Board of Trustees

Catherine is an East Coast native from a foodie family and has always been passionate about health, wellness, education, and athletics. She began her education at Colby College where she played three varsity sports and studied Human Development and Psychology. After a brief stint in NYC working in media, Catherine moved to California to pursue an MA in Health Psychology from Stanford University and worked in the health field for several years at UCLA, Stanford and as a Health Coach – specializing in exercise, nutrition, and mindfulness. Although working in the field of psychology and health was fulfilling and enjoyable, she longed for a more creative outlet.

Living in the Bay Area, she was drawn to the food and wine scene and the world-renowned wine program at UC Davis. Catherine completed an MS in Viticulture and Enology (grape growing and winemaking) and entered the wine business. For the past 20 years, Catherine has worked as a winemaker; she started and has been running her own business for the last 15 years. During this time, she also continued to nurture her passion for wellness and psychology by obtaining certifications in yoga, nutrition, health coaching, and sports psychology. Recently, she created a group for teenage girls, helping teach social and emotional well-being strategies. Catherine and Dr. Peggy Smith co-developed the curriculum and are launching and running new groups starting
Fall 2024.

Catherine, her partner Mary Ricks, and daughter Arden Blagden '28 look forward to becoming active members of the Laguna Blanca community and are eager to embrace the adventures and opportunities that lie ahead.

Steve Couvillion grew up in Santa Barbara and attended Laguna Blanca. He received his medical degree from Tulane University. After medical school, he completed his residency training in Ophthalmology at the prestigious Bascom Palmer Eye Institute at the University of Miami. There he was involved with the initial clinical application of biologic pharmaceuticals for treating age-related macular degeneration.

Steve then completed his vitreoretinal fellowship at Bascom Palmer Eye Institute and accepted a faculty position where he served as Chief Resident and Director of Ocular Trauma. In doing so he helped train ophthalmology residents and vitreoretinal fellows in the latest therapeutic techniques. He is a partner in California Retina Consultants based in Santa Barbara, and Chairman of Ophthalmology at Cottage Hospital.

His three sons attend Laguna, Michael ’28, James ’24, and Thomas ’23. They enjoy skiing, traveling, and Laguna athletics.

Lindsay Ervin is a corporate attorney. She began her legal career at Foley Hoag LLP in Boston, MA and then moved in-house to State Street Bank and Trust Company. Lindsay spent 11 years at State Street as Vice President and Senior Attorney, supporting and growing its securities lending business. Lindsay received her B.A. from Williams College and her J.D. from Boston College Law School. 

Lindsay served on the board of the Laguna Blanca Family Association as Vice President of the Lower School for two years and has been an active volunteer at the school since 2019. She was also a class representative for multiple years and enjoys helping with the Golden Oak Gala, the Family Festival and other school events.

Lindsay and her husband, Drew Sharma, have two children at Laguna Blanca (Chloe '32 and Cameron '36) and reside in Hope Ranch.

Billie Fitzpatrick is a writer, educator, and long-time publishing professional who has co-authored numerous books in both fiction and non-fiction. She began her education as an undergraduate at Rice University; earned a MA in literature and creative writing at the University of Houston; and an EdM in education neuroscience from Harvard University.
 

Billie continues to work in both book publishing and education, currently serving as Editorial Director of CAST Professional Publishing, where she develops books related to the inclusive teaching and learning framework, Universal Design for Learning.

Billie grew up in Bronxville, New York, and has lived in Houston, TX; New York, NY; Biella, Italy; and Dover, MA before moving in 2016 to Santa Barbara with her partner, Gretchen, and their two daughters, Grace '20 and Dare '22.

She is an avid tennis player, yoga and Pilates enthusiast, and occasional hiker who loves being outdoors. She has been a member of the Laguna Blanca School Board since 2019, serving as Vice Chair, Co-Chair, and Chair.

Shelly moved to California from the East Coast after earning her Ph.D. in social psychology from the University of Rochester. She began her career on the faculty in the Psychology Department at the University of California, Los Angeles, and is now Professor and Chair of the Psychological & Brain Sciences Department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. 

She is the author of more than 75 scientific articles and has been the principal investigator on several federal and private foundation grants. Her research focuses on motivation, emotion regulation, and close relationships. She is particularly interested in the role of positive emotions in health, social relationships, and resilience more broadly.

Shelly’s awards include teaching awards and scientific awards, including the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) from President George W. Bush. She has served on the boards of several professional societies, federal agency grant panels, editorial boards for scientific journals, local PTA boards, and school district advisory panels.

Nicholas Parisi is the Co-Founder of Cojourn Companies, a long-term holding company that acquires and grows enduring businesses. He has held executive roles including President, COO, and CIO across several operating companies, and previously was an equity partner at a Bay Area family office focused on real estate and private equity. Nicholas holds an MBA from Duke University, where he serves on the Fuqua School of Business Alumni Board and the Center for Entrepreneurship's ETA steering committee. He earned dual bachelor's degree in Economics and Philosophy from Westmont College. Nicholas and his wife , Drew, are proud parents of two elementary students at Laguna Blanca.

Lacey Petersen has been part of the Laguna Blanca community since 2019. She and her husband, Charlie, have three children currently attending the Lower School: Jack ’33, Lilly ’35, and Dane ’37. Lacey has loved getting to know the school community through serving as a room parent and weekly hot lunch volunteer. Lacey and her husband currently serve on two family foundations and are devoted to giving back to the local community through philanthropic work. The couple is passionate about supporting Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum, and the children’s musical program at the Santa Barbara Bowl.
 
