GOLETA — Catherine Brozowski, Executive Director of the Audacious Foundation, and Chuck Flacks, Homelessness Services Coordinator for the City of Goleta and former president of LEAP’s Board of Directors, will be honored at the 2027 LEAP Awards, alongside Dr. Jesus Fandino, who will be recognized as Distinguished Alumnus.
The 2027 LEAP Awards Luncheon will be held at the stunning Hilton Santa Barbara Beachfront Resort on Friday, February 26, 2027. The lunch will bring together community leaders, philanthropists, and partners who believe in creating thriving futures for children and families.
Tickets and tables are on sale now and may be purchased online at: https://leapcentralcoast.org/event/2027-leap-awards/
“This honor from LEAP feels overwhelming. LEAP is the best nonprofit I’ve ever worked with, and I’m proud to have served on its Board for these past 9 years. Santa Barbara County is a land of great beauty and crushing inequality. LEAP serves as a foundation for personal transformation and ultimate success of its students and families. I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to serve this organization. To think that I had any measure of impact on LEAP and our community gives me tremendous lifelong satisfaction,” said Flacks.
Proceeds from the LEAP Awards will directly support community services, including:
• Early Education Programs and Children’s Centers
• Family Resource Center
• Diaper Bank, providing essential supplies to families in need
Dr. Jesus Fandino, an alumnus of the IV Teen Center, run by LEAP (then known as Isla Vista Youth Projects), shared: “The IV Teen Center gave me a community at a formative time in my life. It wasn’t just somewhere to go after school; it was people who believed I could be more than my circumstances. I carry that with me every day as a Chicano physician. Being recognized by the organization that helped shape me is something I’m deeply grateful for.”
“LEAP is a remarkable nonprofit organization. They continually aspire to do more, and to do better, to serve the children and families in our county. They are continually scanning for opportunities to serve more children and ensure the quality of care is best informed. Thank you to the entire LEAP team for your unwavering dedication to high-quality early childhood education and tending to the littles in our community,” said Brozowski.
Individuals and organizations interested in sponsoring the 2027 LEAP Awards may reach out to Kara Shoemaker, Director of Development at LEAP, at Karas@leapcentralcoast.org
Catherine Brozowski. Photos courtesy of LEAP: Learn. Engage. Advocate. Partner (LEAP).
Catherine Brozowski has served as the Executive Director of the Audacious Foundation for 11 years, a charitable foundation focused on Whole Child Education in Santa Barbara County. In her role, she partners with nonprofit allies to strengthen Santa Barbara County’s youth programs, with an emphasis on nature-based learning, healthy habits, and play.
Previously, Catherine was Vice President at the Orfalea Foundation for eight years, where she led the foundation’s Education portfolio—supporting broader student success efforts—and oversaw Operations, Finance, and Human Resources, including during the organization’s planned sunset. She has also served as Vice President of Programs at the Santa Barbara Foundation, and Corporate Giving Manager for Washington Mutual.
She serves on the Board of Leading from Within, as Vice Chair of Santa Barbara’s Foundation Roundtable, as an Advisory Board Member of the REACH Fellowship, and as a Girl Scout Co-Troop Leader. Catherine holds a B.A. from the University of California, San Diego and a Master’s of Public Administration (M.P.A.) with an emphasis in Nonprofit Management from the University of Washington. She has two children aged seven and fourteen—who keep her on her toes and regularly remind her that the best learning often includes a little risk, a few scrapes, and a lot of resilience.
Chuck Flacks.
Chuck Flacks has spent more than 40 years working in community development, affordable housing, social research, workforce development, and homelessness services. Much of his early career was in San Diego, working in communities that had long experienced poverty and disinvestment. While there, Chuck also raised his two children, Mo and Olivia, now adults.
Chuck grew up in Santa Barbara, attending Monte Vista Elementary, La Colina Junior High School, and San Marcos High School. He earned a BA from UC Santa Cruz, a Master in Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, and a master’s degree in family counseling from San Diego State University.
His career has moved between public policy and direct service, but the thread connecting his work has remained remarkably consistent. Guided by a personal motto — “Follow the love” — Chuck has sought out work that brings him close to people, communities, and causes he cares about.
After returning to Santa Barbara in 2015, Chuck focused his work on homelessness. He served as Executive Director of the Central Coast Collaborative on Homelessness, Program Director at PATH Santa Barbara’s homeless shelter, and as a consultant on homelessness programs and policy. He currently serves as Homelessness Services Coordinator for the City of Goleta. In 2023, Harvard Kennedy School profiled him as a “State Champion” for his work addressing homelessness.
Chuck is also a former President of LEAP’s Board of Directors, where he supported the organization through a period of growth and development. His connection to LEAP reflects the same principle that has shaped much of his career: finding work that strengthens community and following the love wherever it leads.
Dr. Jesus Fandino.
Dr. Jesus Jaime Fandino is an internal medicine hospitalist with Sutter Health, practicing at Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, where he cares for hospitalized patients. He aspires to grow into mentorship and leadership roles in medicine.
A proud product of the Central Coast, Jesus’s path to medicine began in Isla Vista, where as a teen he participated in the IV Teen Center, a program operated by Isla Vista Youth Projects (now known as LEAP). That early experience of community and mentorship shaped his belief that good care, like a strong community, is built on showing up for people.
Bilingual in Spanish and English, Jesus is deeply committed to the community that shaped him—a community where the mentors and staff who believed in him shared his Mexican American roots, showing him early what was possible. He is honored to return to LEAP as a Distinguished Alumnus.
About LEAP
LEAP: Learn. Engage. Advocate. Partner. mitigates the effects of poverty, racism, and trauma by providing high-quality, trauma-informed child care, comprehensive, culturally sensitive family support, and visionary community leadership.
We envision a community where children are loved, valued, and respected and families are supported to reach their highest potential. For more information, visit www.leapcentralcoast.org