Art | Tech Nights

Jim Semick has created and launched software products for 20 years. He is co-founder of ProductPlan, a fast-growing software company in Santa Barbara. Previously, Jim helped build and launch AppFolio and GoToMeeting. Jim writes, speaks, and mentors about entrepreneurship. His recent book, The Essentialist Product Manager, helps product people learn how to do less, but better. We are excited to hear his insights about leading artfully in tech.

Inga Guzyte, born in Lithuania and raised in Germany, is an accomplished, self-taught artist who specializes in recycling skateboards to create beautiful art graphics. The heart of her work is encapsulated in her own words: "The stories that inspire my work are the stories of fierce women. I see my work as an extension of the voices that fight hard to be heard and I also give their voices a face to underline the social justice issues we urgently need to address."

Bringing over 25 years of experience, Kathy Chill has a wealth of experience in SaaS, marketing, business development on a global scale, and sales. She spent a decade at the company Citrix, growing it from a 30 million to a 511 million dollar enterprise. Serving on the Board of Directors for an SaaS company called Barn2Door and as a board member for the MIT Enterprise Forum for the Central Coast, Chill is certain to have valuable insights to share at our Art/Tech nights. 

A Westmont alumni and world renowned artist, Robin Eley's hyperrealist artwork has been the finalist of numerous awards, including but not limited to: the Archibald Prize (2012), the Eutick Memorial Still Life Art Prize (2010, 2012) and the Nora Heysen Still Life Art Award (2011). Hearing more about Eley's work, especially from a technical perspective, will surely be a thrilling and informative experience. 

Rashi Bahri Chitnis, a Hollywood media executive, is the visionary behind Shoonya — a company with a mission to foster the next generation of global citizens by exposing them to multiple languages and world cultures and the recipient of the 2021 Spirit of Entrepreneurship Award. Bahri has more than 20 years of experience, producing award-winning shows with $5M+ budgets for clients like Warner Bros, Discovery, and Lifetime Television. Her years of experience in the international film industry give her a unique and valuable edge in creating engaging, cultural immersive educational content for children.

Primarily known as an assemblage artist, Dug Uyesaka has become a central figure in the Santa Barbara art community. As art director of the Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum of Art, Judy Larson, expressed, “Dug’s assemblages and collages exude a boldness that ‘packs a punch.’ His prints, drawings, and paintings range from expressions of untapped energy to nuanced poetry.” Beyond being an accomplished artist, Uyesaka has gone on to instruct future artists as a teacher at Laguna Blanca Middle and Upper School. We’re excited to see what he shares about his creative process. 

Dane Howard, a strategic design leader and entrepreneur, has led globally distributed teams for world class products, services and brands, while focusing on scaling the design process across multiple business domains. He has built, grown and led teams for both start-ups and big companies and played principal design, operational and leadership roles for Microsoft, BMW, Major League Baseball, Scient, Quokka Sports, NBCOlympics, Alias/Wavefront, eBay, Trov, Samsung NEXT, and Amazon. Also the author of ‘The Future of Memories,’ Howard is sure to have a wealth of experience to pull from for Art | Tech nights.

Lynn Aldrich received her B.A. in English Literature at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, and her M.F.A. at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California. Her artwork is part of the collections of The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, and Biola University in La Mirada, CA. She has had many solo exhibitions throughout the world, most recently at the Sandroni Rey Gallery in Venice, CA, Art Affairs Gallery in Amsterdam, and Christenrose Gallery in New York City. She has received a City of Los Angeles Individual Artist Fellowship Award and the Art Here and Now Los Angeles County Museum of Art purchase award.

The Santa Barbara Center for Art, Science and Technology (SBCAST) is a live/work creative design and development community located in downtown Santa Barbara. The community consists of full-time, accomplished, working “multi-disciplinary” residents who focus on the juxtaposition of art, science and technology. The intent of SBCAST is to provide a shared creative environment to promote thought and action.

The Community Arts Workshop provides affordable space for artistic endeavors and exploration—a "blank canvas" for local artists, thinkers, innovators, and creators to develop ideas, make connections, and build community.

Special Thanks to Our Hosts

CATLab, Westmont's premier professional development program, employs 25 students per summer, part-time, to work on college-related technical projects.  As part of the program, students secure concurrent internships with Santa Barbara tech companies, supporting business operations, business intelligence, or marketing teams.

The Westmont Ridley-Tree Museum is a public museum space with a fully cataloged permanent collection of over 1800 items curated to nurture imagination, encourage intellectual respect, spark curiosity and foster mental flexibility. Special attention is given to local artists.