January 26, 2022

SB Museum of Natural History Announces 2022 Board of Trustees

The Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History is proud to announce Brad Willis as the 30th chair of its Board of Trustees. Mr. Willis has served on the Museum’s board for six years and previously served as Secretary and Member-at-Large. He accepted the chair position at the Museum’s annual meeting on January 25, 2022.

Mr. Willis shared, “The Museum of Natural History and Sea Center have been educating our community on the natural world that surrounds us for over a century. The passion and commitment of the Museum staff ensured that this mission could continue throughout the pandemic. I look forward to working with everyone at the Museum – staff, management, and other trustees – to fuel this can-do spirit, to further investments in the Museum’s collections and infrastructure, and to create magical new ways to connect our visitors to the natural world.”

Brad Willis joined Deckers Brands in March 2014 and is their Chief Technology Officer. He oversees Deckers' global IT operations, playing an important role in supporting various digital, CRM, and data analytics programs to fully connect with and serve consumers online, in retail stores, and across the wholesale distribution platform. Brad was previously Chief Information Officer & Vice President of Information Technology at West Marine and spent over 15 years with the LVMH Moet Hennessey Louis Vuitton Group. He is currently a member of the National Retail Federation’s CIO Council. Brad has enjoyed experiencing firsthand the important educational role that the Museum serves for newcomers to learn about the incredible natural habitat in the Santa Barbara area and beyond.

The Museum is also pleased to announce Terrence Valeski as Immediate Past Chair, Susan Parker as Vice Chair for Development, Venesa Faciane as Vice Chair for Governance, Salvatore “Tory” Milazzo as Vice Chair for Finance, Hank Mitchel as Secretary, and Keith Reichel as Member-at-Large.

For a full listing of the trustees and their bios, please visit sbnature.org/about/board.

Download Press Release (PDF)