Upcoming
Annual Membership Meeting
Join the Gray Panthers Santa Barbara Network for our 2026 Annual Membership Meeting! At the meeting, members will elect the officers for 2025 (Chair, Recording Secretary, Membership Secretary, and Treasurer) as well as about half of the Board of Directors for a two-year term. We welcome your input on issues you would like Gray Panthers to address in 2025. Please let us know your thoughts at: info@sbgraypanthers.org.
Register for this zoom meeting using this link: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/hKNzi-8-R6KTw96EO05F0w.
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email from Zoom containing information about joining the meeting. Save that email so you may log in on January 21. We look forward to your participation.
Membership dues are due at the beginning of the calendar year. Please join now or renew your membership.
Past Events
Staying Sane in a Crazy World
October 15, 2025
Thank you to our speakers Mia Winthrop MD, local geriatric psychiatrist and Suzanne Grimmesey MFT, Chief of Strategy and Community Engagement, Santa Barbara County Department of Behavioral Wellness.
Topics include:
- How does the approach of a geriatric psychiatrist differs from a general psychiatrist.
- Insights on how to grapple with the emotional and psychological challenges we are facing in this “crazy“ world.
- How, and when does the County wellness department engage with us and communicate important information in a way that is helpful, useful and actionable especially during crises and local events.
From the perspective of years with County Wellness how can we help ourselves and others to better deal with our crazy and potentially dangerous world.
Talk with Assemblymember Hart
April 29, 2025
View this recording to hear Assemblyman Gregg Hart’s perspective on California’s response to and the potential impacts of Trump’s barrage of actions and disruptions on the elderly, children and families.
The discussion focuses on issues affecting Santa Barbara and the Central Coast. Hart explains his role in the State Assembly and outlines key policy priorities, including environmental protection, housing affordability, public safety, and equity. He also discusses how state legislation influences local communities and everyday life for residents. The conversation emphasizes transparency, civic engagement, and the importance of staying informed about government actions. Overall, the video connects constituents with their elected representative while addressing community concerns and current legislative efforts.
Sorting Fact from Fiction
February 20, 2025
View this recorded forum about media literacy, a critical topic now that fact-checking is no longer in effect.
Thank you to our speaker Starshine Roshell with the organization Moment of Truth. Starshine Roshell is an award-winning journalist, producer and educator. She was a reporter for over a decade at the Santa Barbara News-Press, where she helped lead the reporters’ walkout over the publisher’s failed journalistic ethics. She taught journalism at UCSB and SBCC, and now produces educational content for LinkedIn. Starshine is a national Association for Women in Communications’ Headliner Award recipient, and volunteers with the News Literacy Project.
Membership Meeting '25
January 22, 2025
Thank you for joining us for our 2025 Annual Membership Meeting. We were especially pleased that our State Senator, Monique Limón, joined us to speak about issues that may be addressed by the state legislature or potential actions by the federal government in the coming year that would impact our local older adults.
To become a member or renew your membership, fill out this form.
Click here to see the Agenda.
Click here to see the brief bios of the candidates for office.
A Conversation with Supervisor Hartmann
October 14, 2024
View this recording for a virtual conversation with Third District Supervisor Joan Hartmann, the Chair for the Adult and Aging Network.
The topics of this forum include climate resilience for older adults, housing for older adults (and others), and caregiving.
Property Tax, Prop 13, Prop 19, and More
July 10, 2024
Our speaker, Harry Hagen is independently elected by the voters of Santa Barbara County to receive, safeguard, and invest county, school, and special district funds; collect taxes and revenues; administer estates for county residents when required as public administrator; administer conservatorships for county residents when required as public guardian; and assist county Veterans in obtaining State and Federal Benefits.
View this recording to see how Prop 19 changed the ability of families to keep family property, how Prop 13 has changed the funding of government and how it has affected older adults, and how property tax is calculated.
Tips on Navigating our Healthcare System
February 29, 2024
David Lebell MD will discuss the concept of “shared decision-making” and review some resources patients and their families can easily access to help determine if a proposed course of action or treatment is potentially controversial, such as the website thennt.com.
Stan Frochtzwajg MD will focus primarily on ways to partner and the value of partnering with your physician with an acknowledgement of some of the unique pressures and rules physicians are currently facing.
Silvia Corral MD will talk about patient advocacy and its importance. She will identify specific ways in which a person can be their own advocate, ie the “toolbox”, and improve the patient physician partnership. Lastly, she will explain how a medical advocate can help patients navigate the very complicated and serious decisions when the stakes are high.
Universal Healthcare SBCAN Roundtable
January 26, 2024
Universal healthcare is the main topic of discussion at Santa Barbara County Action Network’s South County Roundtable on Friday, Jan. 26.
Gray Panthers Santa Barbara Network members Dr. Jerome Hoffman, Dr. Nancy Greep, Dr. David Lebell and Professor Dick Flacks will lead a discussion on the potential for a single payer system, current legislative opportunities, and what we can all do to promote universal healthcare and a healthier state and country.
Annual Membership Meeting '24
January 25, 2024
At the meeting, members elected our officers (chair, recording secretary, membership secretary, and treasurer) as well as some members of the Board of Directors, some for a one year term and others for a two-year term.
See below for the agenda for the meeting. We welcome your input on issues you would like Gray Panthers to address in the coming months. Please let us know your thoughts at: info@sbgraypanthers.org. Our policies can be found on our webpage: www.sbgraypanthers.org.
