Category: Education

Best of 2021 from People’s Self-Help Housing!

It’s been another year like no other, but one marked with so much success because of strong partnerships, faithful support and visionary investments. Thank you for the part you have played in these stories, every one only possible because of the advocacy, the goodwill and the philanthropic support of people like you. 

Thank you for continuing to build so much more than housing with us!  

Jan. 14 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents New York Times bestselling author Anne Lamott as part of its House Calls virtual series

In this candid, insightful and hilarious program and Q&A, bestselling author Anne Lamott shares her “Notes on Hope” and will help us rediscover the nuggets of hope that are buried within. 
Lamott is the author the author of seven novels, Hard Laughter, Rosie, Joe Jones, Blue Shoe, All New People, Crooked Little Heart and Imperfect Birds.  

Jan. 16 — Social Justice Fund for Ventura County’s 2020 Fellowship Grantees to speak

With Chalice of Newbury Park, the Social Justice Fund of Ventura County is sponsoring a Community Forum where 3 of our Social Justice Fellows are speaking. Come and hear about their projects and their passion for social justice and spend a very inspiring evening. The 2020 Social Justice Fellows will talk about their projects followed by an interactive Q & A.

Feb. 4 — MVC Presents ‘Ivor Davis: Up Close & Personal with Malcolm McDowell’

We’re thrilled to announce the next installment of Ivor Davis: Up Close & Personal with legendary actor and raconteur extraordinaire Malcolm McDowell.

Join us on Zoom on Thursday, February 4, 2021 @ 6:30pm—7:30pm for what is sure to be a compelling conversation.

Ivor Davis: Up Close and Personal, a new Zoom series featuring a rotating guest list of notable and celebrated Ventura County residents, including Chris Hillman, Malcom McDowell, Miriam Arichea, and more. This new series is free and open to the public with registration.

Feb. 8 — CSUCI students’ journey through the Arctic captured in “Frozen Obsession” documentary 

The public is invited to join four CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) students as they relive the 18-day, 2,000-mile research journey they took through the breathtaking Canadian Arctic archipelago during the summer of 2019. 

Viewers who RSVP online can experience the expedition through “Frozen Obsession,” a documentary about the journey that will air live on YouTube Monday, Feb. 8 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.  

Feb. 9 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Protecting Public Land, an evening with Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard in conversation with Hal Herring

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents an evening with the founder of Patagonia, Yvon Chouinard. Chouinard will present Protecting Public Land, in Conversation with Hal Herring on Tuesday, Feb. 9 at 5 p.m. Pacific. A moderated conversation with Chouinard and featuring clips from Patagonia’s recent film,Public Trust. In a time of growing polarization, Americans still share something in common: 640 million acres of public lands. But today, despite support from voters across the political spectrum, these lands face unprecedented threats from extractive industries and the politicians in their pockets. This conversation with journalist Hal Herring will explore the future of our public lands and our planet.

Feb. 12 — UCSB Arts & Lectures celebrates Valentine’s Day with Two of Today’s Most Exciting Classical Musicians Alisa Weilerstein, cello and Inon Barnatan, piano

UCSB Arts & Lectures celebrates Valentine’s Day with Two of Today’s Most Exciting Classical Musicians Alisa Weilerstein, cello and Inon Barnatan, piano on Friday, Feb. 12 at 5 p.m. Pacific.American cellist Alisa Weilerstein and Israeli pianist Inon Barnatan have come together for a bracing and beautiful recital filmed at La Jolla’s Conrad Prebys Performing Arts Center. Weilerstein is a MacArthur Foundation “Genius,” widely acclaimed for the precision and passion of her playing, while Barnatan is regarded as “a true poet of the keyboard” (Evening Standard, U.K.).

Feb. 16 — CLU School of Management to present Founder and CEO of nédl – ‘Listening to That ‘Little Voice’: Your Guide to Success’

We are excited to invite Ayinde Alakoye, founder of n?dl (as in, “the haystack”), the live audio platform to “Find Voices & Be Heard.” Alakoye created the original iHeartRadio app for Clear Channel, was a speechwriter for President Barack Obama, and is competing with Clubhouse with a new audio start-up that transcribes words as you speak.

