Foodbank Team

For the past 14 years, Erik’s goal has been to help the Foodbank move families and their communities from hunger to health. For the Foodbank, this has meant improving the nutritional quality of the food we provide, creating national award-winning nutrition educational programs and developing the Foodbank’s disaster preparedness and leadership in the county. His TED Talk focuses on the concept of food literacy. You can find it on TED talks here.

Prior to the Foodbank, Erik spent six years as the executive director of the Community Kitchen of Santa Barbara. He is the author of two books in this area: “Hunger into Health” (2018) and “Lulu and the Hunger Monster” (2020). Two more books for children — looking at food literacy and the food system — are on the way.

He has served on the board of directors of the California Association of Food Banks and the national advisory council of Feeding America.

Over the last 15 years, Carrie has dedicated her career to the nonprofit sector where she finds joy and satisfaction in helping others. She recognizes her particular impact is in supporting the organizational team; and accomplishes this in her current role at the Foodbank as chief financial officer, director of human resources, and IT manager.

Carrie joined the Foodbank in this role in 2009 and is responsible for overseeing the budget across all departments, and meeting with the board-designated finance committee on a regular basis. The fiduciary responsibility of her department also includes managing the relationship with three investment firms, cash management and annual financial and uniform governance audits.

In addition, to Carrie’s accounting expertise, she oversees the human resources department and has developed and implemented various benefits adding to the employee experience and value at the organization.

Prior to joining the Foodbank, Carrie served on several nonprofit boards and was the controller of a floral bouquet wholesaler distribution company with over $20M in sales, and served as a finance manager at a third party administrator for supplemental health insurance company. Carrie received her BA in organizational leadership from Arizona State University, and is a certified nonprofit professional through Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. The variety of her background provides a unique and comprehensive approach to her responsibilities.

Paul Wilkins joined the Foodbank in 2017 after 20 years working in the local wine industry. He worked in production and logistics, mainly for small, locally owned wineries.

A graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Paul’s career path has been in agriculture, which started in his youth, working on his family’s 360-acre farm in the San Joaquin Valley. Throughout his life, he has been involved in product sourcing, real estate development, facilities planning and inventory management.

After selling off his interest in a privately owned wine brand in 2016, Paul came to volunteer at the Foodbank while exploring his next professional pursuits. He put time into all facets of warehouse and operations and became engaged with the Foodbank’s mission of moving hunger into health. Paul became the director of operations in March of 2017 and was promoted to chief operations officer in December of 2019.

Dr. Lacey Baldiviez started her food banking career in January 2019 as Director of Education for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. In this role, Dr. Baldiviez developed the “Food Boss” curriculum, created a new Food Creativity Lab program for high school students, worked with Feeding America network partners on the Healthcare Partnership Community of Practice, and implemented a Healthy Nudges program with partner agencies.

After promotion to Director of Community Programs and Education, Dr. Baldiviez, along with her team, guided the establishment of 50 new SAFE food distributions across the county during the Covid crisis. Together, they transitioned all senior food distributions to home delivery and invited any senior in need to enroll in the new program model, making over 75,000 home deliveries. Under her leadership, a farmworker food access and education program was launched, a Food Rx partnership with healthcare providers was developed, all educational programs were transitioned to distance learning with new materials available, and CalFresh and P-EBT outreach and opportunities were shared widely across Santa Barbara County. Dr. Baldiviez launched a new Service Insights program at the Foodbank using Link2Feed software and leads a Boundless Collaboration project with FoodShare, Inc. in Ventura County.

Dr. Baldiviez holds a PhD in nutritional biology with a designated emphasis in international and community nutrition from University of California, Davis. Her minor areas of specialization are rpidemiology and biostatistics.

Jacqueline Valencia holds a bachelor’s degree in Chicano/a studies and global studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in business administration from Antioch University, Santa Barbara. She has seven years of experience working in the non-profit sector, from being an afterschool teacher at Isla Vista Youth Projects to being part of the administration team at Easy Lift Transportation and now being a part of the Programs & Education team at the Foodbank. In her current role as Assistant Director of Programs & Education, Jackie oversees the countywide community programs where community members are receiving food and learning about health and nutrition.

