Board of Trustees

Area 3 trustee (southern Santa Maria, Guadalupe)

Larry Lahr
llahr@hancockcollege.edu

Elected: 1994
Current Term: 2018-2022

President of the Board, Larry Lahr has represented the Santa Maria Valley since he was elected to his first four-year term in 1994. He has served as president of the board of trustees in 2000-01, 2006-07, and 2013-14 and as vice president in 1998-99, 2004-05, 2011-12, 2018-19. He is president of Rincon Corp., a Central Coast company providing real estate and consulting services to agricultural clientele, and serves as a professional trustee for family trusts. He currently serves on the board of directors for Plantel Nurseries, based in Santa Maria as well as the Cal Poly Corporation Investment Advisory Committee.  He has served on the board of directors for Medco, a publicly owned pharmaceutical benefits manager based in New Jersey, Integrated Composites, Inc., a Marina, California company specializing in advanced composite materials, and Primus Labs based in Santa Maria, a food safety company. He has also previously served on the board for numerous non-profit groups, including the WebMD Health Foundation board. He attended Allan Hancock College before earning a bachelor's degree at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in agricultural business management.

Area 4 Trustee (Lompoc Valley)

Jeffery Hall
jhall@hancockcollege.edu

Elected: 2016
Current Term: 2020-2024

Vice President of the Board, Jeffery Hall was elected to represent the Lompoc Valley as the Area 4 Trustee in November 2016. Currently, he is a contract facilitator with the Santa Barbara County Department of Social Services. Previously, he spent 22 years with the Federal Bureau of Prisons and served as a substitute teacher.  A Lompoc resident, Hall received an associate degree from Los Angeles Harbor College, a bachelor’s degree from St. Leo University, and studied for a master’s degree in psychology at Nova Southwestern University. Hall also earned a certificate in addiction studies from Allan Hancock College.  Hall served in the United States Army for 10 years and served in the Vietnam War. He is actively involved in the NAACP, Lompoc Valley Democratic Club, and Santa Barbara County Democratic Party Central Committee. Hall and his wife, Rose, are the proud parents of three children and one grandchild.

Area 1 trustee (central and northern Santa Maria)
Hilda Zacarías
hzacarias@hancockcollege.edu

Elected: 2012
Current Term: 2020-2024

Hilda Zacarías was elected for a four-year term in November 2012 to represent Area 1, which includes Northern Santa Maria. She is a local certified public accountant and organizational management consultant. She was recognized as one of 75 Distinguished Alumni during the 75th anniversary of Allan Hancock College and received the Distinguished Service Award from Cal Poly State University. In 1993, she was the youngest person appointed and then elected to the Santa Maria Joint Union High School District Board of Trustees, serving five years. Ms. Zacarías was elected in 2006 to the Santa Maria City Council and in 2010 was the Democratic nominee for the State Assembly. Ms. Zacarías completed her general education at Allan Hancock College, graduated with an accounting degree from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, and received a Master’s degree in Public Administration from the Harvard Kennedy School in 2006, which she attended as a Presidential Scholar Fellow. 

Area 2 trustee (SE Santa Maria, Orcutt, Cuyama Valley)
Suzanne Levy, Ed.D.
suzanne.levy@hancockcollege.edu

Elected: 2020
Current Term: 2020-2024

Dr. Suzanne Levy, representative for the southeast area of Santa Maria, was elected to a four-year term in November 2020. Levy spent 13 years (1990-2003) at Hancock as a professor of computer science before moving on to work as a program manager for Brandman University from 2003-2005 and as a Continuing Medical Education Specialist and Training Specialist for Dignity Health from 2012-2018. She is currently retired. Levy has held positions on the boards of numerous community organizations, including serving on the Board of Directors for PCPA, the North County Women’s Fund, and the Santa Maria Valley Discovery Children’s Museum. Levy also served as the coordinator for the North County Math Superbowl and as a member of Hancock’s Math Engineering, Science Achievement (MESA) Committee. Levy was named “Woman of the Year” for Santa Barbara County District 5 in 2001. Levy earned a bachelor’s degree in teaching mathematics from the University of Illinois, a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), and a doctorate in education from Fielding Graduate University.

Area 5 trustee (Casmalia, Santa Ynez Valley, Vandenberg AFB)
Greg Pensa
gpensa@hancockcollege.edu

Elected: 2010
Current Term: 2018-2022

Greg Pensa was elected in November 2010. He represents Area 5, which includes the Santa Ynez Valley and northern Lompoc Valley. Mr. Pensa retired after working in Petroleum Marketing for 37 years. He is a 30+ year Rotarian, including past president and is a recipient of the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. He is also the past president of The Valley Foundation, is current President of the Solvang Friendship House and is a founding member and former treasurer of the Indigenous Development Coordinators, a philanthropic group working with the needy in the Philippines. Mr. Pensa has been the radio voice of Santa Ynez Valley High School Football since 1983. His past service includes serving on the Allan Hancock College Foundation from 2001 to 2010, a trustee for the Solvang School District from 1988-1998, past president of the Buellton Business Association, and the Valley Haven Senior Day Care. He was selected as Santa Ynez Valley Man of the Year in 2013 by The Valley Foundation. Mr. Pensa earned an associate degree in business management from Allan Hancock College and a bachelor's degree in Telecommunications & film from San Diego State University.

Student Trustee

Ana Rosas Pacheco
ana.rosas@my.hancockcollege.edu

Ana Rosas Pacheco has served as a student ambassador for over a year  prior to being elected as student trustee.  She plans to continue serving as a student ambassador until she graduates in spring 2021.  She is pursing an associate degree in administration of justice.  She plans to transfer to a university to pursue a bachelor’s degree in administration of justice and a minor in behavioral science.  Her goal is to become a police officer.