New Officers Announced at Santa Barbara Botanic Garden

Santa Barbara, Calif. – February 7, 2022 – New officers have been named for the Board of Trustees of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. The new officers are Chair Mark Funk, Vice-Chair George Leis, and Treasurer Bibi Moezzi. Kathy Scroggs continues her role as Secretary.

“With the support and passion of our board, we continue to expand our impact on our mission: to conserve native plants and habitats – both locally and beyond,” says Steve Windhager, Ph.D., executive director of Santa Barbara Botanic Garden. “I’m happy to welcome our new board leaders in and work with them to harness the momentum we’re experiencing at the Garden right now. As the world faces threats of biodiversity loss and the climate crisis, our work has a big impact on the health and well-being of our local and global communities.” 

About the Trustee Officers

Mark Funk has served on the Board of Trustees for Santa Barbara Botanic Garden since 2019 and is chair of the Finance and Investment committees. Funk retired after eight years serving as executive vice president and chief financial officer of Mobile Mini Inc., the world’s leading provider of portable storage solutions. Prior to Mobile Mini, he was a managing director on the investment banking team at Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. where he held numerous roles over a 20-year period. Funk began his career as an accountant at KPMG prior to joining Deutsche Bank. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from California State University, Long Beach, and a master’s in business administration from the University of California, Los Angeles. In addition to the Garden, Funk serves on several other for-profit and nonprofit boards. 

George Leis is president and chief operating officer for Montecito Bank & Trust. He was previously with Union Bank, served as a managing director, national sales manager for The Private Bank, and regional president of the Central Coast region. He was president and chief executive officer of Pacific Capital Bancorp, a community bank holding company that included Santa Barbara Bank & Trust, where he previously was executive vice president for Wealth Management and Information Technology, and chief information officer. Leis has volunteered on the boards of National Disaster Search Dog Foundation, YMCA of the USA, Santa Barbara Zoo, Channel Islands YMCA, Santa Barbara Historical Museum, and at Cal State University, Northridge, where he also has served on the College of Business and Economics advisory board and the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences Ambassadors.

Bibi Moezzi is senior vice president and director of commercial banking of Pacific Premier Bank within the Santa Barbara and Ventura market. As director of commercial banking, she leads a team in Santa Barbara and Ventura counties to provide custom banking solutions and strengthen existing  relationships. Actively involved in the Santa Barbara community, she is a board member of Santa Barbara South Coast Chamber of Commerce and nonprofit AHA!, and serves on the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County’s finance committee. Other Board service includes the Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, and Old Spanish Days Fiesta. Moezzi has also been a recipient of the Pacific Coast Business Times’ 40 Under 40 award and Top 50 Women in Business designation.

Kathy Scroggs is certified by the California Board of Accountancy. She earned her bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Arkansas and a certificate of accounting from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She specializes in offering CPA services to a wide variety of nonprofit organizations. Her original firm, Kathy Scroggs CPA, began with general accounting services for businesses and individuals. This developed into strategic planning for individual wealth maintenance, minimization of tax liabilities for individuals and corporations, and auditing and consulting services.