OUR LEADERSHIP

Doug is a meteorologist and the former Director of the Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District. Doug and his wife, Margaret, have lived in Goleta for 32 years and are the parents of two grown children. 

Ryan has developmental disabilities and lives in his own 2-bedroom apartment in Santa Barbara with full-time support and attends Alpha. His older sister, Katie, lives in Goleta with her husband, Aaron and their two children, Harry and Billy. Margaret taught first grade at Catholic schools for over 30 years and still keeps her hand in teaching while volunteering in the community.

Paul is a semi-retired engineer and entrepreneur.  He enjoys helping non-profit organizations.

In 1983 he graduated with honors with a BS degree in Electrical Engineering from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.  Paul then moved to Goleta to start work at Delco Systems Operations.  In 1990 he completed his Master of Science degree in Electrical and Computer Engineering from UCSB.  In 1996, Paul left his position at Delco as a design engineer in advanced research and development to start his first company, Multiplex Engineering Inc.  Other business efforts have come and gone, but Multiplex Engineering has always been successful and is still ongoing.
Paul is the father of Kevin who is diagnosed with moderate to severe autism. Through his involvement in raising and caring for Kevin, Paul has had the opportunity to know the amazing staff and great programs at Alpha.  

Paul is an Airport Commissioner, and a member of the camp committee for Rancho Alegre Outdoor School.  He also helps with Adaptive Athletics baseball, and the Hidden Wings School hiking group.  He is a former leader of Boy Scout Troop 4 in Goleta where he has earned the unusual honor of receiving 11 Eagle Scout mentor pins.  His hobbies include flying his airplane, gardening, cooking, beer making, and trapeze.

Paul is married to Terri Bowen who is the mother of Kevin, and Paul’s Cal Poly sweetheart.  They reside in Goleta.  

Lauren is currently the North America Ecommerce Director for the UGG and Koolaburra by UGG brands. In this role she is responsible for the P&L, strategy and operations of the U.S. and Canada UGG.com sites and the U.S. Koolaburra.com site. 

Lauren started her career in finance at Houlihan Lokey with a focus on mergers and acquisitions. She transitioned to the retail industry joining Coach in NYC in 2009, and then Deckers Brands in Santa Barbara in 2014. Lauren has had the opportunity to hold a variety of roles at Coach and Deckers Brands, gaining experience across all key channels and regions. She's well-versed in ecommerce, wholesale, retail, and distributor business models, and has led projects spanning 20+ countries across the Americas, EMEA, and APAC. 

In her current role, Lauren is responsible for the strategy, P&L, and operations of the UGG.com and Koolaburra.com North America businesses. The role requires significant stakeholder management and cross-functional collaboration. She manages relationships and coordination across a variety of teams, such as site operations, digital technology, merchandising, marketing, call center, distribution center, retail and wholesale partners, finance, and more. Lauren is invested in developing her team and empowering them to become the next wave of leaders.

She is also the executive sponsor and co-founder of the employee resource group ("ERG") Deckability, which focuses on increasing disability inclusion at Deckers Brands and has spearheaded corporate training, retail store manager training (with the help of Alpha!), safe spaces for both guided and open discussions, facility accessibility reviews, community service events and donations, and changes to recruiting and hiring policies. Before Lauren launched the ERG, she was also able to create an adaptive UGG product capsule in partnership with the Zappos Adaptive team.

Lauren has a BS Commerce from the University of Virginia. She is knowledgeable about autism and the related services available for elementary-aged children in Santa Barbara.

Jennifer is the mother of Theo, a 20-year-old young man with Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome (LGS), a rare, catastrophic form of epilepsy that has left him intellectually and developmentally disabled.

As Director of Family Support, Jennifer is responsible for engaging with families that are new to the organization and offering support, resources, and connections with others in their area. They are the only organization in the world dedicated to LGS and the private online support group has close to 7,000 members. She also runs a monthly support group through Zoom for the LGS caregiver community.

In addition to supporting families, Jennifer is responsible for building relationships with industry partners, writing grants, and requesting sponsorship for programs and events that have brought in over $500,000 in 2023 thus far.

She also oversees the LGS Foundation’s Advocacy Program and has attended Rare Disease Week on Capitol Hill to advocate on policy issues relevant to the rare disease community. Jennifer is preparing to launch an educational series on the fundamentals of advocacy on a newly acquired learning management system.

In 2008, she was accepted into the Partners in Policymaking program through the Arc of CA which ignited a passion in her for people with disabilities and sent her on a new career path. This led to Jennifer's employment with Alpha Resource Center in the Children and Family Services (currently Lifespan Support Services) department. Her role at Alpha varied from IEP advocacy to running a support group, educating families, and advocating at all levels of government.

