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Our board members work hard to fulfill the New Directions Mission!
Robert Habush - Chairman of the Board
Virginia Palmer - Vice President
Yusuf Balogun - Treasurer
New Directions for people with disabilities, inc. is a 501(c)(3) not for profit corporation. All donations are tax deductible. Federal Tax I.D. #77-0147768
New Directions, Inc. is a registered Seller of Travel in the State of California, Reg. #2113686-40. We are also a participant in the California Travel Consumer Restitution Corporation, Member #601444.
Wallis Annenberg - Board Member
Kathleen Fannon - Board Member
Eddie Glassgold - Board Member
Joan Rosselle - Board Member
Virginia Palmer
Vice President
Yusuf Balogun
Treasurer
Wallis Annenberg
Member of the Board
Kathleen Fannon
Member of the Board
Eddie Glassgold
Member of the Board
Joan Rosselle
Member of the Board
Joan Rosselle
Member of the Board
Dee Duncan
Executive Director
Robert L. Habush, a devoted supporter of New Directions since its inception in 1985, recently retired as the Chairman of the Board of Habush, Habush & Rottier S.C. He received his undergraduate degree and his juris doctor from the University of Wisconsin. Mr. Habush was Order of the Coif and a member of the Law Review. Mr. Habush is a Fellow of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers, where he served on the Board of Directors. He is a Fellow of the International Society of Barristers and the American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys. He is a member of the Inner Circle of Advocates. He is a Diplomat of the American Board of Trial Advocates and was the first President of the Wisconsin Chapter. He is certified as a Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy and is listed in the Best Lawyers in America. He is presently teaching Law at Marquette University located in Milwaukee. Mr. Habush and his wife, Mimi have been substantive contributors to the Milwaukee Jewish Family Services Campaign. The Jewish Family Services has honored them with the naming of the JFS Robert and Mimi Habush Family Center. In addition, the Habush House was established with a gift of an eight-family unit apartment building to the Jewish Family Services. He is a devoted father to two daughters and enjoys spending time with his four grandchildren. The American Bar Association has recently published a biography about Mr. Habush, titled Courtroom Avenger, which is available on Amazon.
Joan Rosselle - Board Member
Joan Rosselle is the retired Director of Distinguished Giving for the American Cancer Society, where she established major giving task forces in Monterey and Santa Clara Counties. Her main efforts with ACS involved recruiting major donors, bringing them an awareness of and a willingness to give to cancer research. Prior to that, she was Director of Major Giving at El Camino Hospital Foundation in Mountain View. Joan coordinated the capital campaign for a new hospital building, established a thriving women’s philanthropy circle and directed the major giving program. Joan earned a BA at Bethany College in Bethany, W.VA, a Certificate in Marketing at the University of California, Berkeley and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction at Mercy Center in Burlingame. Currently, Joan volunteers with her church. She is a golfer and sings with a chorus in her community. Joan's daughter, Carey loves traveling with New Directions.
Virginia Palmer, is a partner and Co-Chair of the Trusts & Estates Practice at the Oakland law firm Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean LLP. Her practice focuses on estate planning, trust administration, probate and elder law, as well as mediating matters in these areas. She has particular expertise in estate planning for LGBTQ families. A frequent author and speaker on estate planning related issues, she is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estates Lawyers. She loves to travel and takes vicarious pleasure in all of our travelers’ adventures.
Yusuf Balogun, CPA, MST, is a partner of Walpole & Co., LLP, a full service accounting firm located in Santa Barbara. He is one of sixteen siblings to whom his parents promised a College education. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from UCSB, his Accounting Certificate from UCSB Extension. He also has a Masters Degree in Taxation from Golden Gate University. He currently also serves on the Board of Directors for the California Society of CPAs. He is married and is a proud father of two daughters.
The philanthropy of Wallis Annenberg, Vice President of the Annenberg Foundation, focuses organizations and institutions dedicated to enriching and enhancing the quality of the arts, education, and culture throughout greater Los Angeles. Ms. Annenberg’s philanthropic efforts include: The Wallis Annenberg Scholars Program at USC, a four-week residential summer program for 60 inner city high school students; and The Annenberg Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences at USC. Wallis is the longest serving trustee at the University of Southern California. In recognition of her philanthropic work throughout the years, Ms. Annenberg has received a long and impressive list of honors and awards. She serves on a number of boards in addition to New Directions for people with disabilities, inc., MOMA, New York, Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, LA Philharmonic Orchestra, and several others. She is a proud mother of four children and five grandchildren.
Kathleen Fannon is the Director of Women's Footwear for Ugg, brand of Deckers Corporation. She moved to Santa Barbara four years ago with twenty five + years experience as a retailer buyer in footwear working for Nordstrom, Marshall Fields, Macys and DSW. Kathleen received her BA degree from University of Pacific, Stockton, CA.Chicago is her second home and she is a Cubs fan thru and thru! She is committed to the New Directions Mission, while growing up she was close to her Aunt with Downs Syndrome. She loves golf, hiking and the outdoors.
