Our Team

Kai Tepper | Executive Director

Kai was formerly the Outreach Program Manager for the Santa Barbara Bowl Foundation, the previous Executive Director for The Arts Fund, and a founding board member of the Santa Barbara School of the Arts. She received a bachelor’s degree in art from California State University Channel Islands with an emphasis in Studio Art and Art History, which fueled her passion for arts nonprofits. She is active in community organizations, including the City of Santa Barbara’s Arts Advisory Committee, Board Member for the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation as well as Co-Chair of their Asian American History Affinity Group, Advisory Member to the Santa Barbara County Alliance for Arts Education, Leni Fund Outreach Committee, Pianos on State Street Committee, and the Visual Arts and Design Academy (VADA) at Santa Barbara High School. Kai recently helped to produce an inaugural Year of the Dragon festival and art exhibition through the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, which centers the voices and histories of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) cultures within the Santa Barbara region. Through her role with Children’s Creative Project and the Santa Barbara County Education Office, she serves as the County Arts Lead for Santa Barbara County through the California County Superintendents Arts Initiative, a statewide initiative focused on strengthening arts education in California public schools.

Yoseline Gonzalez | Program Manager

With a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Redlands and an M.A. from IE School of Global and Public Affairs, Yoseline has dedicated herself to advocating for equitable access to quality education programs in underserved communities. In her most recent role at the United Way of Santa Barbara County, Yoseline served as a Community Impact Program Manager, where she managed educational programs for thousands of children across Santa Barbara County.  Her leadership was instrumental in overseeing the creation and expansion of out-of-school enrichment programs for local districts. Yoseline put an emphasis on providing a holistic approach to education, with a large focus on literacy, hands-on learning through the arts, and social emotional learning. Yoseline is excited to continue her work in advocating and serving the Santa Barbara community at Children’s Creative Project.

Kelly Mitchell | Program Associate

Resident Artist Division: Santa Barbara County

Kelly has been a career art educator as a K-12 credentialed visual arts teacher since 2009. She has taught junior high and high school art for over 11 years, specializing in high school photography courses. As a classroom teacher, Kelly challenged her students to expand their definition of creativity and discover new ways of incorporating creative problem-solving into everyday life. Kelly holds a Master of Fine Arts in Photography from Brooks Institute and Academy of Art University, and a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Art and Visual Culture Education from the University of Arizona. She comes to Children's Creative Project with a passion for equitable art education and is excited to broaden her reach to students county-wide through expanded resident artist programming.

Erin Sawyer | Program Associate

Resident Artist Division: San Luis Obispo County

With a lifelong love for the arts, Erin has been preparing for this role since early childhood. From directing plays with the neighbor kids (The Sheep Parade, featured real sheep) to teaching kindergarten at an arts’ charter school in LA, Erin’s commitment to arts education has been unwavering. She has created arts programs in public and private schools and played a key role in developing an online theatre program for the Laguna Playhouse. Now at CCP, she is excited to use her expertise and enthusiasm to help ignite creativity, curiosity, and joy in individuals throughout the community through transformative arts experiences!

Meredith Ventura | Program Associate

Resident Artist Division and Marketing/Media

Meredith holds a BFA in Dance, an MA in Theater, Dance, and Performance Studies from UC Santa Barbara, and an MFA in Dance from Hollins University. Having taught dance and creative movement in more than 20 different Santa Barbara County schools as a teaching artist for Children’s Creative Project, Meredith brings her professional experience as a social media and marketing consultant for local businesses and nonprofits throughout Santa Barbara and Ventura County. In addition to advocating for #artforeverychild through Children’s Creative Project through program development and marketing, Meredith is also the Director of Education at State Street Ballet. In all of her work, Meredith is passionate about helping expand opportunities for professional artists to develop and share their work while providing every child access to arts education.

Kate Yamasaki | Administrative Assistant

Touring Artist Performances, Annual Performance Event

Kate has been involved with the Children’s Creative Project since 2006 when she began as a parent volunteer with the Arts Network. Kate’s involvement grew in 2015 when she accepted the position of Treasurer for Children’s Creative Project’s Board of Directors. She officially joined the Children’s Creative Project staff in 2017 as a Program Associate. She was promoted to Administrative Assistant in 2023. She has worked with every aspect of the CCP and brings her enthusiasm for arts education and professional experience as a teacher to the organization.

Board of Directors

  • Bryan Kerner

    PRESIDENT

    Director of Development, Engineering and the Sciences | UC Santa Barbara

  • Genevieve Badone Assili

    VICE PRESIDENT

    Independent Art & Design Professional

  • Harriet Whaley

    SECRETARY

    Assessment and Accountability Specialist, Santa Barbara Unified School District

  • Bridget Baublits

    TREASURER

    Assistant Superintendent Educational Services, Santa Barbara County Education Office

  • Jessica Bixler

    Elementary School Teacher (Retired)

  • Adrienne De Guevara

    Programs and Fund Development Officer, Santa Barbara Arts Collaborative

  • Autry Liggett

    Head of Operations and Analytics, Cerulean Ventures, LLC

  • Kevin McGarry

    Associate Director of Public Engagement, Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation

  • Seth Miller

    Director of Disability Services at Westmont College

  • Frankie Paolino

    Project Manager, RD Homes

  • Anna Pilhoefer

    Director of Equity and Multilingual Learner Services, Santa Barbara Unified School District

  • Diana Rigby

    Superintendent, Carpinteria Unified School District