Museum Welcomes New Board Chair and Trustees
SANTA BARBARA, CA—The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History (SBMNH) is pleased to announce the appointment of Matthew Adams as Chair of its Board of Trustees and to welcome David Telleen-Lawton and Hank Mitchel as new members of the Board.
These appointments bring deep expertise in finance, technology, nonprofit leadership, and environmental stewardship, strengthening the Museum’s governance and long-term strategic vision.
Matthew Adams, Board Chair
Matthew Adams is Chief Executive Officer and Managing Partner at Mission Wealth, where he leads strategic growth, operational excellence, and organizational development while advising high-net-worth individuals, nonprofit organizations, and institutional clients.
Previously, Adams served as an Institutional Equity Trader at Roxbury Capital Management and held roles at Dimensional Fund Advisors supporting domestic and international trading and portfolio management. He holds a BA in Business Economics from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and an MBA in Finance from the University of Southern California.
Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Adams has been an active member of the Museum’s Board and now steps into the role of Chair, bringing financial and strategic leadership in support of SBMNH’s mission.
David Telleen-Lawton, Trustee
David Telleen-Lawton brings more than four decades of experience building technology companies and supporting nonprofit organizations through innovation and organizational change. A Stanford University graduate with BS and MS degrees in Industrial Engineering, his career reflects a strong commitment to community service.
He is a regular volunteer with the Community Environmental Council and Channelkeeper and has served since 2007 as a naturalist with Channel Islands Naturalist Corp alongside his wife, Karen. His service includes board roles with the Santa Barbara Audubon Society and the MIT Enterprise Forum, as well as international volunteer work supporting environmental and scientific research.
Hank Mitchel, Trustee
Hank Mitchel has lived in Santa Barbara since 2008 and brings a long history of nonprofit leadership and environmental engagement. An ordained Episcopal priest, he spent many years developing the Church of the Epiphany in Westlake Village, California.
Mitchel has served as a volunteer Naturalist with the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary, past president of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, a volunteer with Channel Islands Restoration, and a member of the California Leadership Council of The Nature Conservancy. He also previously served as a Docent at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.
