Board of Directors

Bianca M. Neff-Uribe, FOUNDEr & PRESIDENT

ACC, International Coach Federation
MA, Conflict Resolution
BA, Cultural Anthropology
rotary peace fellow (2010-2011)

Bianca is the daughter of an American father and a Basque mother from the historically conflict-ridden region of northern Spain. She is a humanitarian coach, credentialed as an Associate Certified Coach by the International Coach Federation (ICF). Her academic background in Conflict Resolution and Cultural Anthropology combines with her coaching credentials and expertise in global transitions to uniquely qualify her to help lead the current movement toward peacebuilder resilience. She serves as Founding Director of Petra Peacebuilders.

Bianca has been active in global humanitarian work for 20 years, beginning in Latin America in the 1990s as an interpreter for English-speaking professionals. She then moved into cultural anthropology in Central Asia (the ‘–stan’ countries) and Arabic-speaking North Africa, helping development expats in understanding and respecting their local context. Her grassroots work in various nations combines with her experience at the United Nations headquarters in Geneva (UNOCHA), affording her an exceptionally broad perspective on the global non-profit enterprise.

Her passion is to assist local grassroots leaders in the developing world, particularly those working in reconciliation and conflict transformation, in receiving the personal and organizational support they need to remain strong and resilient. As Petra's founding director, Bianca combines her drive for excellence with an overarching and decidedly people-focused goal of team harmony, a highly effective combination of leadership gifts in today's global climate. Her Myers-Brigs profile is INTJ ('Mastermind') and on the Enneagram she is a Type One ('Reformer').

Bianca's professional associations include membership in the International Coach Federation (ICF). Her extensive international experience naturally brings a unique and well-rounded perspective to her coaching. As a coach and social entrepreneur, her primary professional interests outside Petra include: Reconciliation, Conflict Transformation, Radical Disagreement and Engagement, and Sustainable Development.

In 2012, in keeping with her commitment to reduce her carbon footprint, she moved into a beautiful eco-friendly yurt. For fun, she loves cycling, tennis, DIY home projects, playing with her two rambunctious Dobermans Ninja & Neska, spending time with third-culture kids, and curling up with any book by Ahmed Rashid or Henri Nouwen.

Bianca has lived in Kyrgyzstan, Kenya, Morocco, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the USA. She is a dual citizen of Spain and the United States. She is also a Rotary Peace Fellow, and a two-time Rotary Paul Harris Fellow. She runs Petra Peacebuilders from Malaga, Spain.

Loretta R. butts, VICE PREsidENT

Past Rotary District Governor, District 5240

Loretta is a Registered Principal and independent financial advisor. Since moving to California's Central Coast in 1989 from the San Francisco Bay area, she has served as the Chair of the San Luis Obispo County Commission on the Status of Women, on the Board of Directors of the North County Women's Shelter and Life Span Services, and as Chair of the program advisory committee for the EOC Adult Day Care program in Templeton, CA.

Loretta joined the Rotary Club of Atascadero in 1994 and has since served on several of the club's boards and as Treasurer and Rotary International Foundation chair. In 2001 she was instrumental in the charter of the Rotary Club of Templeton and served as its Charter President from 2001-2003. In 2005, she returned to her home club in Atascadero.

Loretta has seen the wider impact of Rotary as the world's largest service organization by attending Rotary International Conventions in Barcelona, Los Angeles, Lisbon, Sydney, Sao Paulo, and Atlanta.

She has witnessed Rotary's direct impact during her travels to Nigeria to assist in the goal of eradicating polio. Loretta has also traveled to Uganda representing District 5240 Rotarians responsible for a significant grant to provide furnishings and supplies for a medical clinic and living facilities for staff in a remote village outside of Lira.

She has had the honor of being selected Rotarian of the Year while also being a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a Benefactor and a member of the Paul Harris Society. Her husband John is also a Paul Harris Fellow as are other members of her family.

Craig W. Lewis, SECRETARY

MA, Leadership
BA, Cultural Anthropology

Craig is husband to Katie, and dad to his 8-year old son who they adopted from Taiwan. They currently live in South Carolina. 

He was born and raised in Ohio and holds academic degrees in both Cultural Anthropology and in Leadership. He is a trained coach and spiritual director who has a keen interest in walking with individuals through a process of awareness and wholeness.

He and his wife lived in Spain from 2008-2012 working on a team that developed programs designed to prepare immigrants and refugees for life in their new context as well as communicating to these marginalized peoples their eternal value as human beings. This type of work required navigating the complexities of understanding both host country's language and culture as well as that of the immigrant and refugee communities in order to bridge the gap between the two.

Craig is also an artist who loves working with his hands, with a strong appreciation for the role that the creative process has on life.