Santa Barbara County’s Kim Colby Davis Earns National Professional Recognition While Undergoing Emergency Brain Surgery

Recognized for her work on behalf of our community’s most vulnerable youth, Kim Colby Davis, director of Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) of Santa Barbara County, has been named the Kappa Alpha Theta Program Director of the Year by the National Court Appointed Special Advocate/Guardian Ad Litem (CASA/GAL) Association for Children.

Davis was unable to travel to St. Louis, Missouri, to accept her award in person because just two weeks before the Awards of Excellence Ceremony,  she had emergency brain surgery.

The 19th brain surgery came as a bit of a shock and a surprise for Davis, but having endured 18 previous surgeries to treat a rare illness, she is quite used to the process and has already returned to work. After a full life and career in the financial planning field, Davis was met with a life-altering medical condition. From that moment on Davis vowed her life in service to children, and since then has made a long lasting and tangible impact on the lives of vulnerable children through her story of resilience and her work with CASA.

Davis’s leadership has elevated the Santa Barbara County CASA program to be the go-to agency supporting child victims of abuse and neglect. Her innovative program development and strategic planning expertise has resulted in remarkable achievements. The CASA program has experienced 340 percent growth under Davis’s leadership and has expanded its reach from serving 125 children to supporting more than 500 children annually.

Davis’s innovation around program growth and volunteer retention has inspired the board of directors and the CASA staff to move forward in finding new ways to serve their community’s most vulnerable children. Davis has expanded the program’s reach to be county-wide by adding regional offices to better serve the children, cultivate a presence throughout the county, and offer more convenient and effective options for volunteers to have the support they need.

Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court, the Honorable Gustavo Lavayen, described Davis’s qualifications to receive this highly-competitive award: “she has an innate talent for bringing people together, and her organizational skills and immense talents have created a CASA program that is a tremendous help to me and all those involved in the court process, and especially the children served by CASA.” 

Davis has been an integral partner and strong leader on the national level, serving as the chair of National CASA/GAL’s Suburban Leadership Council and as a member of the National Leadership Council, where she was the liaison to the National CASA/GAL Board of Trustees.

“Kim embodies everything that a CASA program director should be,” said Carol Lee Hubner, current Santa Barbara County Commissioner, and former attorney for dependent youth. “Kim is a creative problem-solver who is always up for a challenge. She is a straight shooter and a go-getter. Under her direction, Santa Barbara County has become a community go-to for child advocacy.”

“The growth of our CASA program and this award would not be possible without the wonderful staff, board of directors, volunteers, and community supporting us,” said Davis, “I am proud to be a part of the village that takes care of our community’s most vulnerable children.”

CASA of Santa Barbara County is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization whose mission is to assure a safe, permanent, nurturing home for all abused and/or neglected children by providing a highly trained volunteer to advocate for them in the court system. CASA is actively recruiting additional volunteers, inquire at sbcasa.org.