Cottage Health System Board
Announces New Chair, Members

March 2007

At its February meeting, the CHS Board of Directors announced a new Chair and three new members of the 19-member volunteer group.

J. Robert Andrews, an attorney with the local law firm of Mullen and Henzell, has been elected Chair of the Cottage Health System Board of Directors. He succeeds Marshall Rose, who had served in that position for the past two years and will remain a member of the board.

Andrews was first elected to the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital board in 1976 and served until 1993, including a two year period as chair. He was elected to the Cottage Health System board in 2000, and until recently has led its Foundation Committee. A graduate of UCSB and Hastings College of the Law, he has been practicing law in Santa Barbara for over 38 years.

Andrews's former civic involvements include the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, the UCSB Affiliates, UCSB Foundation, Crane School, Montecito Association and the United Boys and Girls Clubs of Greater Santa Barbara. Andrews and his wife, Dr. Margaret Wilkinson, have been residents of the Santa Ynez Valley since 2003.

Three members of the board have completed their terms: Cathy Carter Duncan, Robert Knight, and Dr. Nicholas Vincent. Their seats have been filled by three new members:

Judith Hopkinson holds a bachelor of architecture degree from UC Berkeley and is currently a member of the UC Board of Regents.

With a professional career that includes project management for the US Department of Transportation, leadership posts with the Pasadena Redevelopment Agency and subsequently the San Francisco Redevelopment Agency, development of her own real estate company in the Bay Area, and, prior to her retirement in 1999, the post of chief operating officer of Ameriquest Capital Corporation, Hopkinson was appointed to the UC Board of Regents in 1999. Among her many state appointments, she has chaired the California Transportation Commission and been a founding member of the California Association for Local Economic Development.

Locally, Hopkinson is on the board of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art and the UCSB Foundation, is former board president of the Community Arts Music Association, former board member of the Ensemble Theatre of Santa Barbara, and has served as a member of the County of Santa Barbara 2006 Blue Ribbon Task Force on the Budget.

Fred Lukas is the founder of Trident Data Systems, a provider of comprehensive network-security solutions which since 2003 has been part of General Dynamics Corporation.

An honorary trustee of the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Lukas also serves on the board of the Santa Barbara Botanical Gardens.  Prior involvements include Los Angeles City College Foundation and Southern California Technology Executive Network.

Patrick McAlister, a senior vice president with Morgan Stanley, has more than 17 years of investment experience in the Southern California area. Since 1998, he has also been president of the Harold McAlister Charitable Foundation, a not-for-profit organization established in 1959 which supports various healthcare and education charities.

Other officers of the 19-member board include co-chairs Edward Birch, PhD; and Gretchen Milligan; secretary Jeffrey Kupperman, MD; and treasurer Frederick Gluck.

Cottage’s Board of Directors provides direction for Cottage Health System. Board members serve without pay and guide the system in its mission to provide quality and affordable health care to the communities Cottage serves. A complete list of CHS Board members can be found here.

The not-for-profit Cottage Health System consists of 366-bed Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, a regional trauma center and teaching hospital, with its associated Cottage Children's Hospital; 122-bed Goleta Valley Cottage Hospital; and 22-bed Santa Ynez Valley Cottage Hospital. Last year, the hospitals provided inpatient care for 21,000 people, treated 62,000 patients through their 24-hour emergency departments, and helped deliver 2,900 newborns. With a staff of more than 2,500, Cottage is the largest private employer in the County.

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