MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation Welcomes Six New Members to its Board of Directors for 2022
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SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (Wednesday, February 8, 2022) – MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation is pleased to announce six new members of its board of directors, Donna Barranco Fisher, Angela Krablin, Mieko Kusano, Austin Lampson, Chetan Nayak and Jackie Schaffer. MOXI’s volunteer board of directors works directly with the museum’s president and chief executive officer to oversee and support the organization’s commitment to its mission to ignite learning through interactive experiences in science and creativity.
“MOXI is fortunate to have a passionate, dedicated board that enthusiastically supports our work to make science learning accessible to all,” says CEO Robin Gose. “This year we are thrilled to add these talented individuals, with their diverse perspectives and experiences, to our board.”
The MOXI Board of Directors Executive Committee continues to be led by Alixe Mattingly (Chair), Susan McMillan, (Vice-Chair), Justin Anderson (Treasurer), Andy Winchester (Secretary), Jill Chase (At Large), and Jill Levinson (At Large). Stay tuned to MOXI.org for updates in the coming months as we announce new exhibits, events, and ways to show your support.
Donna Barranco Fisher
An expert in early childhood education, Donna brings a wealth of experience in non-profit organization building, operations, governance, and a deep background in Early Childhood Education. She was Executive Director for Storyteller Children’s Center for almost seven years and served on the boards of organizations such as CALM, Girls Inc., Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation, Hospice of SB, Transition House, Jodi House, and Casa Pacifica. Her commitment to the welfare and education of our young children is evident in her continuing involvement in Children and Family Resource Services as a board member, and in her active participation in organizations such as the Santa Barbara County Child Care Planning Council, Early Childhood and Family Wellness Coalition, and Quality Counts California.
Angela Krablin
Angela grew up in New Jersey and graduated Rutgers University with a double major in Economics and Spanish in 1983. Angela relocated to California to be close to her family in 1985, and began her career in banking in 1986; working through the years in retail branch banking, project management, and digital banking. She began working for Santa Barbara Bank & Trust in 1995, and stayed with them through the acquisition by Union Bank; leaving in 2018 to join Montecito Bank & Trust where she presently works as the Director of Bank Operations. Angela has been on the Advisory Board of the Santa Barbara Salvation Army for almost 22 years and has been the Chair of that Board for the last 12 years. She lives in Montecito with her husband John, daughter Emilee, and pup, Benny.
Mieko Kusano
Mieko is the founder and CEO of Mameko LLC, a niche corporation which advises high growth, private companies and provides product & design leadership. Prior to this, Mieko was a Senior Director at Sonos for 15 years. She founded both the product management and design groups and spearheaded Sonos’ unique approach in cohesive design experience. She also helped Sonos establish itself as an innovation powerhouse and helped the company transition to the next stage of growth as a public company. Prior to Sonos, Mieko was Vice President of Product Management at Invention Machine, a company specializing in semantic search and innovation software. Mieko started her career at Philips Electronics, where she created a personal communicator for children, collaborating with MIT Media Lab and Mattel Research to study the cognitive development of children aged 6-12 years old. She graduated Cum Laude from Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands, with a Masters in Industrial Design Engineering. Mieko is a named inventor on many patents and has received many design awards for her team’s work. She was featured in ‘The 100 most creative people in business’ by Fast Company in 2010. In her spare time, Mieko enjoys traveling the world and visiting science museums with her 10-year old son.
Austin Lampson
Austin is the Branch Manager and Mortgage Loan Officer at Homeowners Financial Group. She oversees a team of six dedicated professionals whose passion is to help their clients achieve their financial goals. Austin is a process-driven professional, serving clients across a broad spectrum – from low-to-moderate income, first-time buyers, to professional and move-up buyers. From a community perspective, Austin has served on the board of NWABO, Coastal Housing Partnership and the American Heart Association. She has volunteered with the Natural History Museum for over 15 years, has been a Committee Leader for Junior League, Jodi House, and various other groups in town. She has also written for the Santa Barbara Lawyer Magazine and is certified by the State Bar of California to teach continuing education to attorneys with regards to Trust & Asset administration from a lending perspective. Austin also has a YouTube channel dedicated to financial education. Austin’s interest in MOXI is a personal one. She grew up in New Orleans, where the local Louisiana Children’s Museum had monthly ‘free’ days. Her family had love, but not money. Her parents believed in education and took advantage of free days from all museums, but the Louisiana Children’s Museum (LCM) was her favorite. It is hands-on, like MOXI. It made math and science exciting and was open to all. She didn’t feel like her inability to have the newest sneakers, or the best clothes precluded her from learning, from having fun or from exploring this amazing world. In third grade, Austin failed math and her mother saved to buy a membership to LCM so that she could better understand the importance of math. Today, Austin uses the critical thinking skills learned at LCM every day. Her work is a balance between math and emotion. Without access to something like LCM in NOLA or MOXI in Santa Barbara, Austin strongly believes that she wouldn’t be in the position she is, with both financial security and the ability to teach others to do so as well.
Chetan Nayak
Chetan Nayak is the general Manager for Quantum Hardware at Microsoft and a Professor of Physics at UCSB. His research focuses on solid state physics and quantum computation. Born and raised in New York City, Chetan received an A.B. degree in Physics from Harvard in and a Ph.D. in Physics from Princeton. He was a post-doctoral fellow at the Kavli Institute for Theoretical Physics at the UCSB. He joined the faculty of UCLA in 1997 and in 2005, he became a founding member of Station Q, a Microsoft-funded research institute on topological quantum computing located on the campus of UCSB. In 2007, he was named a Professor in the Physics Department of UCSB. He has been a Visiting Professor at Nihon University in Japan and a Visiting Researcher at Microsoft Research in Redmond, WA. Chetan has published over 150 papers in refereed scientific journals, garnering more than 22,000 citations. He is a Fellow of the American Physical Society and is also a recipient of an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellowship, the Outstanding Young Physicist Award from the American Chapter of the Indian Physics Association, and an NSF Early Career Award. His research has been funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the Army Research Office (ARO), the Disruptive Technologies Office (DTO), and the Air Force Office of Sponsored Research (AFOSR), in addition to the Microsoft Corporation. He was a General Member for 15 years and a Trustee for 10 years of the Aspen Center for Physics. He has served on the Editorial Board of Annals of Physics. Dr. Nayak’s work in solid state physics has ranged over many topics, including high-temperature superconductivity, novel types of metala, the quantum Hall effect, and time crystals. His team is currently extending the frontiers of quantum materials to engineer higher fidelity qubits. Chetan and his wife Shelly Gable, a professor of psychology at UCSB, are the proud parents of three children, Eka (10th grade), Asha (7th grade) and Kanu (4th grade).
Jackie Schaffer
Jackie Marcus Schaffer is a writer, director and producer of film and television. Raised in Santa Barbara and Los Angeles, Ms. Schaffer attended Viewpoint School, where she currently serves on the Headmaster’s Leadership Council, prior to receiving her bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University. Ms. Schaffer currently resides in Los Angeles, Montecito and Seattle with her husband and frequent creative collaborator, Jeff Schaffer, along with their two young daughters.
About MOXI
MOXI, The Wolf Museum of Exploration + Innovation® is dedicated to igniting learning through interactive experiences in science and creativity. Located in the heart of Santa Barbara’s redeveloped tourist area at 125 State Street, the museum is LEED-certified Gold and serves guests of all ages through its hands-on exhibits and education programs. MOXI is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization generously supported by its daily guests, members, facility rentals and donations from individuals, foundations and corporate partners. For more information, visit moxi.org.
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