Top women 2026: Melinda Cabrera
Nonprofit veteran passionate about youth development
Melinda Cabrera says her brand-new job as CEO of the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County is going great.
“There’s a lot to learn, but I’m excited to jump in and really understand the organization, understand the needs of our families and just really devote myself to this,” she told the Business Times.
Cabrera started as the clubs’ top administrator on March 16 following a 30-month run as president/CEO of the nonprofit Scholarship Foundation of Santa Barbara.
“I’m ready to give everything that I’ve got so that we can grow and strengthen and be the best United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County that we can be because ultimately that’s what our members deserve,” she said.
Nicholas Behrman, the clubs’ board chair, said the nonprofit is thrilled to have Cabrera come aboard as its new CEO.
“We’re super excited to have someone with the caliber of Melinda leading us,” he told the Business Times.
“It’s not every day you get someone with so much experience in the nonprofit sector here in Santa Barbara to be your CEO,” Behrman said.
Prior to joining the scholarship foundation, Cabrera worked for another nonprofit, United Way of Santa Barbara, from April 2013 to August 2023, both as director of strategic partnerships and vice president.
Behrman said the clubs launched a national search for a new CEO in late October, about the time the previous CEO, Michael Baker, left to head the Boys & Girls Clubs of Bend, Oregon.
The Santa Barbara County nonprofit made an offer to Cabrera in January and finalized it a few weeks later, Behrman said.
Cabrera said she hadn’t been looking around for a new position while at the scholarship foundation.
But when she heard about the CEO opening at the Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County, it ignited a fire in her that dated back to her United Way days.
The Boys & Girls Clubs operates clubs in Santa Barbara County from Carpinteria to Lompoc and is committed to helping young people reach their full potential through various programs.
“I thought about all of my years of experience doing work with youth and youth development,” Cabrera said.
“And I thought that now I can apply so much more knowledge because of my position with the foundation,” she said. “And make a bigger difference than I’ve ever been able to before.”
That encouraged her to go for the Boys & Girls Clubs CEO position.
Cabrera said that leaving the foundation was bittersweet.
“It was a great experience being CEO there,” she said.
“But this new position with the United Boys & Girls Clubs really speaks to my passion,” she said.
Pamela Gann, the foundation’s board chair, said Cabrera will be missed.
“We very much appreciate Melinda’s diligence and energetic focus as president and CEO of the scholarship foundation,” Gann said in a press release.
Tim Dougherty has been named the foundation’s interim president/CEO while Blair Search Partners conducts a nationwide search for a long-term successor to Cabrera.
A native of Apple Valley, Cabrera said she entered the nonprofit sector because “I’ve always wanted to give back and help.”
She was influenced by her late father, Stanley Hodge, an attorney and San Bernardino County Superior Court judge.
“He was a very generous man who was always supporting people when he could,” she said.
Cabrera lives in Buellton. She’s married and has three children.
Her interests outside work include spending time with her family, watching baseball and reading.
Cabrera said everything she does in her career is in honor of her father.
“He taught me a lot about never judging a book by its cover, that people are trying to do their best and everybody needs a helping hand once in a while,” she said.
“And those words have always stuck with me,” Cabrera said. “And I carry them out as much as I can on a daily basis.”
email: [email protected]
