Recently moving to Santa Barbara from Los Angeles, Travis Kranz has established a deep connection to her new home. She was drawn to Santa Barbara for its reputation as a kinder, gentler place, and has enjoyed connecting to her family roots in the area. Her passion for art and interest in Spanish Colonial Revival architecture provided an instant connection to Casa del Herrero, and was the catalyst for her appointment as the Casa’s newest board member. “I was introduced to the Casa by friends, and immediately connected to the warmth and special quality of this place,” said Travis. “When you visit the estate, you feel very welcomed into the Steedman family’s life and personal history.”

Travis is driven by a desire to make an impact in the world of historical preservation. She is specifically attracted to the role education plays in preservation, an interest that has grown out of her time spent as an art history professor. During her time as an educator, she took remarkable care to connect with her students, and to share the power of art as a tool for storytelling. “During my career, it was important for me to connect to my students on a human level,” said Travis. “I am particularly proud of a moment I witnessed between two students in a Pre-Colonial Colombian Art course I was teaching at Pasadena City College. A Latina student defended the difficulty of my assigned reading material to another student because she did not want the teaching of the art of her ancestors watered down but rather taught with the same academic rigor as any European art class.”

Casa del Herrero is steeped in cultural heritage, which is seen in both the George Washington Smith designed house and the collection of fifteenth and sixteenth-century art objects from Spain. Travis is looking forward to acquiring a deeper appreciation of the art objects at the Casa as she learns more about the unique collection. “The Casa has some very interesting pieces in its art collection,” said Travis. “I am looking forward to learning about these in more detail as I further my education on the museum.”

As Travis and her husband Tom continue on this latest chapter in their lives, they remain excited for the adventures to come in their new community. And for Travis, as the newest Casa trustee, this includes pursuing education and preservation with great hope for the Casa’s future. “I grew up in a Spanish Colonial style home in Bel-Air, and have great memories visiting Santa Barbara with my family,” said Travis. “My career has led me to the importance of historical preservation, and now at this time in my life, the Casa is just a natural fit for me.”

After just a week in their new Montecito home, Carolyn Williams and her husband Bob hosted their first out-of-town guests. Wanting to be good hosts, Carolyn asked her new next door neighbor what she might do to make the stay enjoyable. Without hesitating, the neighbor directed Carolyn to visit Casa del Herrero. Carolyn booked a tour, and was completely enchanted with the Casa on her visit. Now, five years later, Carolyn is a dedicated docent and volunteer. “I have an interest in history, and immediately found the Casa intriguing,” said Carolyn. “I became a volunteer docent because I wanted to share the Casa’s history with visitors while also finding a way to give back.”

Carolyn thrives on discovering meaningful ways to engage with her community, and is most often drawn to cultural organizations that fulfill her passion for understanding history and creative expression. Part of this stems from spending much of her professional career working as a middle school and high school language arts teacher where she loved communicating new ideas to students. “I have always enjoyed taking something I find exciting and translating it into knowledge I can pass on to others,” said Carolyn. “My background as an educator absolutely informs my passion for and interest in Casa del Herrero.”

And with Casa del Herrero, there is much to be passionate about. From being one of the finest examples of Spanish Colonial Revival architecture in America to the Moorish-style gardens to the extensive collection of fifteenth and sixteenth-century fine and decorative art objects, the Casa truly has something of interest for every visitor. “I continue to be intrigued by the fact that the house museum in many ways is essentially unchanged from the time of its original owners,” said Carolyn. “It is amazing to stand in the house and see all of the original furnishings or walk through the garden and see so much of the original intent still intact.”

Carolyn and her husband Bob (who has served on the Casa board for five years) have moved several times in their 48 years together, and are now happy to call Montecito home. For Carolyn, the Casa feels like an extension of this sentiment as she is so completely drawn to its mission and the creative inspiration she gets from being at the estate. “For me, the Casa is a place where I can use my skills as a teacher while keeping my passion for art and culture ignited,” said Carolyn. “There is so much to engage with from the George Washington Smith connection to the antiquities and medieval art objects to the original owners’ family history. All of this together just seemed like a good fit for me. Even after five years, I continue to find new details and new things to discover. It just gets better and better.”