Feb. 17 — Keri Dearborn and Mike Watling of Friends of the Island Fox to be featured presenters at the Channel Islands Maritime Museum Speaker Series

The Channel Islands Maritime Museum is proud to welcome Keri Dearborn and Mike Watling of Friends of the Island Fox to its 2021 Speaker Series on Wednesday, February 17th, starting 5:30 pm. Due to ongoing COVID-19 restrictions, this will be an on-line event on the Museum’s website at www.cimmvc.org.

Feb. 19 — Santa Maria Joint Union High School District, Allan Hancock College to virtually present ‘A Time to Take a Stand’

The Santa Maria Joint Union High School District and Allan Hancock College will virtually present “A time to Take a Stand” in observance of Black History Month on Friday, February 19th.

The event, which starts at 12:45 p.m. and ends 3:15 p.m., is hosted by the Center for Leadership Equity and Research in collaboration with the Central Coast NAACP & Center for Culturally Proficient Educational Practice.

Feb. 20 — VCCCD announces Cash 4 College workshops

To help students overcome the challenge of paying for college, Moorpark College, Oxnard College, Ventura College and Ventura College East Campus are holding free Cash 4 College workshops via Zoom. A workshop will be held on Feb. 6 and Feb. 20, and students can drop in anytime during the session (details below). Bilingual financial aid staff will assist students in completing applications for the 2021-2022 school-year FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) or the California Dream Act Application (CADAA). The workshops are free and open to the community; people may attend a workshop on either date.

Feb. 24 — SBCC’s Atkinson Gallery Art Talk ‘Introducing Cosmovisión Indígena’

SBCC’s Atkinson Gallery, in conjunction with the SBCC Foundation, invites everyone interested in art and science — past and present — to a conversation with the creative team behind its upcoming project and exhibition, “Cosmovisión Indígena: The Intersection of Indigenous Knowledge and Contemporary Art.” 

The group discussion, scheduled via Zoom on Feb. 24 at 4 p.m., will provide the regional community an opportunity to learn about and engage with the project as the research process begins. “Cosmovisión Indígena” will trace the history, science, and contemporary uses of Mesoamerican dyeing and weaving, while exploring the mythology, ritual, and storytelling used to preserve and pass on this traditional knowledge.

Feb. 25 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Visual Artist, Photographer and Advocate, LaToya Ruby Frazier for ‘Art as Transformation: Using Photography for Social Change’

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Visual Artist, Photographer and Advocate, LaToya Ruby Frazier for Art as Transformation: Using Photography for Social Change, an illustrated virtual presentation and Q&A on Thursday, Feb. 25 at 5 p.m. Pacific. 

Acclaimed photographer and MacArthur Fellow LaToya Ruby Frazier depicts the unsettling reality of today’s America: post-industrial cities riven by poverty, racism, healthcare inequality and environmental toxicity. Her groundbreaking series “Flint is Family” was named one of the 25 Most Influential Works of American Protest Art Since World War II by The New York Times. 

Feb. 26 — Black history, culture, literature and scholarship celebrated with two Broome Library lecture series

It’s 1936 and young Opal Pruitt is growing up in Parsons, Georgia where the tension is thick with the Depression, the summer and the Ku Klux Klan.

This is the premise behind “When Stars Rain Down” by award-winning author Angela Jackson-Brown, a rising star in the African American literary community, and a guest speaker Feb. 26 for CSU Channel Islands’ (CSUCI) Broome Library Monthly Recognition Lecture Series.

Each month, the John Spoor Broome Library will welcome a speaker that celebrates a theme from the California Department of Education’s calendar. Jackson-Brown’s presentation honors February as Black History Month. March is National Women’s History Month and April is Poetry Month and Autism Awareness Month, and so on.

March 4 — Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara announces Collectors Series | Christie’s x MCASB

Join us this week as Vivian Brodie, Associate Vice President, Specialist, working in Private Sales at Christie’s in New York leads a walkthrough and discussion of the Post-War to Present Day Sale. This exclusive walkthrough will offer an early glimpse of the exciting work on sale, including artists Elaine de Kooning, Ruth Asawa, Henry Taylor, Beatriz Milhazes, and Titus Kaphar, and will provide insight into how to work with an auction house.

Post-War to Present jumpstarts Christie’s Spring 2021 auction season in New York with artwork spanning the Post-War era to the most celebrated contemporary artists of today. Click here to read more about this event.

