Santa Barbara County Action Network celebrated 25 years of service and changing of the guard during its annual fundraiser, “SBCAN at 25: Honoring the Work, Empowering the Future,” on Sunday, June 28 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at Sunstone Winery in Santa Ynez.
SBCAN honored Co-Executive Directors Jeanne Sparks and Ken Hough for their nearly 14 years leading the organization and welcomed the new leadership team of Executive Director Nancy Avoce and South County Director Murray Dawson.
“As a member of the founding generation I’m gratified that SBCAN has sustained its mission for a quarter century—advancing policies supporting social justice and a sustainable economy throughout our county,” said SBCAN Co-President Dick Flacks. “Ken and Jeanne have been mainstays in this work. They’ve prepared the way for a new generation of leadership for which I’ve got lots of hope.”
“It is hard to believe that 25 years have passed since we sat in Mickey and Dick Flacks’ living room and envisioned a new organization,” said Co-Founder Joyce Howerton. “While we are older and perhaps wiser today, we remain just as committed to keeping Santa Barbara County environmentally safe, affordable, and inclusive for everyone.”
Howerton complimented the retiring directors: “Throughout the years, SBCAN has benefited from outstanding leadership across our staff and board, but none have been more devoted to our goals than Ken and Jeanne,” Howerton said. “Under their tenure, they strengthened the board, tirelessly addressed issues across the county, partnered with NGOs, held elected officials accountable, and brought Nancy onto the team. While we are saddened by their departure, I know they will stay connected to the work they have dedicated so much of their time and energy to.”
Hough has joined the SBCAN Board of Directors and Sparks has joined the SBCAN Advisory Council. They look forward to their new roles and are excited by the new leadership team.
“We recognized Nancy’s potential when we hired her in 2023,” Sparks said. “We have mentored and supported her as she grew in her position as Assistant Director with SBCAN over nearly three years.”
The Co-Executive Directors advocated for Avoce’s promotion. “Nancy showed she was ready as she came up with ideas for the future and excelled in her work, going above and beyond what her position required,” Sparks and Hough said. “She has the vision and drive needed to take SBCAN to the next level, including bringing together a dynamic, youthful team.”
Sparks looks back on her years with SBCAN since it started. She was a volunteer almost from its beginning in 2002, years before she became staff. She is most gratified by the work she did regarding the Santa Maria River Watershed. She brought community members together around improving the health of the watershed and promoted recreational access to the riverbed and extension of the river levee trail from Santa Maria to Guadalupe.
Sparks helped underserved youth gain access to outdoor educational programs and brought partners together to create a demonstration project to clean pollutants from the river and to flesh out long-term solutions to flooding issues along the river. She played an important role in promoting the proposed Pt. Sal and Mishopshno Marine Protected Areas and heightened countywide awareness of these issues and other environmental, economic and social justice issues.
Sparks and Hough also created Silent Witnesses that have made an impact bringing attention to the plight of immigrants taken by ICE, and Sparks is looking to make more of an impact on issues through her art and photography.
Hough is most excited by his work with a great Board and staff, SBCAN’snew Advisory Council, and other volunteers and to see so much support for SBCAN as it moves into the future.
When Hough joined SBCAN, he didn’t know much about oil and gas production issues, but he threw himself into these critical environmental and social-justice issues. He is glad to have led the fight against an oil company trying to restart production in the Lompoc Hills and to truck oil 175 miles to Coalinga every day for 50 years–a fight that seems to have been won, but which needs to be monitored.
Hough also is glad to have led efforts to urge the City of Santa Maria not to plan to annex 1,000 acres of prime agricultural land to fuel urban growth.
Both directors are gratified by their work with SBCAN’s Board and staff, its new Advisory Council, and other volunteers. They are grateful for numerous founders, sponsors, foundations and members that have supported the organization through the years.
The outgoing directors retired on June 30. On July 1, Avoce was promoted to Executive Director and Dawson joined the team as South County Director.
“As Executive Director, I’m honored to build on the legacy of SBCAN’s founders and longtime leaders,” Avoce said. “SBCAN’s next chapter is already underway and our team is focused on strengthening our impact through a renewed mission, strong partnerships, and exciting initiatives designed to better serve our County’s needs. We’re excited to share what’s ahead.”
“It’s an incredible privilege to join the SBCAN team,” Dawson said. “I was recruited by Nancy after meeting her while completing my final master’s paper on housing policy in Santa Barbara. She promptly shared the history and work of SBCAN, alongside a compelling vision for its future. I was sold. It’s great to be on board, and even better to get to work on issues pertaining to my home county.”
Contact the SBCAN team at info@sbcan.org or visit www.sbcan.org for more information about the nonprofit. Contact Sparks at jeanne.sparks@icloud.com and Hough at kennethahough@gmail.com.
