January 5, 2010
TO THE CAMPUS COMMUNITY
Dear Colleagues:
I am pleased to announce the appointment of Kirsten Zimmer Deshler as our next Director of Governmental Relations, effective January 25, 2010.
Kirsten is an alumna of UC Santa Barbara, Class of 1987, with a degree in Political Science. Kirsten began her career in Washington, D.C., with the House of Representatives Education and Labor Postsecondary Subcommittee, which focused on the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Following that, Kirsten worked for a member of Congress from California assisting with legislative issues involving education, budget, tax, appropriations, and environmental issues. After six years, Kirsten was appointed as the Legislative Director and later the Deputy Director for Policy and Legislative Affairs for the Governor of Puerto Rico's Washington, D.C., office. Since moving back to Santa Barbara, where she was born and raised, Kirsten has been with the City of Goleta, first as a Management Analyst and most recently as the Public Information Officer.
I would like to thank CNSI Education Director Fiona Goodchild and Vice Chancellor for Research Michael Witherell, co-chairs of our search advisory committee, and each of our committee members (listed below) for their excellent work on this rigorous national search. I would also like to thank all of our colleagues who participated in the search process and provided input and advice.
During these challenging budgetary times, it is more important than ever for our campus to build on our strong relationships with our representatives at the federal, state, and local levels, and to effectively communicate UC Santa Barbara's vital contributions to our society. We look forward to Kirsten's leadership in working collaboratively with our faculty, staff, students, alumni, community members, and public officials to advance our advocacy efforts.
I would also like to take this opportunity to express our heartfelt thanks to Alissa Hummer for serving as our Acting Director of Governmental Relations. We are deeply grateful for her dedication to our campus and her willingness to take on the additional duties of this acting position during the past year. We look forward to Alissa's continuing valuable contributions as she returns to her original position as Senior Planner for our campus and our Long Range Development Plan.
Sincerely,
Henry T. Yang
Chancellor
Search Advisory Committee for the Director of Governmental Relations
Fiona Goodchild, Co-Chair, Education Director, California NanoSystems Institute
Michael Witherell, Co-Chair, Vice Chancellor, Research; Professor, Physics
Michael Brown, Professor, Education
Ronald Cortez, Associate Vice Chancellor, Administrative Services
Susan Gieg, Associated Students representative
Filiberto Nolasco, Graduate Students Association representative; GSA Vice President for External Affairs
Elizabeth Rogers, Staff Representative; Data Analyst, Office of Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment/Title IX Compliance
M. Stephen Weatherford, Professor, Political Science
Kim Yasuda, Professor, Art; Co-Director, UC Institute for Research in the Arts
Walter Yuen, Professor, Mechanical Engineering; Co-Chair, Isla Vista Commission
Consultant to the Committee:
Ricardo Alcaíno, Director, Office of Equal Opportunity