The SBCPA Welcomes New Board Members Timothy Fisher, Blake Jones & Leanne Schlinger

The Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts (SBCPA), which owns and operates the historic Granada Theatre, is pleased to welcome three new members to its Board of Directors: Timothy Fisher, Blake Jones, and Leanne Schlinger. The SBCPA's Board of Directors is committed to ensuring the success of The Granada Theatre, and to advancing the SBCPA's mission to support the vitality and sustainability of performing arts in Santa Barbara by providing a state of the art -venue and offering best-practice based administrative, sales and marketing support.

Timothy Fisher joined The Hillman Company in 1972 as an analyst in the investment department. He took a leave of absence from Hillman in 1974 to earn an MBA at the Colgate Darden Graduate School of Business, and returned to Hillman in 1976. By 1986 he was promoted to Vice President, and in 2004 he became Senior Vice President. Mr. Fisher retired as an officer of Hillman in December of 2014, but continues to serve as a member of its Board of Directors.

During his forty-two year career with Hillman, Mr. Fisher served as an officer or director of one hundred fifty seven private businesses and three publicly listed companies, Exide Corporation, Playtex Products and Colorado Prime. Mr. Fisher currently serves on the advisory boards of Owl Ventures, March Capital, Trilantic Capital Partners and Three Ocean Partners. Mr. Fisher is chairman of the board of Pennsylvania Pure Distilleries LLC, and serves on the boards of STRÖM Brand, StyleSelect, PepPod and MotoGP.

Over the years Mr. Fisher has also served on numerous nonprofit boards. He currently sits on the Advisory Council of UCSB's Arts & Lecturesprogram, and served as an officer or director of the Squam Lakes Association in New Hampshire for fifteen years, including four years as president.

Mr. Fisher was born and raised in New England, and received his BA from the University of Denver in 1971. He and his wife, Audrey, reside in Pittsburgh and spend time at their homes in Holderness, New Hampshire, and Santa Barbara.

Originally from Pasadena, Blake Jones attended the University of Colorado, Boulder where he graduated with a BA in International Relations. After traveling the world for two years and working for Quiksilver in Biarritz, France, Mr. Jones accepted a job with Jefferies and Co. as a specialist on the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange. In 1989, he joined the family business, Jones Trading, as an execution broker for Institutional Money Managers.

After 25 years as a stockbroker, Mr. Jones retired and moved his Family to Santa Barbara. He currently oversees his investments and is President of the Kirby-Jones Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to support K-12 education in the Santa Barbara area. He has a son, Owen (14) and a daughter, Ella (12), who both attend Crane Country Day School.

Leanne Schlinger graduated cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara, with a degree in Law and Society. She is a successful entrepreneur with ten years of experience in the vacation rental industry. She founded Santa Ynez Vacation Rentals in 2006, building a luxury and boutique vacation rental business in the Santa Ynez Valley.

Ms. Schlinger is very involved in the community and serves on the Board of Directors of MOXI (The Wolf Museum of Exploration and Innovation), Angels Foster Care, and the Santa Ynez Chamber of Commerce. She is also involved in various local nonprofits including the Junior League of Santa Barbara, Postpartum Education for Parents (PEP), Santa Barbara Youth Project, and the YMCA. She has been a resident of Santa Barbara for 15 years and currently resides there with her six-year-old daughter, Lila.

To learn more about how to support the SBCPA and The Granada Theatre, contact Hayley Firestone Jessup, Vice President for Advancement, at 805-899-3000 or hjessup@granadasb.org. For more information, visit www.granadasb.org.

The Santa Barbara Center for the Performing Arts (SBCPA), a privately-funded 501(c)(3) corporation established in 1983, is dedicated to providing best-in-class production, sales and administrative support to arts organizations from throughout the Santa Barbara region, including its Historic Theatre District partners (Lobero Theatre and the New Vic Theatre) as well as its eight resident companies (CAMA, Music Academy of the West, Opera Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Choral Society, Santa Barbara Symphony, State Street Ballet, Theater League and UCSB Arts & Lectures).

The SBCPA's most visible service is operation of The Granada Theatre. Purchased by the SBCPA in 2003, restored and reopened in 2008, The Granada Theatre has state-of-the-art electrical, sound, lighting and fly systems, large and up-to-date dressing rooms, as well as contemporary audience amenities. By providing a world-class venue with skilled house management staff, production staff, marketing and ticketing services staff, the SBCPA is making it possible for many of Santa Barbara's finest performing arts organizations to present their programs with the highest level of contemporary production support and audience comfort. For more information, visit www.granadasb.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.