Monique Limón

Senator Monique Limón was elected to the California State Senate in November 2020 and represents the 19th Senate District, which includes all of Santa Barbara County and more than half of Ventura County. Senator Limón served as the Assemblymember from 2016 to 2020. Born and raised in the 19th Senate District, Monique has worked continuously as an educator, leader, and an advocate for causes advancing the quality of life in her community.

For Monique, education has always been a priority. She received her undergraduate degree from UC Berkeley and a Master’s Degree from Columbia University. Prior to being elected to the California State Legislature, Monique served on the Santa Barbara Unified School Board and spent fourteen years working in higher education at UC Santa Barbara and Santa Barbara City College.

Monique has worked with nonprofits in the community including the Santa Barbara City College Foundation, the Katherine Harvey Fellows Program, the McCune Foundation, Leading from within, and the Community Engagement Committee for the Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts.

In the Assembly, Monique was appointed to Chair the Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector where she worked to bring awareness to the impact nonprofits have in our economy. In 2018 she authored a bill to establish a centralized database for funding opportunities available to nonprofits that is now an important tools for nonprofits across the state. As Chair of the Assembly Select Committee she held committee hearings to explore the importance of the connections between state government and non-profits, and expanded the California Annual Non-Profits Day into an ongoing tradition statewide. Today, she continues in this role as Chair of the Select Committee on the Nonprofit Sector in the Senate.

Ken Saxon

Following an entrepreneurial business career, Ken Saxon founded the nonprofit organization Leading From Within (LFW) in 2008 to invest in and nurture nonprofit and community leaders.  Eight Isla Vista Youth Projects staff and board leaders have been through LFW’s leadership programs and engaged in its active leadership networks.  LFW also helped to facilitate the launch of the Resilient Santa Barbara County collaborative in 2018, with its focus on preventing and reducing the impacts of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Santa Barbara County.  Ken has served in board leadership for nonprofits and foundations across the region, including a number of education organizations like the Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Middle School and Santa Barbara City College.  Ken and his wife Jo are proud parents of twins – a nurse and a school mental health professional.

Partner

Anonymous

Lewis-Towbes Family Foundation

Advocate

American Riviera Bank

Isla Vista Community Relations Committee

Natalie Orfalea Foundation

Engage

BB&H Benefit Designs

Deborah Ching

Lori and Rabbi Evan Goodman

Jim Morouse

Santa Barbara City College Foundation

Santa Barbara Foundation

Vertical Change

Learn

Bobbi and Paul Didier

Jim Jackson

Doris Schaffer

Maryan Schall