Board of Directors & Advisors

Rod Lathim

Founding Board President & President Emeritus

Rod Lathim is a SBJHS Alumni and got his start on the Luke Stage. He pursued a career in the arts, and served as Founder and Artistic Director of Access Theatre (1979-1996) – an award-winning international touring company.  As Founding Board President of the Marjorie Luke Theatre, Rod oversaw the development, design and construction process of transforming the Marjorie Luke Theatre in 2003, inviting long-time friend Anthony Edwards to be the lead donor and name the theatre. He has continued to write, direct and produce theatre works, and produce many live events in Santa Barbara. UNFINISHED BUSINESS – his autobiographical play, Elaine Gale’s ONE GOOD EGG ; Olivia Newton-John LIV ON; The documentary film CITIZEN McCAW and The Premiere of WEST OF THE WEST – the documentary series on the Channel Islands, and many concerts for the Center for Successful Aging at the Luke. Rod loves being a sculptor and looks forward to a new show of his works featuring vintage found objects and neon. www.rodlathim.com.

Gerrie Fausett

President

Gerrie Fausett has served on the Board of The Marjorie Luke Theatre since its beginning. She was the principal of Santa Barbara Junior High School at the time of the renovation of the theatre. Prior to that she was the principal of Washington Elementary School, a teacher in Santa Barbara and in L.A. Unified and most recently was the superintendent of Hope School District. She is most proud of the fact that this theatre serves the entire population of Santa Barbara. It is a school auditorium first, serving the needs of the students of SBJH but doubles as the third largest professional, indoor venue in town. She is proud to continue to serve and support this award winning, affordable theatre.

Stephanie Roberson

Vice President

Stephanie Roberson found her calling and passion long ago in the world of live events and has transitioned that passion and calling to make a lasting impact on her community. She has a Bachelor’s in Technical Theater and in 2014 earned her Master’s in Art Administration from Drexel University. Driven to serve the community around her, Stephanie has worked to take an active role in the community. In the past, she served as the board chair with the Promotional Coordinating Committee, which is an arts advisory body for the City of San Luis Obispo. Currently, she is also the Treasurer for the Santa Barbara Chapter of Surfrider and President of the Echelon Cycling Club, a nonprofit for youth cyclists. Stephanie could tell a million stories from her years working in the performing arts: from a dance school’s class of first-year ballerinas to Itzhak Perlman, and first National Broadway tours. She has seen the impact performances can have on an audience and how that impact spreads into the community. She is humbled and inspired by that responsibility. The driving belief throughout Stephanie’s life has always been that the arts can and do change lives.

Rose Schmoller

Treasurer

Rose Schmoller joined Bartlett, Pringle, and Wolf in January of 2017. She is a certified Public Accountant with experience in all aspects of accounting and audit. Prior to joining BPW, Rose spend over a decade living in Los Angeles and working as a corporate manager of one of the largest media & entertainment companies in the world. Rose particularly enjoyed her time working in the media and entertainment industry observing the “creative” process in both film and TV productions. Prior to then, Rose held a number of positions including accounting manager at a public digital advertising company in Marina Del Rey, senior accounting roles at a large real estate investment trust company in Santa Monica, a public accounting firm in Santa Monica, and an investment banking company in Ventura. Rose received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Economics with an emphasis in accounting from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Rose is a member of the California Society of CPA’s. Today, a mother of three, Rose’s top priority is spending quality time with her family.

Ken Jurgensen

Secretary

Ken Jurgensen grew up in Pasadena, where he was active in sports and drama. After college and living for stretches in Tahiti, The Bahamas, and New York City, he settled in Santa Barbara in 1982. He has worked in grocery, clothing, and hospitality, and coached tennis and basketball. For the last 30 years he has done bookkeeping for small businesses. He is married, with one daughter who finished college in 2023. He is active in his church, and delighted to be part of a group of wonderful people wanting to make a difference in the community through their involvement with the Marjorie Luke Theatre.

John Becchio, Ed.D.

Dr. Becchio was born in Santa Barbara, CA and grew up in California and Arizona, graduating from Lake Havasu High School in 1991. He went on to attend Arizona State University, where he played baseball and completed pre-med coursework, eventually receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in Kinesiology in 1996. Dr. Becchio also attended the University of Granada, in Granada Spain and minored in Spanish.