Greg brings 15+ years of experience in the nonprofit sector with a focus on health. He is a passionate individual who has dedicated his career to leveraging resources from private businesses and individuals to help lift marginalized communities in the U.S. and around the world. Prior to the Foodbank, Greg was Associate Director of Partnerships and Philanthropy at Direct Relief.  A Santa Barbara-based humanitarian organization focused on delivering medical resources to vulnerable communities affected by poverty, conflict, or natural disasters across the U.S. and in over 90 countries. There, he developed fundraising initiatives and cultivated relationships with high-net-worth individuals and family foundations. Having developed his experience in the non-profit sector in San Francisco, Greg has a deep understanding of non-profit and volunteer management, Board engagement, client relations, and various fundraising strategies with individuals, corporations, and community groups.

Paul Wilkins joined the Foodbank in 2017 after 20 years working in the local wine industry. He worked in production and logistics, mainly for small, locally owned wineries.

A graduate of Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, Paul’s career path has been in agriculture, which started in his youth, working on his family’s 360-acre farm in the San Joaquin Valley. Throughout his life, he has been involved in product sourcing, real estate development, facilities planning and inventory management.

After selling off his interest in a privately owned wine brand in 2016, Paul came to volunteer at the Foodbank while exploring his next professional pursuits. He put time into all facets of warehouse and operations and became engaged with the Foodbank’s mission of moving hunger into health. Paul became the director of operations in March of 2017 and was promoted to chief operations officer in December of 2019.

Over the last 15 years, Carrie has dedicated her career to the nonprofit sector where she finds joy and satisfaction in helping others. She recognizes her particular impact is in supporting the organizational team; and accomplishes this in her current role at the Foodbank as chief financial officer, director of human resources, and IT manager.

Carrie joined the Foodbank in this role in 2009 and is responsible for overseeing the budget across all departments, and meeting with the board-designated finance committee on a regular basis. The fiduciary responsibility of her department also includes managing the relationship with three investment firms, cash management and annual financial and uniform governance audits.

In addition, to Carrie’s accounting expertise, she oversees the human resources department and has developed and implemented various benefits adding to the employee experience and value at the organization.

Prior to joining the Foodbank, Carrie served on several nonprofit boards and was the controller of a floral bouquet wholesaler distribution company with over $20M in sales, and served as a finance manager at a third party administrator for supplemental health insurance company. Carrie received her BA in organizational leadership from Arizona State University, and is a certified nonprofit professional through Nonprofit Leadership Alliance. The variety of her background provides a unique and comprehensive approach to her responsibilities.

Dr. Lacey Baldiviez started her food banking career in January 2019 as Director of Education for the Foodbank of Santa Barbara County. In this role, Dr. Baldiviez developed the “Food Boss” curriculum, created a new Food Creativity Lab program for high school students, worked with Feeding America network partners on the Healthcare Partnership Community of Practice, and implemented a Healthy Nudges program with partner agencies.

After promotion to Director of Community Programs and Education, Dr. Baldiviez, along with her team, guided the establishment of 50 new SAFE food distributions across the county during the Covid crisis. Together, they transitioned all senior food distributions to home delivery and invited any senior in need to enroll in the new program model, making over 75,000 home deliveries. Under her leadership, a farmworker food access and education program was launched, a Food Rx partnership with healthcare providers was developed, all educational programs were transitioned to distance learning with new materials available, and CalFresh and P-EBT outreach and opportunities were shared widely across Santa Barbara County. Dr. Baldiviez launched a new Service Insights program at the Foodbank using Link2Feed software and leads a Boundless Collaboration project with FoodShare, Inc. in Ventura County.