After 9 years working with local Santa Barbara families, Jennifer moved on to her current role with the LGS Foundation (LGSF) where she's been since 2018. Prior to her employment with the LGS Foundation, she served on the LGSF Board of Directors for 3 years.

Jennifer has a BFA from the University of Windsor in Ontario, Canada. She's originally from Toronto and lived there until 1999 when she and her family moved to Santa Monica, CA. In Toronto, she had a career as an actress, singer, and voice-over artist. Jennifer appeared in television, commercials, and onstage, most notably in the 1989 Broadway production of Shenandoah. She has performed with Alpha participants at past Circle of Life Luncheons because, as she says, "Who wouldn’t want to sing with Dennis & Lavena?"

Joe attends Alpha's CatOaks Day Program where, among other activities, he participates in the band, Rockability. He enjoys performing for audiences and did a cover of Johnny Cash's Ring of Fire at a recent Alpha Gala. He is also a member of the theater group, playing both leading and supporting roles.

Before joining the CatOaks program and continuing to this day, Joe has been a member of Alpha's social rec program, Katie's Fund. He brings a friendly smile to every occasion and is a welcoming presence among his peers. 

Evelynn had the opportunity to observe the staff at Alpha Resource Center and how they related to the participants when she led a support group for participants at Alpha who had unresolved grief issues due to the death or abandonment of loved ones. She was so impressed that she enrolled Michelle at Alpha. Evelynn says, “It is hard to imagine the Michelle who started at Alpha is the same Michelle of the present. She was shy and it was difficult to carry on a conversation with her. Today, Michelle is very outgoing and friendly (perhaps too much!) SlingShot, Alpha’s art studio, has become a very important part of her life where she has been recognized for her artistic ability, and she is impressed that she can make money from her art sales. Her confidence, through SlingShot and Alpha, has enabled Michelle to mature in ways that I never thought possible.”

Evelynn has served on the Women’s Advisory Board of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the Lobero Theater Associates, Assistance League Santa Barbara, the board of CALM, and the Advisory Board of Devereux, California. Evelynn has served as a board member on the Wyoming Governor’s Council of the Developmentally Disabled.

She received her BA in Education from the University of Denver, and a master’s degree from Pacifica Graduate Institute in Counseling Therapy. Over 20 years ago, Evelynn started Angels Bearing Gifts, a non-profit now numbering 200 beneficiaries, which remembers those individuals with IDD who have no one to remember them on their important days. She is an ongoing advocate for individuals with special needs.

Tyler is an internationally acclaimed event planner, designer, and florist, partnering with couples and brands to produce unique, trend-setting luxury events across the globe. Named “Best Overall Vendor” in California for three years in a row by California Wedding Day Magazine, Tyler Speier Events (founded in 2009) has grown from a small family business (working out of our garage in Goleta) to one of the most recognized event planning brands in the world, featured multiple times in Martha Stewart, People, Brides, and more. 

Recently, Tyler was named the Event Designer for Engage! Santa Barbara (taking place in December 2025) - an internationally acclaimed luxury wedding conference, bringing 500+ of the top event professionals in the world to Santa Barbara, California. He is excited to partner with the Ritz Carlton Bacara, Santa Barbara Chamber of Commerce, and the local community to bring this event to Santa Barbara to boost the local economy and showcase the incredible event resources we have in Santa Barbara with the luxury event planning world. 

Growing up in Santa Barbara, he has a deep love of his community and is raising his three children (with another one on the way) alongside his wife, Taylor Speier. Since high school, Tyler has been working with individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities: he was a Respite Worker in high school working with an individual with cerebral palsy, and then in college he was a caregiver for an individual with cerebral palsy. 

In the early days of his event business, Tyler also worked at the Isla Vista Youth Projects, where he worked on their capital campaign: writing grants, cultivating donor relationships, planned events, and worked with the Board on fundraising efforts. Tyler and Taylor are certified foster parents, and over the past 10 years, have had 4 foster kids. Tyler is excited about the prospect of bringing his unique perspective and talents to the board at Alpha Resource Center.

Marc is a highly motivated artist who has lived in Santa Barbara for over 20 years. Marc is an inspiring advocate for SlingShot Art Studio and Gallery. He has served on the Board of ARC Santa Barbara for four years. 

Marc’s work is frequently featured in the SlingShot Gallery. He has completed a number of commissions, including a recent series of historical figures for a local publishing house. He works predominantly in a graphic, illustrative style with bold line and color. His favorite subjects are bugs and mechanical devices; but he also enjoys creating fantasy and real-life landscapes. Marc is influenced by scenes and characters from sci-fi films, video games and Japanese anime. 

Marc’s participation at Slingshot enables his dream of a career as a professional artist, providing him with a sense of community and a valued vocation. He is a shining example of Alpha’s mission statement in action.