Lacey grew up in St. Louis, and attended the University of Virginia where she earned a B.A. in art history. Prior to moving to Santa Barbara in 2009, Lacey lived and worked in San Francisco at Williams Sonoma Inc., and later Serena & Lily. Since 2010, Lacey and Charlie have grown their real estate investment business, purchasing and remodeling homes in the Montecito area. Lacey has a long family history of board work in education and child development, and is passionate about the Laguna community. She enjoys traveling, hiking, tennis, pickleball, and entertaining family and friends at their home.

Stephen has over 25 years of experience in the global health and partnership arena and specializes in expanding and evolving organizations that work in the global development arena with particular emphasis on resource mobilization. His programmatic expertise span a broad range of development issues including, maternal, newborn and children’s health, water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH), HIV/ AIDS, nutrition,  reproductive and sexual health, and the recruitment, training, deployment of community health workers across countries around the world. He currently operates Montemar Consultants, a boutique consulting firm that specializes in developing relationships between high net worth individuals and networks in developing regions with new and pre-existing global health programs and opportunities.

Stephen’s previous leadership roles have been with former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s  Every Woman, Every Child Strategy, The Sesame Workshop, Abbott Labs, PhRMA, and the United Nations Foundation. Stephen also founded The Great American Condom Campaign - today the nation’s largest distributor of condoms ever. His work in global development began at the United Nations Foundation after its founding by Ted Turner’s gift of $1 billion in 1998. 

Originally from Santa Barbara, CA, Stephen holds a Bachelor of Science in Foreign Service and Master in Public Policy from Georgetown University. He is married with two children attending Laguna Blanca and volunteers as an ambulance Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) for the County of Santa Barbara. 

Luther Tarver-Burks is a Market Information Consultant at Bank of America. Luther specializes in the digital banking space, and he is responsible for creating financial summaries and presentations on key strategic updates and trends within the banking industry. Luther’s focus is on evaluating the other competitors in the financial industry, and he provides overviews of competitor strategic developments and product updates which are used to help inform business decisions and develop future products.
Luther was also an academic mentor for student-athletes within the UCLA athletics department and was an economics tutor for student-athletes at Loyola Marymount University. Financial literacy is also very important to Luther. He has participated in multiple financial literacy events and spent multiple summers as a business coach for the Los Angeles Urban League’s Youth Entrepreneurship Business Institute.

Luther received his Master’s of Business Administration from the Pepperdine University Graziadio School of Business and Management, and received his Bachelor’s of Science in Business Marketing at Edgewood College, where he graduated with honors.

Chris Terrill is a business executive, tech investor and former public company CEO.  Starting in 1999, he served as Director of Marketing and Vice President of New Brands and Verticals, among other senior positions, at Match.com. Mr. Terrill then became Vice President of Product and Marketing for Blockbuster in 2005. He joined Nutrisystem in 2007, serving first as Senior Vice President of E-Commerce, and was named Nutrisystem's CMO in 2009. Mr. Terrill then became the CEO of ServiceMagic, the precursor to HomeAdvisor, in 2011. In 2017, HomeAdvisor and Angie's List merged into a new publicly-traded company, ANGI Homeservices Inc., where Mr. Terrill remained as CEO until the end of 2018.

Chris has served on the boards of 6 public companies, two private companies, a large national trade association and the largest historic district in Denver.  Chris currently sits on three public company boards including Anywhere, a global leader in residential real estate with many of the best-known brands including Coldwell Banker and Sotheby’s; Vacasa, an international vacation rental management company; and Yelp, which provides a one-stop local platform for consumers to discover, connect and transact with local businesses of all sizes.  Finally, he serves on the board of CareerWise, the largest national non-profit focused on bringing youth apprenticeships to companies and school districts across the country.

David is an Executive Director and Senior PM Director at Morgan Stanley. With more than 35 years of experience in finance, David brings deep expertise and insight to his clients. Beyond his role in wealth management, he’s an active supporter of early-stage companies and is a founding member of Pasadena Angels.

A strategic thinker with a commitment to giving back, David has held board positions with organizations including Ernst & Young Alumni Association, Pasadena Angels, Huntington Hospital (Planned Giving), among others.

David earned his MBA from the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business and holds a B.A. in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He began his career at Ernst & Young, where he earned his CPA designation.

David lives in Santa Barbara with his wife, Karen, and is the father of three—Nathan, Abby, and Helen ’30.

Cliff Wyatt graduated from Laguna as a lifer in 1985 and went on to UC Berkeley, majoring in Genetics. He also spent a year at Christ’s College, Cambridge studying the Natural Sciences. Cliff worked several years as an analyst in the Public Finance sector helping state and local governments in the Bay Area and the Northwest. Cliff then worked for several medical diagnostic companies, Becton Dickinson and Bayer Diagnostics, selling various instruments and services. 

In 1996, Cliff moved back to Santa Barbara to join his father and brother (Geof Wyatt '79—a Laguna grad, as well) in their family business called Wyatt Technology Corporation (WTC). WTC manufactures and sells optical instruments and software for characterizing molecules and nanoparticles. Cliff served most recently at its president until it was sold to Waters Corporation in 2023. Cliff also serves on UCSB’s Arts & Lectures Council. 

Cliff and his wife, Crystal, are raising two kids, who both attend Laguna:  Siena Wyatt '25 and Jake Wyatt '28. The Wyatts have 2 other (four-legged) family members comprised of one Rottie and one Rhodesian Ridgeback.