Eddie Glassgold was raised in New Jersey and attended Ohio University majoring in Business and Journalism. His interest in 'helping others" developed at college tutoring disadvantaged children in Appalachia focusing in on Math and English. He graduated with honors and started working with a major advertising agency in NYC and then with Procter and Gamble. In 1975 he decided to enter a small family business dealing with textiles products. Eddie built up a strong marketing team and expanded the product line immensely growing the business from under $ 1,000,000 annually to over $20,000,000 at its peak. Early in his career he was on a board of directors for a charity dealing with mentally and physically challenged children. He has a passion for staying in shape and started doing triathlons and 70.3 Ironman events in the early nineties. Eddie has two grown children and now resides part time in Santa Barbara with his Fiancé, Joanne.
Joan Rosselle is retired Director of Distinguished Giving for the American Cancer Society, where she established major giving task forces in Monterey and Santa Clara Counties. Her main efforts with ACS involved recruiting major donors, bringing them an awareness of and a willingness to give to cancer research. Prior to that, she was Director of Major Giving at El Camino Hospital Foundation in Mountain View. Joan coordinated the capital campaign for a new hospital building, established a thriving women’s philanthropy circle and directed the major giving program. Joan earned a BA at Bethany College in Bethany, W.VA, a Certificate in Marketing at the University of California, Berkeley and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction at Mercy Center in Burlingame. Currently, Joan volunteers with her church. She is a golfer and sings with a chorus in her community. Joan's daughter, Carey loves traveling with New Directions.
For more than 20 years Josephine Tassi has been directly involved with, and supportive of the New Directions’ mission. In 2011, in loving memory of her son, Joseph Tassi, Josephine established the “Joseph Tassi Memorial Scholarship Fund” which generously sponsors three people to participate in New Directions tours each year. She was born and raised in San Francisco, and her father, Anthony Morabito, was the sports pioneer of the West, bringing San Francisco its first major league professional team, the San Francisco 49ers, in 1946. She attended several prestigious schools, including Notre Dame in Belmont, Santa Catalina in Monterey, Marymount in Santa Barbara, and went to Marymount College located on Sunset Blvd. in Los Angeles. While attending College, Josephine was introduced to the son of an old family friend, and they married in 1961. They had two developmentally disabled children, Joseph (passed away in 2011), and Stephen who lives and works in Southern California. Ms. Tassi devotes much of her time to philanthropic organizations and enjoys traveling to Santa Barbara from her home in Alhambra. She enjoys attending many of the New Directions events.
Adam Hoffman - Board Member
Adam Hoffman experienced New Directions for the first time at Christmas in the year 2000. As a new arrival in California, he was recruited by Susie Williams to be a tour guide for Holiday Happiness in San Francisco. Since then he’s never looked back. In addition to marrying Susie, he has watched his two amazing children grow up as part of the Holiday Happiness family. After 15 years as a freelance graphic designer, Adam orchestrated a career pivot and now works for the San Francisco-Marin Food Bank, where he gives free food to people who say they need it. Adam has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Robert Habush
Board President
Dee Duncan - Executive Director
Employment
Public Recognition
Community Involvement
Personal
Education
Graduated with honors in Psychology from the University of California at Santa Barbara, 1976
Adam Hoffman
Member of the Board
Susie Williams - Board Member
Susie Williams creates educational toys for babies and preschoolers for LeapFrog. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in English from UCLA (Go Bruins) and a Masters in special education from NYU. She spent a few decades teaching and consulting before packing it all up for an itinerant existence, leading trips for Backroads and New Directions for four years, where she met the love of her life, Adam Hoffman. In her 30’s she finally settled down, married Adam, and created 2 kids, adding three capable and compassionate helpers to the list for her annual San Francisco Holiday Happiness trip, which she created and led for 22 years. She’s always kept one foot in education, working to infuse curriculum in all her LeapFrog toys as well as volunteering in the classrooms of each of her children. Susie’s passions are travel, yoga, creating and looking at art, and singing. She’s an alto in the choir at Calvary Presbyterian Church, where she’s also a deacon. She has been inspired by and dedicated to the mission of New Directions since the moment she led her first trip, back in 1997.
Susie Williams
Member of the Board
Meet Our Board Members
Kristin Brandt - Secretary
Originally from a small town in Michigan, Kristin Brandt became involved with New Directions after moving to Santa Barbara in 2018 on a Chancellor’s Fellowship to the University of California, Santa Barbara. She was immediately inspired by the mission of New Directions after volunteering at their annual free social event and has been a supporter ever since. Kristin has been passionate about advocating for people with disabilities since she began volunteering with the MSU Resource Center for Persons with Disabilities during her undergraduate years. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communication from Michigan State University and currently works as a Project Manager for Toyon Research Corporation. She loves gardening and all things culinary.
Kristin Brandt
Secretary