The Santa Barbara Foundation, the largest grantmaker in the county, announced that Jennifer Murray, Polly Firestone Walker, and Michael G. Mayfield were elected to the Foundation Board of Trustees. They each begin a three-year term in January 2012.

Peter MacDougall will take the helm as the new Board chair. He has been on the Santa Barbara Foundation Board of Trustees for four years, serving as vice chair for the past two years. MacDougall served as superintendent/president of Santa Barbara City College  from 1981 to 2002. MacDougall’s background in education includes positions at Los Angeles Community College District, Los Angeles Pierce College, Rutgers College and Pennsylvania State University. MacDougall has also served on the boards of many nonprofits in the region, including the Channel City Club, Cottage Health System and Santa Barbara Partners in Education, among others.

Murray is a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Global Wealth Management Group.  She’s also worked as a principal consultant for Price Waterhouse and as a senior auditor for Arthur Andersen.  She holds a B.S. in Business Administration and Accounting from CSU, Fresno and is a certified public accountant and certified financial planner.

For the past 16 years,Walker has served as the chairman of the Ballard School Auction committee and president of the Friends of the Solvang Library.  She served for nine years on the board of the Solvang Theaterfest. She is a previous member of the Direct Relief WOMEN Executive Committee, and served for three years on the Santa Barbara Foundation Arts and Recreation Grants Committee and Creative Writing Committee.

Mayfield is CEO and co-CIO of Santa Barbara Asset Management. Prior to joining SBAM, he was in New York with NatWest Markets, the investment banking arm of National Westminster Bank, Plc. Michael currently serves on the Board of Trustees at the Santa Barbara Natural History Museum and Lotusland, where he also acts as treasurer.

The Santa Barbara Foundation manages assets of over $260 million. It was founded by Max Fleischmann in 1928 and, according to the foundation’s website, “there’s hardly a nonprofit organization or essential community project that has not benefited from the work of the Santa Barbara Foundation.”