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Chuck Slosser
Presentation to the SB Council for Self-Esteem - 06/12/09
The Introduction
By Bob Hodges
Our guest speaker, Charles Slosser, chose a career focused on making the world a better place and he has succeeded. He has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Santa Barbara Foundation since 1991. The Foundation is one of the largest private sources of grant support for nonprofits in Santa Barbara County, administrating over $300 million in assets.
Prior to this position he was the Director of Development at the Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History, and Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Pepperdine University and UCSB.
He is currently busy as an active member of the:
- Planned Giving Roundtable
- Advisory Committee at the USC Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy
- The Foundation Roundtable
- League of California Community Foundations
- City of Santa Barbara’s Long Term Strategy Steering Committee on Youth Violence
- Board member of the Hutton Foundation and the Orfalea Fund.
There is a rumor that he has retired though it is clear that he continues to pursue his life goal of improving our world.
Chuck is here today to talk about Self-Esteem and how it has helped him to succeed in life and in his career of making our world a better place.
Please, give a warm welcome to Charles Slosser.
The following wrap-up is by Betty Hatch
The name, Chuck Slosser, is well known in the philanthropic community of Santa Barbara; and the man who approached the microphone was humble in his attitude and humorous in his delivery, releasing quick smiles and laughing with the audience. His first words dealt with why he retired because so many have been asking him. Chuck had three ready reasons. He is now 66 years old and has received his Medicare card to prove it; while there were only 3 people on staff at the SB Foundation when he became CEO 17 years ago, now there is a staff of 23, and he is more of a doer than a manager. Now in the “methadone” period of his retirement, he longs to take up music again--Chuck plays the guitar. He also wants to write, learn Spanish and play more golf. He has been playing basketball since he was a school boy and he continues to play in Santa Barbara each week with a group of “old” friends.
Chuck told us he was raised in Detroit, Michigan, where he attended more schools than an army brat. His father was a trade “embalmer” and on call 24/7. As a result, the family moved every few years. While it seemed that life was full of uncertainty for his father, his mother had an outgoing and positive personality. Chuck was perhaps more like his mother.
Because change was a constant in Chuck’s life, he was always encountering new people and he learned at a young age the skill of approaching a stranger and comfortably beginning a conversation.
Chuck’s mother tells a story about him when he was four years old. She had told him he could only play in the sandbox in the neighbor’s yard if there was an older child there as well. One day when he and the older child next door were playing in the sandbox, the older child ran into his house for something. The older child’s father came home at that moment and began criticizing Chuck for being alone. Chuck tried to explain and the father called him a liar.
When the neighbor’s son had a birthday, Chuck refused to go saying “his father called me a liar!”
After his mother explained to the neighbor what had occurred, the father came over and apologized saying he now understood what had actually happened. He asked Chuck to forgive him, which he did, The father then asked, “Now will you come to the party?”
Chuck said, “No.” And he did not go. Today Chuck sees this episode, and his mother’s willingness to support his decision, as an early lesson in developing self-esteem in a young child
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| Willa Young, President, SB Council for Self-Esteem |
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During the speech, Chuck often mentioned, that he had been a poor student. His parents, who were German descendents and of the Lutheran faith—“real mid-westerners,” wanted him to attend college. He’d be the first member of the family to do so. Because of their confidence in him, Chuck began to focus and did well in school. He enjoyed History and became skilled in writing. He was active in campus politics and was elected president of his fraternity. After college, he worked toward a Masters Degree as well as teaching history in his spare time! He was told by his favorite mentor to go for his PHD because it would enable him to work at a university on either the academic or administrative side. To this day, he is grateful for all the inspiration and encouragement given to him.
Chuck was accepted at UCLA and loved the university life. While working on his dissertation, he taught at a small college prep-school, named Windward. The students were bright but not being motivated in the public school system. However, after attending Windward, 90 + % continued on to college. As the school grew in size & complexity, there was a confrontation between the teachers and parents. The parents wanted to run the school. The confrontation became a matter of confidence and integrity to the teachers and three of them walked out. Chuck was one of them. “They just could not stay at the party.”
Not wanting to leave California, Chuck got an interview at U.C. San Diego and thinking he would not get the position, Chuck was unwilling to look at job opportunities elsewhere; he took a long look at his situation and realized that where he lived was more important to him than what he did. Serendipitously a friend told him about a job in development at Pepperdine. Chuck landed the job and after three years moved to Santa Barbara to take a position at UCSB. Though Chuck had to persuade his lovely wife of 38 years to move, she is completely convinced now.
In 1998, Chuck and 4 of his friends at the SB Foundation put in two dollars each for a lottery ticket; they won 6.25 million dollars! After taxes, each wound up with a mere $600,000. Chuck wisely put this fortunate windfall away for his retirement!
The whole presentation was like Chuck--comfortable, humble, entertaining, and wise.
So that’s Chuck’s story and the keys we learned regarding his self-esteem are underlined above. They show he is caring, giving, flexible, decisive, grateful, and responsible and that he has integrity and self respect. Self-Esteem as defined by the National Council for Self-Esteem is the experience of being capable of meeting life’s challenges and being worthy of happiness. Chuck’s life has proved he is capable and embodies self-respect.
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