Good Gigs: Working for Yourself

Each year, the Pacific Coast Business Times queries employees to determine where the happiest place to work is. Here are Santa Barbara’s top performers and a little bit about why.

Montecito Bank & Trust

Community outreach coordinator Ashleigh Davis works “a feel-good job” because she gets to witness firsthand how much the company’s donations benefit the community. In fact, Montecito Bank & Trust gives back about $1 million to more than 200 nonprofits annually. Davis’s favorite part is hearing the happy responses from nonprofits when they hear the bank will support their event or fundraiser. “People assume that when you work at a bank that you’re just a teller, but it goes so much deeper than that,” said Davis. “I really believe that all of the people who work here truly want to make our communities better places to live and work.”

Jackson Family Wines

“The [Jackson] family has done a remarkable job supporting our employees,” said Katy Rogers, director of direct-to-consumer sales for the company. She said that the company recently “launched a program called JFW Cares, which is an employee assistance program that provides grant-style funding for employees who are facing financial difficulties, need crisis support [or] scholarship funding for their children, and more.” She noted that chair and proprietor Barbara Banke explained the company culture well when she said, “One thing that we pride ourselves on is we do not micromanage our winemakers or vineyard people.”

Apeel Sciences

Kallan Sheehan has been with Apeel Sciences for more than two years and feels extremely connected to the mission of the company. “We have the opportunity to dramatically change the global food system, and that’s an incredible feeling,” she said. “We genuinely value work-life balance, and we want people to feel that they have the freedom to get their work done within a framework that also supports them. We work hard, we have fun, and we really care.”