FRIENDS OF STATE STREET
Investing in a Vital, Vibrant State Street
Friends of State Street is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit built around listening to the voices of our community and putting them into motion through collaborations and partnerships. We are locals who love State Street and want to see it thrive!
Our Community Investment Model
The principle of community reinvestment is the cornerstone of Friends of State Street. It starts with our executive leadership and IMPACTLab members, experienced local professionals who contribute their time and expertise pro bono to help advance the City's CREATESTATE Master Plan process as it evolves.
This commitment allows more community investment to be directed toward projects, partnerships, and initiatives that bring vitality to State Street and our Downtown Corridor.
Between 2020 and 2025, Friends of State Street leadership contributed 10,400 hours of pro bono executive leadership, alongside more than 15,000 volunteer hours supporting community-centered initiatives on and around State Street.
OUR HISTORY
From Vision to Action
2020-23: We're Just Getting Started!
Friends of State Street was formed after the 2020 AIASB Charette, inspired by Team 8's experience with non-profits that support large scale community-based projects.
Established as a 501(c)(3) just prior to COVID, Friends of State Street began by building its governance and advisory teams, launching community outreach, and supporting early State Street Master Plan efforts.
Throughout 2022-23, we supported local businesses with their outdoor dining and stormwater design compliance, as well as attending City Council meetings in support of the Master Plan.
2024: Our Love Letter to Santa Barbara
We hosted the inaugural Pirate Scavenger Hunt, highlighting 23 local businesses and 12 iconic destinations on and along State Street through a fun adventure that reconncted our community to the downtown corridor.
We commissioned a local artist and filmmaker to produce World Class Santa Barbara, focused on embracing our history and looking to our future. We highlighted 12 iconic downtown destinations, including State Street itself, through art and mini-documentaries.
We opened our first office in the CEC Building at 1219 State Street.
2025: Feeling the Momentum
We created IMPACTLab, our pro bono arm of expertise connecting ideas to action on State Street.
We launched Vacant to Vibrant, an initiative focused on bringing new life to vacant spaces.
Our partnership with the City on the State Street Loop Shuttle pilot continues. The City contract included adding a fourth accessible vehicle to the fleet.
We collaborated with the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden to bring a native plant pilot to State Street's 1200 block.
We hosted globally renowned Outstanding in the Field on Stearn's Wharf for the very first time.
2026: Master Planning Phase in Action
We sponsored the inaugural 2026 Santa Barbara Literary Festival focused on utilizing public space on and along State Street.
We sponsored professional local businesses to support the Bloomberg awarded Asphalt Art initiative.
We launched the Santa Barbara Public Library's Have a Seat pilot on Towbes Plaza.
Highlighting our new pilot, Space to Share, in partnership with Art & Soul Gallery, we commissioned the NYC based The Strangers Project for its first-ever exhibit in Santa Barbara.
Where we're headed
Building on our momentum, Friends of State Street continues to support the City’s State Street Master Plan to get move it forward to the next phase of implementation by the end of 2026.
By fostering community connection, refining successful pilots, the real data we collect will help inform future decisions on State Street.
FRIENDS OF STATE STREET
Founding Board Members
The board and advisors have decades of experience in fields including community outreach, strategic planning, business ownership, law, communications, journalism, architecture and design, performing arts, social media, program development and financial development and management.
Sharon Rich
President
Create. Collaborate. Impact.
Every project Sharon Rich creates begins with an idea. Inspired by the voices of the community and the possibilities they reveal, she brings together the collaboration needed to shape ideas into experiences designed specifically for the communities they serve.
For more than three decades, Sharon has dedicated her career to designing community experiences that inspire participation, strengthen connection, and create lasting impact. Her work is shaped by the character of every community she serves.
Today, as Founding Board President of Friends of State Street, Sharon continues that creative practice by creating community initiatives that support the evolving vision for Santa Barbara's historic State Street and Downtown corridor. She believes meaningful change grows through collaboration and values community reinvestment by serving pro bono while investing in the local artists, businesses, and organizations that help bring community ideas to life.
Paul Rupp
Vice President
Paul Rupp is passionate about the transformational power of great design. With over 30 years of architecture firm experience with licenses in California, Nevada, New York and Washington State, Paul has designed and executed projects nationally and internationally. Paul has provided project leadership to achieve American Institute of Architects Honor and Merit awards for Design and Execution on over $200 million in construction value.
In Santa Barbara, prior to his current role as Project Associate Senior Architect at AB design studio, Paul worked on both the MOXI Museum and Santa Barbara Bowl.
As the project architect and manager of the Santa Barbara Bowl for 12 years, he saw it go from zero dollars in to tens of millions in the ground over eight phases of development. Today, the picturesque Bowl, is a gem of the community and a world-class venue. It was working on New York’s Bryant Park in 1992 that Rupp first “got educated on how partnerships are a powerful mechanism to support the community and transform places.”
Ivonne Ibarra
Secretary
A recent transplant from the East Coast, Ivonne comes to Santa Barbara and to Friends of State Street with 20+ years running a successful architectural practice in Midtown Manhattan, NYC, specializing in residential design, restoration, and historic preservation.
She holds undergraduate and graduate degrees from the School of Architecture-CUNY, and School of Architecture, Historic Preservation & Planning-Columbia University, respectively. More recently Ivonne has taught at the Santa Barbara City College.
Ivonne is a member of the AIA Santa Barbara, the Pearl Chase Society and the Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation.
Prior to this Ivonne represented the World Monument’s Fund in charge of the restoration and preservation of a world heritage site in Spain as well as being involved with various notable projects including the expansion of the New York Public Library/Revitalization of Bryant Park, NYC.
Sandra Barron
Board member
Sandra Barron has been actively involved in journalism and communication since 1999.
Her diverse experiences include serving as an event coordinator at DC Comics, leading bicycle tours in Santa Monica, and designing itineraries for a boutique Japanese travel company.
Sandra has played a key role in managing social media for The Japan Times and TEDx Tokyo, while also contributing freelance writing to reputable publications such as the New York Times, Japan Times, and CNN International. Currently, Sandra is engaged in overseeing social media and communication for Brad Smith, President of Microsoft.
As an East Coast transplant, Sandra has called Santa Barbara home since September, following years spent in Santa Clarita, West LA, Tokyo, New York, Atlanta, and rural southern Japan.
Her husband, Jim, works as a NICU/pediatric respiratory therapist at Cottage. Eager to explore the Santa Barbara area, Sandra looks forward to doing so by bicycle, with her 12-pound buddy Gunner riding shotgun in her backpack.
Our IMPACTLab Team
Brandon Maraglia
Gerard Comati
Ole Mikkelsen
Dennis Allen
Christian Hedberg
Carolyn Adams
