Candidate for
Councilmember; City of Santa Barbara

Lesley Wiscomb: Candidate for City Council 2013

Lesley grew up in Boston and graduated from Middlebury College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science.

She worked 17 years in the financial industry in New York, first as a securities analyst and then as a bond salesperson and bond trader. In 1990 she left Wall Street and moved with her husband, Scott, to Brisbane, Australia, where she launched her second career after receiving her Graduate Diploma in Landscape Architecture from Queensland University of Technology.

The couple relocated to Seattle in 1995 where for 12 years Lesley focused her landscape architecture work on full service project management from design through construction of public parks and other civic projects with an emphasis on community engagement and environmental sensitivity. She also chaired the City of Seattle's Design Review Board for the NW Region and mentored an elementary school child from a fragmented family.

During her careers, Lesley worked in large corporations, small partnerships, for a city about the size of Santa Barbara, and finally as the sole proprietor of her own landscape architecture and project management business.

Since moving to Santa Barbara, Lesley focuses her time on her passion for the City + she's in her 4th year as chair of the Parks & Recreation Commission and is also on the boards of Santa Barbara Beautiful and the PARC Foundation. She's also chair of the UC Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners of Santa Barbara County.

From advocating for youth programs and neighborhood improvement projects to organizing workshops on sustainable landscape practices to collaborating with other organizations to promote public-private partnerships that benefit our community, her multi-faceted work gives her a broad perspective on the needs and concerns of our City, our neighborhoods and our residents.

Lesley is an avid runner and swimmer and, since 2006, has been competing in triathlons. Lesley and Scott have two married, adult children and four grandchildren who range in age from 8 years to 2 year-old twins.