Dr. Baldiviez holds a PhD in nutritional biology with a designated emphasis in international and community nutrition from University of California, Davis. Her minor areas of specialization are rpidemiology and biostatistics.

Jacqueline Valencia holds a bachelor’s degree in Chicano/a studies and global studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara and a master’s degree in business administration from Antioch University, Santa Barbara. She has seven years of experience working in the non-profit sector, from being an afterschool teacher at Isla Vista Youth Projects to being part of the administration team at Easy Lift Transportation and now being a part of the Programs & Education team at the Foodbank. In her current role as Assistant Director of Programs & Education, Jackie oversees the countywide community programs where community members are receiving food and learning about health and nutrition.

Kelly provides oversight of the Foodbank’s volunteer services and community engagement programs and assists with the planning and execution organization-wide learning and development initiatives. She has over seven years’ experience in human resources and corporate nonprofit giving as the culture and philanthropic coordinator for a local software company. She worked with teams across the US and internationally to assist in decisions with local funding efforts. Locally, she connected employees with a variety of organizations, including the Foodbank and the annual End Hunger Games event. Through this role, she was passionate about connecting employees with volunteer opportunities throughout the community. She is now able to further this passion by working directly with volunteers and helping them to reach their potential through the Foodbank and its many programs.

Kelly first moved to Santa Barbara to attend UCSB, where she majored in English with an emphasis in literature in the environment. She volunteered throughout college, with her biggest accomplishment in 2007, organizing a large surf competition to raise money for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. In 2016 and 2017 she served as the Foodbank’s Fork and Cork committee volunteer chair, managing volunteers on the day of the event. Kelly has been a member of the Junior League of Santa Barbara since 2014 and currently serves as the executive vice president, leading the management team and supporting at-risk youth in Santa Barbara County.

Greg brings 15+ years of experience in the nonprofit sector with a focus on health. He is a passionate individual who has dedicated his career to leveraging resources from private businesses and individuals to help lift marginalized communities in the U.S. and around the world. Prior to the Foodbank, Greg was Associate Director of Partnerships and Philanthropy at Direct Relief.  A Santa Barbara-based humanitarian organization focused on delivering medical resources to vulnerable communities affected by poverty, conflict, or natural disasters across the U.S. and in over 90 countries. There, he developed fundraising initiatives and cultivated relationships with high-net-worth individuals and family foundations. Having developed his experience in the non-profit sector in San Francisco, Greg has a deep understanding of non-profit and volunteer management, Board engagement, client relations, and various fundraising strategies with individuals, corporations, and community groups.

For the last 8 years, I have had the honor of serving our county at the Foodbank. I came to the Foodbank’s development team in 2014. I enjoy working with our supporters and dabbling in data analytics as our resident quirky Salesforce data nerd. As a single parent of four, I understand many of the hardships encountered by those facing poverty and food insecurity in our community. I am aware first-hand of many barriers that working families face while trying to raise the next generation to be healthy, productive and thrive.

Prior to my career with the Foodbank, I spent three years at the American Cancer Society overseeing community engagement and patient services for Ventura, Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo Counties. During that time I met many families impacted by cancer and witnessed the impact that economic security had on their treatment. For many patients, their treatments meant higher medical bills and being unable to work. Families often faced food insecurity and the threat of homelessness while recovering from illness.

I currently serve on the board for the Santa Barbara County Food Action Network and the Leading for Community Impact Alumni Council.

My four children, ages 14 to 22 are my moon and stars because they have been the light in my darkness. I hope that my dedication to serving our community leaves it a better place for them to build their lives.

In my free time I enjoy hiking, dancing, hanging with our rescue dog Romeo and taking wild trips to Miami.

I’m excited to join an organization that truly makes a difference within our community. There is nothing more special than seeing someone’s face light up from a delicious and nutritious meal. Food connects us to the earth, to each other, and to ourselves.

I love when design and technology are used for good– that includes spreading knowledge and awareness, which is a really powerful tool for creating positive change.

I love that I am able to build relationships with the community.