Board & Staff

Board of Directors

Barbara Ralston

Founding Director

Barbara Ralston became President and CEO of Fresh Start Women’s Foundation in July of 2007. Prior to assuming her present position she served as a founding member of the board of directors and as Chairman for three consecutive years.

Fresh Start’s Jewell McFarland Lewis Women’s Resource Center provides a comprehensive approach to empowering women seeking financial and emotional self-sufficiency. Services include career coaching, self- directed family law support, mentoring, self esteem services, and financial education. Daily workshops deliver a wide array of topics and support groups meet the special needs of women experiencing domestic violence, grief or cultural barriers.

Barbara is the founder and past Chair of Camelback Community Bank located in Phoenix. Her strategic leadership brought Camelback Community Bank from its de novo status in 1998 to $85 million in total assets and a highly profitable institution in five years. Her banking career spans more than 30 years and three bank acquisitions.

She serves as a member of the board of directors of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona and Great Hearts Preparatory Academies. She is an active member of Arizona Women’s Forum, Charter 100 and Valley Leadership Alumni Association.

Barbara has been recognized for her leadership as a recipient of the 1998 ATHENA award from the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce and the 1996 Woman of the Year award presented by Valley Leadership. In 2004, she was named one of the top women bankers by American Banker Magazine.