March 4 — SBMA to present Art Matters Lecture (via Zoom) ‘Expert Hands, Infectious Touch: Painting and Pregnancy in Morisot’s The Mother and Sister of the Artist’

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art will present FREE “Art Matters Lecture (via Zoom) ‘Expert Hands, Infectious Touch: Painting and Pregnancy in Morisot’s The Mother and Sister of the Artist” with Mary Hunter, Associate Professor, Art History and Communication Studies, McGill University at 3 p.m. Thursday, March 4.

March 4 — UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) to present Race to Justice Winter 2021 virtual events

UCSB Arts & Lectures (A&L) announces Race to Justice Winter 2021 virtual events, part of A&L’s season-long, in-depth look at systemic racism. This effort engages leading activists, creatives and thinkers to expand our understanding of racism and how race impacts society and to inspire an expansive approach to advancing racial equality. 

March 4 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Legal Scholar and Social Justice Advocate, Michelle Alexander for ‘The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness’

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Legal Scholar and Social Justice Advocate, Michelle Alexander for The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness on Thursday, Mar 4 at 5 p.m. Pacific. New York Times columnist Michelle Alexander is the author of The New Jim Crow, the acclaimed bestseller that “struck the spark that would eventually light the fire of Black Lives Matter” (Ibram X. Kendi). Marked by a special 10th anniversary edition release, her celebrated book continues to peel back the curtain on systemic racism in the American prison system. 

March 7 — SBMA to present ‘Parallel Stories (via Zoom) A Conversation with Claudia Rankine’

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art will present FREE “Parallel Stories (via Zoom) A Conversation with Claudia Rankine” at 2 p.m. Sunday, March 7.

Acclaimed author Claudia Rankine joins SBMA for a conversation “on the path to understanding.” The talk begins with a screening of selections from Situations, a series of ten short videos collaboratively produced by documentary filmmaker John Lucas and Rankine.

March 7 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Ann Patchett, Live from Parnassus Books in Nashville, in Conversation with Lily King, Author of Writers & Lovers

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Ann Patchett in Conversation with Lily King, Author of Writers & Loverson Sun., March 7 at 11 a.m. Pacific. Patchett is a celebrated author, devoted reader and a champion of literary culture. She has written 13 books and has been the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships, including England’s Orange Prize, the PEN/Faulkner Award and a Guggenheim Fellowship. Patchett opened Parnassus Books in 2011 and has been named one of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for her efforts on behalf of independent booksellers, books and bookstores. Patchett’s most recent novel, The Dutch House, was a finalist for the 2020 Pulitzer Prize. She’ll join the conversation from “the happiest place in Nashville” (The New York Times), Parnassus Books.

March 9 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Grammy-winning Mandolin Virtuoso Chris Thile

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Grammy-winning Mandolin Virtuoso Chris Thile on Tues., March 9 at 5 p.m. Pacific. MacArthur Fellow Chris Thile is a mandolin virtuoso, composer and vocalist with a broad outlook that encompasses classical, rock, jazz, bluegrass and just about everything else. The SoCal native is a member of Punch Brothers and Nickel Creek and hosted the acclaimed radio program Live From Here. Through his wide-ranging output and collaborations with the who’s who of musicians, Thile is creating a distinctly American canon and a new musical aesthetic. As a soloist, Thile has released several albums including Thanks for Listening, a “modern masterpiece” (PopMatters). Recent collaborations include Not Our First Goat Rodeo (2020) with Yo-Yo Ma, Stuart Duncan and Edgar Meyer, the highly-anticipated follow-up to their Grammy-winning project The Goat Rodeo Sessions with Edgar Meyer and Yo-Yo Ma.

March 9 — Economic Development Collaborative (EDC) Special Webinar for Commercial Tenants & EDC FREE webinar schedule

Join us for a discussion around next steps for commercial tenants and landlords, things to consider and opportunities to move forward. This webinar will be a panel discussion between EDC SBDC financial, legal and operations advisors.

March 11 — CLU School of Management announces Virtual events for our community

Wed., March 10   |  12-12:45 PM (PT)

Robert will talk about the emotional rollercoaster rides and key learnings when starting a contemporary art space in Mexico City, building an artificial island on a river with New York artist Vito Acconci and relaunching Carl Suchy & Söhne, the most important luxury watchmaker of the former Austro-Hungarian empire.

