Supervisor Joan Hartmann

Joan Hartmann has lived in Santa Barbara County part-time since 1999 and full-time since 2004. She served for six years as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) for children in the foster care network. She also served on the Wildling Museum's Board of Directors, the Fund for Santa Barbara's Grant Making Committee, and the Santa Barbara Foundation's LEAF Advisory Committee.

Joan began her career in the academic world, serving as Director of the Public Policy Program at the Claremont Graduate School; Assistant Professor of Environmental Studies and Government at Oberlin College; and later as adjunct professor of Environmental Studies at USC. She has also worked in the policy and budget offices and as legal counsel for several federal government agencies.

She has also served in government—with the Congressional Research Service, the Department of the Interior and the U.S. EPA, Region 3 and helped found the Southern California Wetlands Recovery Project, a novel public private partnership to restore coastal Southern California rivers and wetlands.

She spearheaded the Buellton Urban Growth Boundary initiative which requires a vote of the people before the City can expand its boundaries, the first such initiative in Santa Barbara County. She also advised the Goodland Coalition which successfully campaigned for a similar initiative in Goleta.

She is married to James (Jim) Powell, and has one adult daughter, and two adult stepchildren