DignityNOW Santa Barbara County

Aaron M. Edelheit is the CEO and Founder of Mindset Capital, a private investment firm. Aaron also was the Chief Strategy Officer of FLO Technologies, after being one of the first investors in the company, helping the company grow from a pre-revenue startup to raising $28 million and launching in over 500 Home Depot stores. FLO was acquired in January of 2020 by Fortune Brands.

In his previous role as CEO of The American Home, Aaron founded and grew a company from 16 rental homes to one that owned 2,500 single family rental homes and was sold in April 2015 to a publicly traded Real Estate Investment Trust.

Aaron also founded and ran a successful money management firm, Sabre Value Management from 1998 to 2011.

In 2018, IdeaPress published Aaron’s first book, The Hard Break: The Case for a 24/6 Lifestyle. The book makes the case for taking one day off from work, email and smartphones for a more productive, healthier and more creative life.

Aaron has served on the boards of non-profits such as the Moishe House Foundation and Global Village Project. And he is also a member of Social Venture Partners in Santa Barbara, California.

Aaron has also been featured and quoted in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Bloomberg, and CNBC among others and has given lectures on business and entrepreneurship in the U.S., Canada and South Africa.

Longtime Santa Barbara resident, business owner, and advocate for families, education, and refugees

Raina Jean-Marie Palta holds a BS in Psychology and an MS in Epidemiology and Biostatistics. She is an advocate for families, women, and children, inspired by her own lived experience. She lives in Montecito with her husband and their three children.

Rob Pearson served as the Executive Director of the Santa Barbara City Housing Authority from October 1988 to December 2016. He is now retired. Prior to being Executive Director, he served as its Deputy Executive Director for 6 years. The Authority currently provides over 4,600 units of low rent housing assistance to the South Coast. Their rental housing inventory has often been termed “the best public housing” in the nation. The balance of Rob’s professional career was with the City of Santa Barbara where he held various positions, the last being Housing and Redevelopment Manager. As the Redevelopment Manager for the City, Rob was responsible for the operation of the City’s Redevelopment Agency, the Community Development Block Grant program, Housing Rehabilitation program, and related planning and community development activities. He holds an undergraduate degree in Political Science and Public Administration from the University of California at Santa Barbara. One year of undergraduate study was completed at the American University of Beirut, Lebanon. His graduate work was completed at Cal State Northridge in Environmental Planning. Rob is also active in numerous civic organizations. He is past president of the Coastal Housing Partnership, board member and past president of Casa Esperanza Homeless Center, a member of the Housing Committee pf the Public Housing Authorities Directors Association, President of San Felipe Supportive Housing for the Disabled, a member of the Santa Barbara Housing Action Coalition and a founding board member of the Housing Trust Fund for Santa Barbara County. Rob also served as Vice President of AIDS Housing Santa Barbara and served as a Trustee and Vice-Chair of Goleta Valley Community Hospital for many years.

Daalia Refaat is a lawyer with 20+ years of experience in all areas of corporate, employment, and business law. She began her legal career in London as an associate in the U.S. capital markets group of an international law firm. After returning to California, Daalia held positions with a number of local Santa Barbara law firms. In addition to her legal practice, Daalia translates her lifelong passion for social justice and equity into creating more inclusive and diverse spaces for individuals, and helped form the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion team at Deckers Brands. She currently works as Senior Director, Legal Counsel for Deckers.

Daalia earned her undergraduate degree in Political Science and Religious Studies from UCSB and her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center in Washington DC. Daalia serves on the board of CALM as well as the Goleta Education Foundation, and she has previously served as a board member for the Gwendolyn Strong Foundation.

In her free time, you’ll find Daalia out running on the bluffs near Goleta, volunteering in the community, or spending time outdoors with her two very active sons.

Matt Riley leads many initiatives in renewables energy, with a specific passion to engage in the fight against climate change. As the Head of Grid-Scale Renewables at ENGIE North America, he led a global independent power producer during its transition from fossil fuel generation to a zero-carbon renewable energy future. Building more than two gigawatts of wind and solar energy projects during his tenure, ENGIE emerged as a leader in this important transition. Prior to his role at ENGIE, Matt co-founded Infinity Renewables, a leading renewable energy developer in the U.S. Infinity’s successful development of over four gigawatts of operating wind energy projects, representing the electricity use of over 1 million households, was capped by its acquisition by ENGIE in 2018.

Matt holds a Bachelor’s degree in Biopsychology and a Master’s of Environmental Science and Management from the University of California, Santa Barbara.

When Matt is not working you can find him spending quality time at the beach with his family and dog in Santa Barbara, California. His weekends often include adventuring in the hills or spending time out on the water.

Email: matt@dignitymoves.org

Nati Smith has a deep focus on positive impact through well being, creative arts, food, investment and philanthropy. She is a principal at Ponvalley, a family office focused on well being and empowering entrepreneurs addressing environmental challenges. She has served on Santa Barbara-area boards including KindMind, LotusLand, SB Contemporary Art Museum and has set up numerous art and children’s related programming at the Jewish Federation and more. She is publishing a children’s book series called Mish.

Nati, was born and raised in Jerusalem. She served in the Israeli Defense Forces and then studied at the Lauder School at Interdisciplinary College in Herzilya before moving to Los Angeles. While there, she set up a Vegan and Gluten Free bakery serving top coffee restaurants in Los Angeles and worked with several nonprofits including Stand With Us.

She currently resides in Santa Barbara with her husband and two children.

One of the premier realtors in Santa Barbara, with over $2.2 billion in sales and 1,800 transactions, Don works for Sotheby’s International Realty in the Montecito Office. In addition to residential real estate, Don has over a decade of experience in the luxury hotel and property development industry. Don has a passion for working with the unhoused population and finding solutions for this crisis. He believes that a home is the cornerstone for life. He is an active member of All Saints by-the-Sea Episcopal church. He is the co-chair of the Outreach Committee that primarily works with helping the unhoused, families and children. Don has lived with his husband, Simon, and their four dogs in Montecito for over 10 years.

Laurie Tumbler currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Fund of Santa Barbara. She chaired the Board from 2018-2020 and led the organization through incorporation and the formation of the new independent nonprofit organization.

Since moving to Santa Barbara in 2000, she has served on the Board of the Nonprofit Support Center and also was their interim Executive Director while they recruited a permanent Executive Director. During her tenure, the organization developed its first strategic plan and piloted a service to provide interim leaders to organizations experiencing leadership changes. The Nonprofit Support Center also developed a nonprofit consulting practice that helped regional nonprofits improve their business practices.

Laurie served on the Transition House Board for many years, chairing the Board from 2007-2008. She was part of the leadership team that shepherded the tax credit project to develop and construct the MOM’S supportive housing apartments on Cota Street providing much needed housing for families transitioning out of the Transition House emergency shelter program.

As a member of Social Venture Partners in Santa Barbara she led a team that secured a HUD grant to fund a new residential facility for homeless individuals struggling with mental illness. This project was in partnership with the Housing Authority of the City of Santa Barbara.

For several years, she was part of grant allocation committees for both United Way of Santa Barbara and the Santa Barbara Foundation.

After earning a B.A from the University of Illinois in History and English, Laurie pursued a career in financial services working in both insurance companies and bank trust departments. She founded and managed her own financial research company with clients in banking, investment management, and insurance on the east coast. Before moving to Santa Barbara, Laurie was a member of several nonprofit boards across the country serving agencies focused on the welfare of children and families.