FIND OUT MORE

March 14 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Chef, Restaurateur and Humanitarian José Andrés for Changing the World Through the Power of Food in Conversation with Catherine Remak, career broadcaster and co-host of Mornings with Gary and Catherine

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents chef, restaurateur and humanitarian José Andrés for Changing the World Through the Power of Food in Conversation with Catherine Remak, career broadcaster and co-host of Mornings with Gary and Catherine on Sunday, March 14 at 5 p.m. Pacific.
A two-star Michelin chef with an award-winning group of restaurants, several cookbooks and whose Spanish-inspired food popularized tapas-style small plates in the U.S., José Andrés is not resting on his laurels. Through his nonprofit World Central Kitchen, the award-winning chef has responded to an earthquake-devastated Haiti, Hurricane Maria-ravaged Puerto Rico, a refugee crisis on the Venezuelan border and right here in wildfire-scorched Southern California, quickly mobilizing volunteer chefs to prepare fresh, nourishing meals for thousands of people in need. During the coronavirus pandemic, Andrés led the charge to provide food relief to the elderly, those suddenly without work and frontline health care and essential workers.

March 14; Feb. 4 — UCSB Arts & Lectures announces House Calls Winter 2021, a newly added suite of virtual events through March featuring intimate, interactive online concerts, conversations and Q&As

Events include: Grammy-winning mandolin virtuoso Chris Thile; and chef, restaurateur and humanitarian José Andrés.

March 16 — SBMA to present ‘What You Become in Flight: A Conversation with Ellen O’Connell Whittet (via Zoom)’

The Santa Barbara Museum of Art will present “What You Become in Flight: A Conversation with Ellen O’Connell Whittet (via Zoom)” at 5 p.m. Tuesday, March 16.

In this searingly raw and graceful first book, author Ellen O’Connell Whittet explores both the joy of learning to jump and the safety of landing. Sorrow, violence, love, fear, hunger, and pain run through this memoir that critics have called “enthralling,” “poignant,” and “exquisite.” Join the author for a conversation that opens out the personal to the universal questions of self-worth, the desire to disappear, the loss and reclamation of our own voice, and what it feels like to look at a body and see a story.

March 17 — CLU School of Management to present ‘How to find the right market for your idea or innovation’

Every now and then, we come up with a fantastic idea or invent a super cool technology that could become the next big thing, but it’s very difficult to figure out who will pay for it and how to monetize your innovation. In this presentation, Ade will talk about how to commercialize your innovation sharing lessons and frameworks from his time commercializing research projects at USC and building his own startup.

March 23 — Bilingual report — CEC Offers Affordable Electric Vehicle Clinic

The Community Environmental Council (CEC) will host Affordable Electric Vehicle Clinic: How to Qualify for a Free or Low-Cost EV on Tuesday, March 23, 2021 from 12:00 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. The clinic is offered in partnership with Ecology Action, with support from Electrify America and Access Clean California.
This FREE virtual clinic is open to the public and will be presented in English with Spanish interpretation. Those interested in attending must register in advance at http://bit.ly/3bg0vlf.

March 24 — CLU School of Management — Learn how marketing to the US Latino Cohort is good for the bottom line

In this webinar, Andrea will discuss the key role that brand and digital marketing play in business strategy and success. Learn how authenticity is the key factor in driving impact, and how directing your marketing campaigns toward the U.S. Latino Cohort will enhance the bottom line. Andrea’s strength is in creating unique experiences that provide value for the brand and the consumer alike. You’ll learn how and why; plus, you’ll leave with fun marketing tips, new ideas, and powerful facts and data about The New Mainstream Economy and why the future of marketing should center around the Latinx Cohort.

March 25 — SEEAG Live Auction To Raise Money for Farm Fresh Mobile Classroom Van

Students for Eco-Education & Agriculture (SEEAG) is holding a live online auction March 25 from 5:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. to raise money for a Farm Fresh Mobile Classroom van. An online silent auction will take place March 23 to March 25.

Items to be auctioned include farm-to-table dinners, golf outings, restaurant and winery gift cards, bed and breakfast stays and gift baskets.

March 28 — Teatro de las Américas to present ‘Inventing Life,’ doc/film

Inventing Life is a doc/film about Tell Tale, a theatre-dance piece that engages the authors and their two children. A piece of life on stage, that should have opened in California and Oregon in April 2020, remaining on the verge of our common uncertain future. An engaging, poetic work about the unfinished: a search to elevate the present to a mutual encounter between distant human beings.
The documentary has been filmed in theaters, locations in wild nature and in abandoned spaces: a theater company working in the absence of live performing. A proof of necessity. A dialogue with nature and with a theatre crowded by absents.

