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SANTA BARBARA, California – Ann Fristoe, retired Kaiser Permanente pediatrician, has been named president of Apples to Zucchini Cooking School’s board of directors. She joined the board in summer 2024.
Founded by Nancy Martz, A to Z Cooking School’s mission is to bring people together over shared meals by teaching children, teens and adults how to prepare nutritious meals made from local, seasonal ingredients while forging connections and building confidence in the kitchen.
Martz’s cooking school was born out of her passion for healthy food and good nutrition. She has been involved with nonprofits for two decades. Her nonprofit cooking school offers classes, camps and parties, taught by professional chefs and trained Culinary Educators, at a variety of locations, including in its teaching kitchen, garden and other locations across Santa Barbara.
Fristoe is joined on the board by Sandy Elliot, Treasurer; Darren Doi, Secretary; and directors Deborah Bettencourt, Heather Shaffer, Bryan Kerner, and Marie Schnyer Zimmerman.. Dr. Kristin Castorino, Sam Edelman, Lindsay Johnson, and Nancy Weiss serve on the advisory committee.
Fristoe has deep roots in the community having raised her three children here since 2006. An avid home chef, she recognized the importance of not just teaching her patients about nutrition, but showing them the how and why with recipes and tips for smarter shopping. A partnership with Apples to Zucchini was a natural offshoot of this passion as the mission of A to Z naturally promotes both mental and physical wellness.
Dr. Fristoe graduated from Tulane School of Medicine in 1993 and completed her Pediatric residency at Rady Children’s Hospital and UC San Diego. She joined Kaiser Permanente in Woodland HIlls in 2001 and became the first pediatrician to lead their expansion into Ventura County. She served as Assistant Chief of Pediatrics for Western Ventura until her retirement in 2024. Maternal-child health, Women in Medicine and Food as Medicine were some of her prime interests during her career.
“I am thrilled to serve as Board President of A to Z and am so excited to continue the important work we are doing in the Santa Barbara community to create healthy, confident cooks”.
For more information about Apples to Zucchini Cooking School, call 805-452-3497 or visit https://www.atozcookingschool.org
