Kyle Richards

Current Term: 2024-2028
karichards@pipeline.sbcc.edu

Trustee Richards joined the Board in 2024. He has served two terms as a Goleta City Councilmember (2016-24) and has worked at UCSB for almost 30 years. Originally from Pennsylvania, Kyle has an M.Ed. from Pennsylvania State University.  

While at UCSB, he has worked directly with both students and faculty. For five years he served in Residential Life as the director of a freshman residence hall and as the residential coordinator of University apartments. He also served for five years as the Director of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, & Transgender Resources, providing support, outreach, advocacy, and mentoring to the campus's LGBTQ student population. His remaining time at UCSB has been as a policy analyst in the Academic Senate, providing administrative and technical support to the faculty governance of the University.

At the City of Goleta, Kyle served three years as Mayor Pro Tem, and he also served on several committees, including the Finance & Audit, Energy/ Green Issues, and Human Services Committees. In addition, he was appointed as the City's representative on several regional boards, including on the Policy Board of Central Coast Community Energy (3CE), a regional energy provider, and on the Beach Erosion Authority for Clean Oceans & Nourishment (BEACON). Before being elected to the City Council, he served for four years on the City's Parks & Recreation Commission.

His community involvement includes service as a board member and co-chair of the Fund for Santa Barbara, a non-profit that provides grants and technical assistance to grassroots organizers working for social change. And he served three years as member and chair of the UCSB Transportation Alternatives Board, working to reduce commuters’ impact on the campus and the surrounding community by encouraging biking, public transit, and car pools.