April 7 — CSUCI Campus Reading Celebration book examines racism hidden in search engines

 If you run “Black girls” through a search engine, what sorts of results do you get? Are they sexualized? Derogatory? Do search engines on the internet really provide a level playing field for all? 

The author of the 2021 CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Campus Reading Celebration selection argues that they do not.  

“Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism,” by Safiya Umoja Noble, Ph.D., explains how a combination of private interests in promoting certain sites, along with the monopoly status of a relatively small number of internet search engines, leads to a biased set of search algorithms that discriminate against people of color — specifically women of color, and promote white privilege.  

April 9 — Matthew Desmond, ‘Evicted’ author, to offer keynote address at homelessness symposium

United Way of Ventura County is excited to announce its United to End Homelessness Virtual Symposium on Friday, April 9, at 9 a.m. PST. The symposium will feature Matthew Desmond, author of Pulitzer Prize winning bestseller “Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City,” as its keynote speaker. Following Desmond’s address, there will be an opportunity for a Q&A session with the author, which will then lead into a panel discussion with local experts — moderated by Henry Dubroff, editor of the Pacific Coast Business Times — on addressing homelessness.

The two-hour, virtual, one-time live event is one of many efforts United Way of Ventura County will be launching to continue bringing awareness to its United to End Homelessness initiative, honor its mission “to mobilize and inspire the caring power and resources of our community,” and address the shelter crisis in Ventura County.

April 10 — Out of the Pandemic Underworld: into the Light of Renewal Webinar Focuses on How We Can Emerge from the Pandemic

Out of the Pandemic Underworld: into the Light of Renewal is a virtual event hosted by Dream Tending creator Dr. Stephen Aizenstat that will take place Saturday, April 10th from 9 am – 12 pm. 

Dr. Aizenstat is inviting all those in the community to attend, as he will cover different ways we can emerge with a sense of renewal after being in the pandemic for over a year. He will also share how we can use our dreams and imagination to open our sense of creativity during this time to restimulate our creative thought process. 

April 13 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Health Psychologist and Bestselling Author Dr. Kelly McGonigal for The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection and Courage

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents health psychologist and bestselling author, Dr. Kelly McGonigal for The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection and Courage on Tuesday, April 13 at 5:00 p.m. Pacific. McGonigal is a health psychologist and a lecturer at the Stanford University Graduate School of Business, translating insights from psychology and neuroscience into practical strategies that support personal well-being and strengthen communities. She is the author of several books including The Willpower Instinct, The Upside of Stress and The Joy of Movement, which shows how and why movement is a powerful antidote to the modern epidemics of depression, anxiety and loneliness. Her 2013 TED talk “How to Make Stress Your Friend” is one of the most viewed TED talks of all time and in 2020, Oprah Magazine named her the first ever O! Visionary, celebrating people whose groundbreaking way of seeing the world means a better future for us a

April 16 — Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara to Host Virtual Fundraiser – StrongHER Together: Finding Strength through Sport

Girls Inc. of Greater Santa Barbara proudly invites the Santa Barbara community to its annual fundraiser, StrongHER Together: Finding Strength through Sport, streaming live on Friday, April 16th, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Registration for this family-friendly event is free and open to the public.

StrongHER Together will celebrate the unique power sports possess to help girls and teens discover their strengths and recognize their potential to be leaders of tomorrow. A recent global study of senior female business executives found that 94% of women C-suite executives played sports at one point in their lives.

April 16 — UCSB Arts & Lectures presents Critically-acclaimed Novelist Mohsin Hamid in conversation with Pico Iyer

UCSB Arts & Lectures presents critically-acclaimed novelist Mohsin Hamid in conversation with Pico Iyer on Friday, April 16 at 7:00 p.m. Pacific. Known for his ingeniously crafted literary works, the Pakistan-born novelist Mohsin Hamid has quickly emerged as a clarion voice of his generation. The internationally bestselling author of The Reluctant Fundamentalist, How to Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia and Moth Smoke, he takes on ethnic identity, class disparity and mass-urbanization in his bold, inventive work. He is the winner of the Betty Trask Award, a Pen/Hemingway Award finalist and has been twice shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, most recently for Exit West.