leaders award, San Marcos High School Foundation’s “Community Leader” award, and the “Man of the Year” award from the Santa Barbara Foundation.

Ernesto has two adult children, Peyton and Reyna. Ernesto is an avid triathlete, having completed the Ironman World Championships in Kailua-Kona Hawaii, and currently training to trek the Camino de Santiago in Spain.
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Amir Abo-Shaeer graduated from UCSB with a Bachelor’s degree in Physics and Master’s degrees in Mechanical Engineering and Education. Before becoming a teacher, Amir was a mechanical engineer working on research and development in academia, the aerospace industry, and the telecommunications industry. He began teaching science and engineering at Dos Pueblos High School in 2001. In 2010 Amir was named a MacArthur Fellow and has won numerous awards for his work in education. He is a visionary leader in educational innovation and transformation, both locally and beyond.
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Amir is married to Emily Shaeer, forming a husband-and-wife team working to transform education. Their particular passion is STEAM education and ensuring that young people are invited – and prepared – to shape these fields in the future. To that end, they founded the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy (DPEA) in 2002. It is a four-year pathway program in a public high school in California that serves over 400 students annually, 50% of whom are young women. In the context of this program, students use specialized technology, tools and equipment to design and create kinetic art. For their capstone project, students create ambitious, interactive, exhibits that have been featured in professional galleries including the San Francisco Exploratorium, the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, and The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation (MOXI).

Currently, Amir and Emily are working to establish a first-of-its-kind Center for Creative Learning on their high school campus. This new facility will house original exhibits designed and fabricated by students in a large gallery, and it will enable a re-envisioning of the way that students’ time during the school day is harnessed for authentic community engagement and contribution. Emily and Amir live in Goleta with their daughter Aliya.

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