The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law board of trustees elects three new members

Three distinguished leaders—Art Hernandez, Charlita Shelton, and Casey Summar—join governing board of the Central Coast’s leading law school focused on access, opportunity, and affordability

SANTA BARBARA & VENTURA – Arturo “Art” Hernandez, Charlita Shelton, and Casey Summar are the newest members of The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law (COL) board of trustees, the governance body that oversees the region’s oldest and largest independent law school.

Art Hernandez brings to COL extensive experience in education governance. He served on the board of the Rio Elementary School District followed by the Oxnard Union High School District, where he helped supervise an enrollment of more than 16,000 students across five high schools. Thereafter, Hernandez was elected to the Ventura County Community College District (VCCCD) board of trustees for Area 5 representing Oxnard. The VCCCD spans three community colleges—Moorpark College, Oxnard College, and Ventura College—and serves 39,000 students annually.

A veteran of the United States Marine Corps, Charlita L. Shelton is a proven leader as a higher education executive and diversity officer. Currently with Gonzaga University, serving the president’s office to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives, Dr. Shelton’s previous posts include president and chief diversity office at the University of the Rockies and as executive director of the Dallas Nursing Institute. She is an international lecturer on organizational diversity and equity and women in leadership roles and an accomplished research scholar who led research efforts to determine how best to retain Black and Latinx students and designed diversity initiatives for the world’s largest private educational institution for working adults. Her many recognitions include the Innovations in Diversity Award and Diversity Leader Award from Profile in Diversity Journal and the Champion of Diversity Award from Diversity Business.

Prior to relocating to Santa Barbara, Casey Summar founded the Tennessee Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts in 2005, which grew to become the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville. In that role, she advised the boards and staff of more than 400 nonprofits at all stages of organizational life cycle from formation to operations to transition. Summar was recognized as the 2016 Nonprofit CEO of the Year for Middle Tennessee, was named one of Nashville’s Top 40 under 40 in 2015, and a finalist for the Nashville Emerging Leader Awards in 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016. She also serves as chair of the board of the Carpinteria Arts Center and secretary of the board of the Lois & Walter Capps Project. Having recently concluded a term on the Americans for the Arts Private Sector Council, she served as chair of the Nashville Arts Coalition, chair of the American Bar Association Entertainment & Sports Industries Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts Division, and chair of the Tennessee Bar Association’s Entertainment & Sports Law Section. Currently, she enjoys being a partner with The Law Firm for Non-Profits, and is an adjunct professor of law at Vanderbilt University.  Summar received her J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and her BFA from Belmont University. She is licensed to practice law in both California and Tennessee.

“What was already a strong board has become even stronger, connected, and more distinguished,” said COL Board Chair Jana Johnston (J.D. ’03). “Art’s higher education experience will help us advance our mission of access and opportunity in Ventura, and Casey’s nonprofit expertise and passion for legal education doing the same in Santa Barbara. And then we have Charlita, whose work in diversity and higher education leadership will be invaluable. I am honored to serve with them.”

The newest additions join a diverse board of professionals representing numerous disciplines and experiences. Chair Johnston is a partner with Mullen & Henzell. Other trustee attorneys include Farfalla Borah (J.D. ’93), Judge Michele Castillo, Betty Jeppesen (J.D. ’80), and Catherine Swysen (J.D. ‘94). Trustees from higher education include Dr. Michael Horowitz, president of TCS Education System; Dr. Bernie Luskin, president and CEO of Luskin International and past chancellor of the Ventura County Community College District; Stacey Lydon, director of advancement for Student Affairs, UCSB; Dr. Matthew Nehmer, COL president; and Dr. Richard Winn, past president of the WSCUC Accrediting Commission for Community and Junior Colleges.

About The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law
Established in 1969, The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law (COL) was founded to expand opportunities and broaden access to legal education. COL is dedicated to a student-centered approach that affords students of diverse backgrounds the opportunity to pursue careers in law or legal-related fields. The Colleges’ faculty advances a real-world perspective and practicality on the application of law and includes practicing attorneys, judges, public servants, and leaders in business and nonprofit organizations. An accredited nonprofit institution, COL offers a Juris Doctor (J.D.) and a Master of Arts in Law (M.A. in Law) program. Starting in fall 2018, COL became the first accredited law school in California to offer a hybrid J.D. degree. COL is regionally accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges Senior College and University Commission (WSCUC) and the Juris Doctor program is accredited by the Committee of Bar Examiners (CBE) of the State Bar of California. For more information, visit admin.collegesoflaw.edu.

The Santa Barbara & Ventura Colleges of Law is an affiliate of TCS Education System, a nonprofit system of colleges advancing student success and community impact.

For more information, contact COL Public Affairs Coordinator Kryztofr Kaine at 805-765-9729; [email protected].

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