Dr. Becchio then moved to Costa Rica in 1998 to continue studying Spanish and worked as an English instructor for employees of international corporations. Upon returning to the U.S. he pursued his teaching credential through Chapman University and served as a teacher in Santa Barbara Unified for 7 years before going on to complete his Masters in Educational Leadership at Cal State University, Northridge. Dr. Becchio served as an assistant principal at three different junior high schools in Santa Barbara before taking over as principal at Santa Barbara Junior High where he served in that role for 5 years. In 2011, Dr. Becchio took the position as principal at Santa Barbara High School where he led that school until 2018. He currently is the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources for Santa Barbara Unified. Dr. Becchio received his Doctorate in Educational Leadership from Concordia University, Chicago and his research on teacher self-efficacy and evaluations has been published in the Journal of School Leadership and the Journal of School Administration Research and Development

Dan Dupont

Dan Dupont is the current principal of Santa Barbara Junior High School. He was born and raised in Napa, CA and earned a BA in Spanish at UC Santa Barbara. After receiving his teaching credential from CSU Fullerton in 2000, he spent 14 years as a high school Spanish teacher in Orange County, CA. Mr. Dupont earned his MS in Educational Leadership in 2014 and worked as a high school administrator for an additional 5 years in Orange County before he and his family made the move to Santa Barbara. Mr. Dupont worked as assistant principal at Santa Barbara High School for 3 years before assuming the role of principal at SBJHS in 2022. He has two young daughters, and his wife is also a high school administrator in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.

Tere Jurado

Tere Jurado began activist work in Santa Barbara soon after her move from Mexico City in 1989. She soon cofounded activist groups Mujeres Unidas and Latinos Unidos y Activos and began working as a training coordinator for De Mano a Mano, a Latino helpline under the former Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center. Ms. Jurado also worked for nearly two decades as a radio personality for Radio Bronco and La Preciosa and as well as a Family Advocate at Franklin Elementary School. She has served on the board of several local organizations including PUEBLO, CAUSE, CLUE, and Casa de la Raza and is a current board member for the Santa Barbara Mariachi Festival.

Marcus Lopez

Marcus Lopez is Chumash and Chicano, residing in Montecito, and grew up in the San Fernando Valley. He is a Captain of the Chumash Tomol’s (plank canoes), a singer with the Chumash Intertribal Singers, a dancer with Resitencia Mexicayotl Chalchiutlicue, an educator in the role of Family Engagement Liaison at Santa Barbara Junior High, a mentor, an interpreter, a translator, and a community activist. He has a B.A. in Political Science from UCSB. He currently assists Native Like Water out of San Diego, the Santa Barbara Police Activities League, the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, and the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation. He enjoys being out on the water and in the mountains. He works to inspire and motivate youth to be agents of change in dismantling oppression.

Pam McLendon

Pam McLendon is a retired music educator who taught for 41 years at Montecito Union School. She started the music education program, chorus and artist-in-residency programs. She also taught UCSB extension classes in music education and Music for Children at Westmont College. Pam was the director of the children’s chorus for Revels of Santa Barbara and is currently on their Advisory Board. Pam is married to Phillip, former choral conductor of the SB Master Chorale and former choral director of the SBHS Madrigal Singers and A Cappella choir. They have two children.

Devin Scott

Devin Scott has been an active member of the Santa Barbara theatre community for over 30 years. As an actor, director and producer, he has worked on over 40 productions locally with companies including SBCC Theatre Group, Speaking of Stories, the Rubicon Theatre Company, the Ensemble Theatre Company, the Good Company, and Circle Bar B. Devin was a founding member of the Independent Award winning Maverick Players Theatre Company and a founding Co-Artistic Director of the Bridge Theatre Company in New York City’s Theatre District. He works as the Manager of Philanthropy and Donor Strategy at Sansum Clinic and earned an MBA in Nonprofit Leadership through Antioch University. Devin received a B.A. in Political Science from UCSB and attended the Neighborhood Playhouse School of Theatre in New York City.

Lynn Rodriguez

Lynn Rodriguez is a former trustee of the Santa Barbara Unified School District Board of Directors and is proud to have been a school board member when The Marjorie Luke Theatre was being constructed. She also served for seven years on the Santa Barbara Education Foundation board and for three years on the Harding School Foundation board.

Ms. Rodriguez is a partner in Rodriguez Consulting, Inc. and has bee a water resources consultant for more than 40 years. She is a graduate of UCSB and has lived in Santa Barbara since 1975. She served on the Alpha Resource Center Board of Directors for 14 years.

She loves attending events at The Luke – the most beautiful theatre in Santa Barbara. She also enjoys the amazing plays and musicals put on by our local schools. Our community is blessed by incredibly talented student actors, theatre directors, and stage managers.

She and her husband raised two daughters here, where they attended schools in the Santa Barbara Unified School District.