Laguna Blanca Welcomes Three New Trustees

The Laguna Blanca Board of Trustees welcomes three new members: Shelly Gable, Amber Ortiz, and Chris Terrill. Get to know them below!

SHELLY GABLE
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.

AMBER ORTIZ
Amber Ortiz is a Senior Vice President and Team Lead of the Montecito office for City National Bank’s Private Banking team. With more than 18 years of experience, she advises high-net-worth individuals, business owners, and their families, and foundations on integrated wealth management strategies, including comprehensive investment management, customized credit facilities, and private banking solutions.

Amber is deeply involved in her community and leads with passion. Her non-profit board of directors and committee experience includes volunteer work with Domestic Violence Solutions, United Way of Santa Barbara County, Alpha Resource, and UCSB. She currently serves as vice president of the Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara board of directors which inspires all girls to be Strong, Smart, and Bold.
 
Mrs. Ortiz earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara. She holds designations as a Certified Financial PlannerTM and Certified Exit Planning Advisor, is a registered and licensed securities representative, and holds California life and health insurance licenses.
Amber was born and raised in Santa Barbara. She and her husband Steve have two amazing children attending Laguna Blanca, Isabella Rose '31 and Ethan James '34.

CHRIS TERRILL
Chris Terrill is a business executive who balances creative category disruption with pragmatic revenue goals. 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 (now HomeAdvisor). In 2017, HomeAdvisor and Angie's List merged into a new publicly traded company, ANGI Homeservices Inc., where Mr. Terrill remained as CEO until 2018.

Chris is currently the Co-Chairman of Z-Work, a special purpose acquisition company focused on technology and its impact on the future of work.  He also serves on three public company boards including Realogy, a global leader in residential real estate with many of the best-known brands including CENTURY 21 and Coldwell Banker; Vacasa, an international vacation rental management company; and Porch, a company connecting moving companies, realtors, home inspectors, utilities, and other professionals to consumers.  He also serves on the board of privately held Data Axle, a data and marketing solutions provider for salespeople, marketers, and professionals.  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.
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