March 28, 2019 — A veteran philanthropist from a pioneer family, a Ventura businessman who created a pizza empire and a Santa Barbara woman who took an unusual path to become a bank president are the newest members of the CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Foundation Board.
CSUCI welcomes the recently retired President of Pacific Western Bank, Central Coast Region, Lynda Nahra; President of one of the largest Domino’s pizza franchises in the U.S., Sam Hishmeh; and Limoneira board member Betsy Blanchard Chess, who has served on numerous nonprofit organizations supporting arts, culture, agriculture and education, to name a few.
“We are beyond pleased to have these distinguished supporters joining our Foundation board,” said President Erika Beck, Ph.D. “All three have deep roots in the community and bring a level of experience and knowledge that will be a tremendous asset to our board and to our University.”
The desire to preserve the rich history and assure a promising future for the region is in Betsy Blanchard Chess’ blood. She comes from a one of Ventura County’s pioneer farming families and has grown up with an appreciation for everything that keeps the area vital, including agriculture, the arts, civic involvement and quality education.
“In some ways, I feel being on the (CSUCI) Foundation board transcends everything,” Chess said. “I look at the University like an umbrella that covers the whole county. As it thrives and prospers, so does the whole area and so do the rest of the nonprofits.”
Chess has written extensively on Ventura County’s agricultural and business history and from 1988 to 2013, she was editor and publisher of what would become Central Coast Farm & Ranch magazine.
Chess has had a concurrent career as an arts manager and volunteer with positions that included Executive Director of the New West Symphony, interim Director of the Rubicon Theatre and Director of Development for the Museum of Ventura County. She’s a past president of the Rotary Club of Ventura, the Ventura Music Festival, and has served as a Cultural Affairs Commissioner for the City of Ventura.
In 2017, Chess joined the board of the Limoneira Company in Santa Paula – only the third woman on the board in the company’s 125-year history.
Sam Hishmeh believes his company and CSUCI have a lot in common as both started small and grew into prospering institutions without losing a sense of community.
“When I toured the campus, I noticed there is a sense of camaraderie and family and of people wanting to help other people,” Hishmeh said. “That is very much in line with what we do in our business. We have senior helping junior employees. We never lost our sense of family.”
Originally from Jordan, Hishmeh took a job as a delivery driver for Domino’s Pizza in 1984 so he could pay for his education at ITT Technical Institute. He was on a student visa at the time, but fell in love with the country and decided to make it his country.
After graduating with a degree in electronics, Hishmeh was promoted to general manager, then bought a failing Domino’s in Santa Paula for $1,500 – which he borrowed from his uncle.
Today, the store is in the same location and his family business owns 81 Domino’s stores, making it one of the largest franchises in the U.S. for the Michigan-based company. He and his brothers, who operate the business, are paid exactly the same to keep the family intact.
“I’m definitely passionate about education,” he said. “In our culture higher education is not optional. My brothers and I, every one of us is finished or on his way to finishing college. I believe a college education is more than the knowledge you gain. It’s about discipline and learning how to take projects full circle and how to solve problems in a methodical way.”
Lynda Nahra’s circuitous path to becoming the President of Pacific Western Bank on the Central Coast gave her a unique appreciation for education.
“One of the reasons I’m involved not only with CSUCI, but with other educational institutions, is because my education was so ill-advised,” Nahra said.
The New York native came to California in 1969 to attend California Western University, but knew so little about the college process that when she learned she made the dean’s list, she thought she had done something wrong and was in trouble.
Her mother was busy back on the East Coast trying to save the family home when Nahra’s father became ill, so there was no time to help her daughter navigate the college-going process.
Nahra hadn’t obtained a bachelor’s degree yet, but applied at Bank of America “not qualified for anything” she said, and the bank took a risk on her.
The risk paid off. Nahra attended the Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington, a three-year graduate level banking program, as one of the only students without an undergraduate degree. She ultimately became a bank president.
The stars aligned for Nahra and she worked hard, but never forgot how difficult it was to navigate the college experience with no help, so she is especially impressed with CSUCI’s numerous programs to help first generation students.
“I was like a fish out of water, not knowing where my classes were and with no navigation,” she said. “Once the students get into the fold, CSUCI has all these programs in place to help them. I love that.”
*Lynda Nahra photo courtesy of Noozhawk