Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History

Hank Mitchel

Hank Mitchel was born and raised in Los Angeles and has lived in Santa Barbara since 2008. He has been involved in non-profit work for many years, working for the Episcopal Church and various not-for-profit organizations. He is a volunteer Naturalist with the Channel Islands Marine Sanctuary, a past board member (and president) of the Santa Barbara Maritime Museum, a volunteer with Channel Islands Restoration and the Nature Conservancy, a board member of Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, and of CAMA. He is currently participating in the Docent program at our own Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History.

As on ordained Episcopal priest, Hank worked in Westlake Village for many years developing the congregation and building the Church of the Epiphany there. Prior to that, he worked in several industrial, manufacturing and import businesses, developing nation-wide sales and marketing organizations.

He and his wife, Mari, recently moved from Montecito to Hope Ranch after their house was destroyed in the January debris flow. Their son, Kel, is a graduate engineering student at Stanford University.