Over Diagnosis in Medicine
November 8, 2023
In Medicine, doing tests that are unlikely to help is dangerous enough when the tests find a problem that isn’t really there or fail to find one that is, but an even greater danger is finding a disease that really is there but would have been best ignored.
Dr. Jerry Hoffman, Emeritus professor of medicine at UCLA has spent his career educating physicians and others on how to thoughtfully analyze medical research studies to help us determine what tests and treatments actually benefits patients, and which may cause some degree of harm. Dr. Hoffman will explain why in large areas of medicine, less is more and why much of the advice you hear about screening and prevention is far more likely to harm you than help you. He will also explain how “advanced technology” can make this problem even worse.
Medicare: The Basics & The Threats
September 27, 2023
Medicare has changed dramatically since its inception. What was intended to be a government run health insurance program with broad benefits for older adults has been allowed to be coopted by big insurance.
Learn more about what Medicare Advantage plans are and what they could become in the future without public intervention. Dr. Nancy Greep will be sounding the alarms about Medicare Advantage and current plans in the House to expand opportunities for private insurance. Julie Posada, the Health Insurance Counseling Advocacy (HICAP) representative will clarify insurance terminology that can be confusing.
How Seniors Can Prepare for Extreme Heat
August 15, 2023
Dr. David Lebell and Rich Appelbaum of the Gray Panthers Santa Barbara Network, Pam Bury and Maureen Ellenberger of Society of Fearless Grandmothers Santa Barbara, Yumi Sera, Executive
Director of the Governor’s Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communications, and Em Johnson, CEC’s Director of Climate Resilience will lead a discussion of the real and lasting impacts of heat and climate change on our elderly, how seniors can play a more active role in protecting our most vulnerable populations, and what actions are needed to ensure we not only support resiliency at the neighborhood level, but also at the policy level.
Longevity, Health and Dementia
July 13, 2023
Join us in person or virtually for this conversation-style forum by Stan Frochtzwajg, MD and David Lebell, MD on an update on actions we can take to help improve longevity, ways to slow or mitigate dementia, and improve ‘health span’—not just a longer life but more good years in which we are more physically and cognitively capable and engaged.
Over the last five years, there has been considerable progress in the research and our understanding of these topics. We will discuss many of the eye-opening advances along with new insights into how known contributors to longevity, such as exercise, can be more effectively applied. Dr. Frochtzwajg will describe how he is incorporating this growing body of research into his family practice and finds himself focusing more of his time with his patients talking about these accessible modifications to their lives, which has the potential for a bigger impact on the patient’s health span than simply prescribing medication.
County Emergency Operations Center Tour
Caregivers: How to Get, Keep, and Support 'em
February 23, 2023
Learn about how to find and keep a caregiver, as well as how to best support yourself and your family. Our speakers from the Independent Living Resource Center (ILRC), the Friendship Center, and the Coast Caregiver Resource Center will be providing information on daycare, counseling, and placement.
Annual Membership Meeting 2023
January 25, 2023
Thank you for attending the Gray Panthers Santa Barbara Network Annual Meeting on January 25.
At the meeting, members elected our officers (chair, recording secretary, membership secretary, and treasurer) as well as the Board of Directors, some for a one-year term and others for a two-year term.
Let us know if you are interested in serving as an officer or member of the Board. If interested, please email info@sbgraypanthers.org with your contact information and a statement about why you are interested in serving. We welcome your input on issues you would like the Gray Panthers to address in the coming months.
Our policies can be found on our webpage at: www.sbgraypanthers.org.
The Wisdom of Elders
June 13, 2022
Thank you for attending our forum, The Wisdom of Elders where four of our wise community members Pravrajika Vrajaprana, David Moore, Lois Capps, and Steve Cohen will be sharing their pearls of wisdom.
Who Is Scamming You Now? COVID-19 and Current Scams, a Financial Pandemic
November 8, 2021
This free forum will be of interest to seniors, as well as their family members and care givers, in addressing such issues as:
- The use of fear, isolation and desperate need to trick victims
- Current scams in Santa Barbara County and nation-wide
- What to do to avoid being scammed
- Fraud prevention and intervention
- Victim support
Featured Speaker:
Vicki Johnson, Senior Deputy District Attorney
Pills or No Pills, that is the Question
September 14, 2021
Featured Speaker: Dr. Camille Hunter, CEO of Coastal Geriatrics
This forum was of interest to seniors, as well as their family members and care givers, in addressing such issues as:
- Newer approaches to senior wellness
- Inappropriate prescription use in the older population: when too many medications in combination become problematic
- ‘Goals of care’ impact decisions about independent living, discussions with family about end-of-life issues (such as advanced directives), and issues of basic health maintenance such as mammograms or statins
- Maximizing quality of life now: the importance of exercise, diet, and social contact
Forum on Gender: How Much Has Changed Since We Were Young(er)!!!
June 29, 2021
Featured Speakers: Kristin Flickinger, J.D., Executive Director, Pacific Pride Foundation and Marian Shapiro, MSW, retired SBCC Instructor of The Psychology of Human Sexuality
This forum was another success, with over 50 folks attending.
Forum on California Legislation Affecting Seniors
April 27, 2021
Featured Speakers: Santa Barbara County’s State Senator Monique Limón and Assemblymember Steve Bennet.
Covid-19 Vaccination Rollout
February 8, 2021
Featured Speakers: Dr. Peggy Dodds, County Public Health Officer and Jan Koegler, County Public Health Emergency Preparedness Manager.
Thank you for attending the Zoom Forum on the Covid-19 vaccination rollout: What’s Working and What’s Not?