Maureen Spencer was born in Auburn, California and moved to Santa Maria just before High School. She also spent one year in Alaska. After attending SBCC, she headed off to CalPoly SLO to major in Natural Resources Management. She was not idle during her summers either – she was a firefighter for two summers, one as a member of a Heli-shot crew. Maureen moved back to Santa Barbara in 1989 and works as an Environmental Manager for Santa Barbara County Flood Control District. Maureen has been married to Brad for 27 years and has two children: Mackenzie 22 and Wyatt 13.
From a young age, Maureen was interested in palliative care. Her mother benefitted from Hospice care and Maureen felt it would be very rewarding to work in such an environment. Maureen completed the Volunteer Training Program in the fall of 2015 and although she decided to become a volunteer for herself, she has been intrigued at how many lessons she has learned from the patients she serves. Her volunteer work has challenged her as a thinker and at the same time, taught her to be quiet enough to listen.
There is much that will surprise you about Maureen; she loves to hike, quilt, bake (as any of you who have attended Death and Cupcakes will know), was on a logging team at CalPoly and has kissedthree different species of frogs three times, no less!