Foundation Welcomes Three New Board Members

The Scholarship Foundation Board of Directors has welcomed three new members in recent weeks.

Donna Weidl is a senior vice president and financial advisor with the local branch of Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management. Born in Qingdao, China, Donna immigrated to the United States at age 7 before attending San Marcos High School and Santa Barbara City College. She went on to become the first person in her family to graduate from college, earning a bachelor’s degree in global business at CSU Channel Islands with assistance from the Scholarship Foundation. In August, Donna was named to Forbes’ “Best-in-State Next-Generation Wealth Advisors” list.

Michael Young is a retired college administrator who served as vice chancellor for student affairs at UC Santa Barbara for 25 years. Michael began his career as a counselor at Beloit College and went on to serve as associate dean at Wesleyan University before being named vice chancellor for student affairs at UCSB. In the latter role, he oversaw 25 departments, becoming a national leader in efforts to provide student mental health services on college campuses. Since retiring from UCSB in 2015, Michael has twice served as interim vice president for student affairs at Sonoma State University.

Emil Nazaretyan is a portfolio manager at Mission Wealth in Santa Barbara. Named to Pacific Coast Business Times’ “Top 40 Under 40” list for 2022, he previously worked as an associate trader at Mercer Advisors, held banking and accounting positions at Wells Fargo and Conference Direct, respectively, and co-founded the startup Green Logic Asset Management. He also worked for international wealth management firm Austen Morris Associates in Shanghai, China.