UCSB Affiliates Leadership

The UCSB Affiliates board works together to provide ways to connect campus and community. It’s made up of community members on and off campus with an interest in bringing people together and a passion for supporting UC Santa Barbara students.

Tom Jevens, ‘87

President

Tom is a 1987 UC Santa Barbara honors graduate in Political Science (Public Service Emphasis) and Business Economics. After graduating from UCSB, he participated in the California Executive Fellowship Program (CSU Sacramento) and interned with the California Department of Health and Welfare.

Tom graduated from the Santa Clara University School of Law in 1992. He worked his entire career in Silicon Valley doing technology transactions work for fortune 100 companies including Hewlett Packard and Google LLC. He also taught technology transactions law at Santa Clara University for 16 years. Tom and his wife Heather (also a 1987 UCSB graduate) retired to Santa Barbara in 2018.

Barbara Tzur, M.A. ‘79

VICE President

Barbara Tzur is the founder and President of Brylen Technologies, a calibration laboratory, established in 1985. In May 2023, she sold the company and opened Brylen Metrology Consulting in January 2024. Over her career, Barbara has been very involved in the local community. She participated in Leadership Santa Barbara County programs and was a mediator for the West Side Community Organization. She is a Senior Member of the American Society for Quality, a member of the National Conference of Standards Laboratory International, of which she was a charter member of the writing committee helping to establish the International Standard for accreditation for calibration laboratories. She is a charter member of the National Association of Women Business Owners-SB and was awarded the prestigious honor of NAWBO-SB Entrepreneur of the Year in the field of Technology in 2011.

Barbara has a B.A. in Experimental Psychology and Philosophy with a minor in Physiology from the University of Illinois. She earned an M.A. in Educational Administration from UC Santa Barbara in 1979. Barbara works out several mornings a week and walks her two rescue dogs daily.

Cathi Arnold

Board Member

Cathi worked as the Management Services Officer in the Department of Ecology, Evolution, and Marine Science at UCSB for many years until her retirement in June 2022. While a staff member at UCSB, Cathi served on the Board of the UCSB Shoreliners (formerly the Faculty Women’s Club). Cathi was a close friend of Jo Little, another active member of the Shoreliners and an Assistant Dean in the College of Creative Studies who died suddenly in 2017. Jo’s husband Dan Little, a Professor Emeritus in Chemistry, established the Jo Little Memorial Scholarship at UCSB to support undergraduates in both Environmental Studies and CCS which Cathi supports. Cathi and Dan organized a Jo Little Memorial campus walk each spring with the Shoreliners and are happy to continue this tradition with the Affiliates. Cathi helped guide the Shoreliners through a merger with the UCSB Affiliates in 2020 and has continued as an active member of the Affiliates Board ever since.

Cathi earned a nursing degree in 1975 and has maintained her license. She received a Master’s degree in Organizational Management from Antioch University. She has two daughters and several grandchildren. Her daughter, Amy Arnold, earned a Bachelor’s degree at UCSB in 1989 and is a current staff member in Human Resources.

Jane McTaggart

Board Member

Jane is the Senior Digital Communications Strategist & Alumni Business Development Manager at UC Santa Barbara. Throughout her career, Jane has focused on defining and executing strategic marketing initiatives that build brands. She was a Senior Project Manager at a London Architecture firm before moving to the United States in the early 2000s. She worked in marketing and sales, PR, and business development for companies in Telluride, CO and Palm Springs, CA. Jane came to Santa Barbara in 2008 and worked as a Project Manager for a local advertising services company, New Directions in Computing (NDIC). Jane left NDIC to take a position at UC Santa Barbara in 2016. 

Jane holds a BA in Geography from University of Portsmouth and a Masters in Philosophy with a focus on City/Urban, Community and Regional Planning from University College London.
 

Ruben Lopez

Board Member

Ruben Lopez is an attorney with the law office of Fauver, Large, Archbald & Spray, LLP in Santa Barbara, and he is a proud graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Ruben earned his B.A. in Political Science from UCSB and went on to earn an M.B.A. from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University before completing his law degree at the Santa Barbara Colleges of Law. With over 25 years of experience in estate planning law, mediation, finance, and real estate, Ruben helps individuals and families protect and pass down their assets through thoughtful estate planning, and assists clients with probate and trust administration matters. 

In addition to serving on the board of the UCSB Affiliates, Ruben also currently serves on the board of the Santa Barbara Barristers. He has vast experience as a board member of various local Santa Barbara schools and non-profit organizations including Santa Barbara Middle School, Domestic Violence Solutions for Santa Barbara, and the Santa Barbara Conflict Solutions Center. Outside of work, Ruben enjoys boating with his family, playing beach volleyball, traveling, and generally taking advantage of Santa Barbara's wonderful outdoor lifestyle.