CEO of the SBCC Foundation, passionate non-profit volenteer, and valued community member Geoff Green announced his new position as CEO of CalNonprofits, therefore announcing his departure from City College.
During his time with the SBCC Foundation, Green has implemented and worked with many operations for the City College community, benefiting Santa Barbara high school students, inmates in Santa Barbara County Jail, as well as a handful of Vaqueros.
Green graduated from UCSB with a bachelor of science in ecology and evolutionary biology in 1995, but dabbled in numerous opportunities and majors at the university, jokingly asking himself, “what wasn’t my major?”
Though Green studied a handful of different potential career lines in college, non-profit and community work is rooted in Green’s blood. Starting off as a camp counselor, Yosemite park ranger, to CEO of CalNonprofits, community and education were always at the root of Green’s careers.
One of Green’s biggest contributions to the community, as well as one of his proudest achievements, has been the facilitation of the SBCC Promise.
The inspiration was the Tennessee Promise, passed in May of 2014. Tennessee residents can apply for this promise to cover tuition and fees that aren’t covered by certain grants, which helps education accessibility greatly. Green recognized this idea with his colleagues and thought, how can we do this in our community? Henceforth, the SBCC Promise was born, granting the coverage of tuition and fees to Santa Barbara high school students.
As proclaimed by many community members at City College, Green’s impact on the school, as well as the people around him, is unparalleled.
SBCC Promise Coordinator Gandhy Jimenez emphasized that Green’s passion for students and education accessibility stood out to her.
“It’s going to be a little hard to fill those shoes,” Jimenez said, referring to the next CEO to fill in the upcoming vacant seat.
When she joined the SBCC Foundation as an intern in June 2021, Jimenez said that she was very nervous coming into the interview. During her second interview during the foundation, she officially met Green and instantly felt less nervous.
“He is always so open and welcoming,” she said.
Jimenez further explained how Green is always very personable with whoever he encounters, and how his radiating energy really helped fuel her time in the foundation.
“I never saw myself in college” Jimenez said, also emphasizing how her daughter is a SBCC Promise student, and how she wishes that opportunity was around when she was in college. She explains that this grant increases education accessibility in Santa Barbara County, which is one of Green’s top priorities as CEO of the SBCC Foundation.
Green asserted that one of his proudest moments was attending a graduation ceremony at the Santa Barbara County jail under the Rising Scholars program in 2021, a program designed for formerly incarcerated students to have the opportunity to enroll in City College and higher education.
“This is the power of education,” Green said, adding that it was very powerful for him to see the community around him blossom.
Green has served CalNonprofits board chair, treasurer, and as a member of its policy committee, and sees this opportunity to pursue his love of non-profit work and continue to do good in his community as the CEO.
Correction: Nov. 28
A previous version of this story said that Geoff Green was at City College for 12 years, but it has been corrected to nine years. The Channels regrets this error.
