Melinda Cabrera named as new President and CEO at Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. — Vice president of United Way of Santa Barbara County, Melinda Cabrera, has been named as the new President and CEO at Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.

Ms. Cabrera will begin serving in her new role on August 14, 2023, according to SFSB.

SFSB says, the Blair Search Partners conducted a nationwide two month search to succeed Dr. Mary Dwyer. Dwyer led the Scholarship Foundation as interim president and chief executive officer since January 1, 2023.

Ms. Cabrera and her former organization UWSBC were a key figure during the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, helping many parents with child care services.

According to Noozhawk, as vice president of UWSBC Cabrera raised emergency funding to nearly 8,800 local individuals and families. Ms. Cabrera also helped raise $600,000 to help pay for child care for frontline workers, which saw more than 200 spaces created in the county for children, during the pandemic.

“I am honored to lead an organization with such an impressive history of increasing access to postsecondary education and creating opportunity in our community,” said Ms. Cabrera. "I believe in the power of education and know firsthand that it leads to positive outcomes for children and families."

Ms. Cabrera is a native of Apple Valley, California. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications at Loyola Marymount University before being named assistant director of guest services at the Santa Barbara Zoo.

She joined the United Way of Santa Barbara County in 2013.

In 2019, Cabrera was included in the Pacific Coast Business Times’ “40 Under 40” report.

"It is important to invest now in our youth so we can reap the benefits of a stronger, more stable community in the future," said Ms. Cabrera. "I look forward to contributing to the Scholarship Foundation’s rich legacy.”