BASIC NEEDS RESOURCES

Christine Bisson
Allan Hancock College
(805) 922-6966 x 3243
cbisson@hancockcollege.edu

After achieving the credential of a Registered Dietitian in 1994 and earning a Master of Science in Nutrition with honors in 2005 from the Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago, Illinois, Christine Bisson went on to work for the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) for six years in San Luis Obispo County. This provided Mrs. Bisson with many opportunities to learn about food insecurity and the daily challenges faced by local families. In addition, she was a member of the statewide WIC Nutrition Education Committee, participating in the development of a strategic plan, developing and reviewing curriculum and educational materials, conducting needs assessment surveys, training WIC staff, collaborating with community members and organizations for outreach events.

Mrs. Bisson is currently the Assistant Professor and Coordinator for the Food Science and Nutrition Program at Allan Hancock College, where she has been teaching since the year 2000.  She serves on the Food Security Task Force for the college, which began in 2015 and brought together students, faculty, and staff to assess and address food insecurity among students.  She participated in the development of the Santa Barbara County Food Action Plan, serving as a member of the nutrition workgroup.

Adam Green
Santa Barbara City College
(805) 965-0581 x4194
green@sbcc.edu

Adam Green has both his Master’s degree and Ph.D. in Wildlife Ecology from the University of
Wisconsin, Madison in 2000 and 2004 respectively. Dr. Green has been the Professor of Biology
and Environmental Studies at Santa Barbara City College (SBCC) since 2004, mentoring
students through the process of project design and implementation in his Students Sustainability
Coalition and Projects in Sustainability courses. Some of the projects completed include grant
writing that support better bicycle infrastructure and even a project that led to the city wide band
on plastic bags. Dr. Green has received a leadership award from the Green California Schools
and Community Colleges for Student Engagement in 2016 as many of his students have gone on
to full employment in the environmental field.
 
Currently, Dr. Green is the co-founder and Director of the Center for Sustainability. A notable
project from the Center includes designing and implementing a county wide school garden
program that reaches 8,000 children in K-8 schools of 9 different districts. Additionally, Dr.
Green has worked with dozens of faculty members to increase recycling and food scrap
collection for a Zero Waste program. Green also serves on the board of the Community Environmental
Council in Santa Barbara where he helped to conceptualize the County of Santa Barbara Food Action Plan.

Claudia Madrigal Johnson
Santa Barbara City College
(805) 898-8174
johnsoncl@sbcc.edu

Claudia Johnson is a Fulbright alumni fluent in English, Spanish and Portuguese who graduated
with a Masters in Latin American and Iberian Studies from the University of California, Santa
Barbara. Mrs. Johnson is the director of Dual Enrollment at SBCC, a program that increases
access to college for high school students and works closely with Santa Barbara Unified School
District’s Program for Effective Access to College (PEAC). This collaboration launched a
summer bridge to college program for underrepresented 8th-11th graders

An SBCC employee since 2007, Mrs. Johnson served as project coordinator and faculty liaison
prior to her current role, helping to develop tuition-free, non-credit programs in the School of
Extended Learning. She served as Continuing Education Instructor’s Association President from
2013 to 2015. Mrs. Johnson is a member of the Association for Community and Continuing
Education, an organization of California Community Colleges. She is also a certified trainer for
the California Adult Literacy Professional Development Project (CALPRO). In addition to her
administrative role, Mrs. Johnson teaches in the Adult High School/GED Program at Santa
Barbara City College, helping re-entry students ages 18-60+ strengthen their elementary and
secondary skills for career and life advancement.

Katie Maynard
UC Santa Barbara
(805) 448- 5111
kmaynard@geog.ucsb.edu

Katie Maynard works to support the University of California, Santa Barbara to become a more
sustainable community and campus through operational, research, co-curricular, and curricular
interventions. Ms. Maynard has been in this position since 2005 when she graduated from
UCSB’s College of Creative Studies in the Biology program.

With the launch of UC President Napolitano’s Global Food Initiative, Ms. Maynard as the
Sustainability Coordinator at UCSB stepped into the role of providing project management and
staff support to the UC Global Food Initiative (GFI) at UCSB and the two largest programs
within the UC GFI, the Healthy Campus Network (HCN) and the Food Access, Security, and
Basic Needs (FAS BN) Program. She regularly presents workshops to campus stakeholders on
the decision making process in the university, how to develop buy-in for projects, ways to inspire
colleagues to join and become leaders on new committees, and ultimately how to create change.

Ms. Maynard is also active in the University of California-wide Food Access, Security, and
Basic Needs (FAS BN) Program and represents UCSB at statewide meetings. She was one of the
authors of the 2016 Student Food Access and Security Study, which is the largest food security
study completed of any single university system.

Cynthia Toms
Westmont College
(805) 565-6025
ctoms@westmont.edu

Cynthia Toms has a Ph.D. in Higher Education from Azusa Pacific University, specializing in
global health education and food systems. She has held posts as assistant director of the Center
for Social Concerns at the University of Notre Dame and taught at Peking University and Huija
Private College in Beijing, China.

Since coming to Santa Barbara in 2013, Dr. Toms has partnered with the Food Bank of Santa
Barbara to research food security along with her students at Westmont College as the Associate
Professor of Kinesiology and Global Studies. Dr. Tom’s research focuses on the intersection of
student volunteerism and international development. Her dissertation entitled “Global
Development Through International Volunteerism and Service Learning: Who’s Saving
Whom?” was awarded Dissertation of the Year by both the Comparative International Education
Society (CIES) and the International Association for Research in Service-learning and
Community Engagement (IARSLCE). She also serves on the editorial board for globalsl.org, a
web-based initiative of scholars amassing evidence-based tools and peer-reviewed research to
advance best practices in global service, community-university partnership, and sustainable
development.