Board Of Directors Of The DPEA FoundatioN

  • Mike Brown (DPEA Vice Chair) holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from the California State Polytechnic University- Pomona and a Masters of Business Administration degree from California State University – Channel Islands. He had a 14 year career as a Project Engineer, Engineering Supervisor and Program Manager with Honeywell and was a Captain for Sky West Airlines for seven years. Currently he serves as the Vice President of Operations for Pacific Design Technologies. He and his wife Janice have twin sons who are juniors at the DPEA.
  • Lisa Wong Couch ​is a registered professional mechanical engineer in California.   She received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering at UC Berkeley. Lisa Wong worked for 34 years in heavy industrial engineering design and consulting for upstream energy (exploration and production of petroleum). and for 13 years she worked for Cheveron USA as a design engineer and natural gas coordinator. In 1995 she joined TJ Cross Engineers Inc. as President. The company provided multi-disciplined engineering and design for heavy industry clients. The company was sold in 2015 to Parsons Corporation.
  • Daren Hillebrandt (DPEA Foundation Secretary) is a graduate of California Polytechnic University, San Luis Obispo with a BS degree in Food Science and Technology. Daren worked in the food and healthcare industries for over 18 years with a focus in Product Development, Quality Assurance and Consumer Marketing. most recently being an owner of a start-up artisan food business. In addition to her professional career, Daren has been an active volunteer with her church and her girls' schools.
  • Daniel Huthsing (DPEA Foundation Chair) is a 2009 Graduate of the DPEA. He holds a Bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from UC Santa Barbara and currently works as an Engineer for Warren & Selbert, Inc..
  • Karen Lehman obtained her PhD in Child Clinical Psychology from the University of Washington in 1996, and works primarily in her private practice in Santa Barbara, CA. She has worked as a research fellow at the National Institute of Mental Health's Lab of Developmental Psychology, and has taught classes at the University of Washington, UCSB and Antioch University (Santa Barbara). She is currently the head of the Continuing Education program for the Santa Barbara County Psychological Association, and recently retired from the Advisory Commission for First Five of Santa Barbara County.
  • Eckart Meiburg received his Diplom and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Karlsruhe in Germany. As Professor of Mechanical Engineering at UC Santa Barbara, he teaches and conducts research in the field of computer simulations. Within the community, he has helped organize Science Fairs, and he has coached local Math Superbowl and Mathcounts teams.
  • ​Igor Mezic serves as the Director of the Center for Energy Efficient Design at the University of California, Santa Barbara where he also leads the Buildings and Design Solutions Group within the Institute for Energy Efficiency. He holds numerous scientific and technology awards, including the Sloan Fellowship and has a Ph.D. in Applied Mechanics from the California Institute of Technology.
  • Liz Salentine is a graduate of Cal Poly, SLO with a BS in Business Administration and a minor in Marketing. Liz worked for Electronic Data Systems (EDS) in the high tech industry for over 20 years. As an Advanced Systems Engineer and Program Manager, she supported contracts with General Motors, Hitachi Data Systems and the Navy Marine Corps. After retiring from the “corporate world”, Liz immersed herself in raising her two children and being involved in their schools and activities. Over the years, she has held many volunteer positions including serving as PTA President at Foothill elementary school.
  • Doug Whetter earned a Bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science from Marquette University and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Elmhurst College. He has worked as a Software Engineer in Santa Barbara for the past 30 years and currently works for LogMeIn, managing a team of software engineers developing state-of-the-art applications.​
  • Kevin Wojcik (DPEA Foundation Treasurer) is a DPEA alum, class of 2009. He attended UCSB and received his B.S. in Computer Science from the College of Creative Studies.  While attending UCSB, he also mentored the DPEA programming team for 3 years. Kevin has worked as a software engineer in San Francisco and Santa Barbara since graduating.

The DPEA Foundation gratefully acknowledges the past service and hard work of its former board members:
  • John Martinis, 2007-2011
  • Alison Butler, 2007-2012
  • Lisa Daniels, 2007-2012
  • Kathy Logan, 2007-2012
  • Lars Bildsten, 2007-2013
  • Denise Tisdale, 2012-2013
  • Eric Tran-Le, 2011-2014
  • Steve Green, 2011-2015
  • Gary Simpson, 2007-2016
  • Susan Christol Deacon, 2007-2016
  • ​Carol Rezec, 2014-2017
  • Mei Sheng Ng, 2012-2017
  • Sandy Seale, 2007-2018