Dec. 13, 2021 — The CSU Channel Islands (CSUCI) Foundation Board is welcoming two new members with a wealth of experience in banking and community investment opportunities.
The two new members are New Capital LLC Chief Executive Officer Beatriz Olvera Stotzer of Los Angeles and Montecito Bank & Trust Senior Vice President and Director of Community Banking Cari Shore of Ojai.
Interim President Richard Yao, Ph.D., said he is excited to welcome two such accomplished leaders in the community and looks forward to working with them both.
“We are fortunate to have these two innovative and entrepreneurial women join our board,” Yao said. “They not only bring incredible talent, experience and thought leadership to the Foundation, but also are deeply connected in our region and are committed to our mission as a University and to the work of the Foundation Board.”
Both businesswomen are strong advocates of higher education.
“I think education is the link to happiness,” Stotzer said. “You continuously evolve and you can’t do that unless you are constantly learning.”
“I never finished college and that’s something that has always been a regret of mine as I progressed through my career,” Shore said. “I’ve learned how important and impactful higher education can be. Not just from the perspective of learning, but also for developing relationships and confidence and in being able to find your place in the world. I was lucky I got professional guidance. I had a lot of people rooting for me, but an education can set you up with a foundation of confidence.”
Born and raised in Ojai, Shore is always looking for ways to help Ventura County thrive. She currently serves on the board of directors of the Ventura Family YMCA, the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy and The Townies, Inc., an organization dedicated to oral and written storytelling. Serving on CSUCI’s Foundation Board was an effortless decision for her, she said.
“I think of the University as a community center,” Shore said. “A place for people of all backgrounds, interests and economic circumstances. They all come together with this common ground of seeking knowledge. I think that’s so very important. Telling that story is why I’m most interested in joining the Foundation board.”
Shore brings almost 25 years of banking experience to the board. It’s a career that began for her when she was a teenager attending Nordhoff High School and a friend recommended her for a job as a check filer at Ojai Valley Bank.
“I couldn’t believe I had an actual job,” Shore said. “I’d put my nylons and my work dress in my backpack, change, then cross the street to go to work. It was an incredible opportunity.”
The job Shore enjoyed most was when she was promoted to bank teller and had a chance to work with people. She joined Montecito Bank & Trust in 2019.
Shore has earned many awards along the way. She was named one of the Top 50 Women in Business by the Pacific Coast Business Times (PCBT) in 2018 and 2019 and in 2018 through 2020, she was listed in the PCBT’s Who’s Who in Banking & Finance.
Stotzer comes to the board with more than 30 years of experience in business and economic development and asset building with a special focus on vulnerable women and families. The visionary social entrepreneur has served as an advisor to the Clinton administration, the Los Angeles mayor’s office, the Aspen Institute, and the Ford Foundation to name just a few. She also served on the California Women’s Foundation and was treasurer of Unidos, the largest Latina/o nonprofit advocacy organization in the U.S.
Stotzer describes her family’s immigrant experience as “unique.”
Stotzer’s parents immigrated to Los Angeles from Mexico for a number of reasons, including a quest for treatment for Stotzer’s brother, who had spinal muscular atrophy, a condition Stotzer’s sister would also develop.
“Also, my dad was a very famous musician in Mexico and wanted to be a part of the studio music community in Los Angeles,” she said. “He played bass and trombone.”
Stotzer smiled as she described her mother as “a housewife and a troublemaker” who was passionate about the U.S. and what it stood for, adding that she shares that passion.
Stotzer’s parents and six children lived in a one-bedroom home in Boyle Heights —surrounded by a community that was always available to help.
“Of all the things we had to endure, the incredibly generous people around us made it work for us,” Stotzer said. “My passion has always been that the Constitution guarantees opportunity, and I wanted to see it work in all that I do.”
Stotzer’s success story includes the CSU system. She earned a bachelor’s degree in Political Science from CSU Northridge and a master’s degree from San Jose State University. She is looking forward to all the possibilities that lie ahead for CSUCI.
“One of the things I think is an incredible gift at the University is all of the opportunities there are to physically develop the land to design a beautiful model community of all incomes, all faiths, all races,” Stotzer said. “I think this is how the University can sustain the remarkable record it has now.”
To learn more about the Foundation board, visit: CSUCI Foundation Board.