Finance and Contracts Manager
When describing her life, Carole East says “A career path is not always straight”.
At UCSB, Carole majored in Physical Education and received a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology. In her early career, she was a lifeguard and swim instructor. After college she taught PE and Physiology at Palomar Community College and UCSB.
When the position at UCSB was phased out, Carole decided to attend Santa Barbara Business College and she earned a certificate in financial accounting at UCSB. From there Carole launched her career in finance, working at City Commerce Bank and Montecito Bank & Trust. After banking, her finance experience included working as the Controller at TynanGroup and at Power Management, Inc.
Carole combined her lifelong love of travel with her dedication to community service by joining the Peace Corps in 1992. Carole served in Fiji and returned to the Peace Corps in 1998 to serve in Paraguay.
Carole joined Las Cumbres Observatory in 2016 as our Finance & Contracts Manager, overseeing the diverse financial components of a nonprofit science institute. We have enjoyed hearing about Carole’s travels; she has visited more than 35 countries all over the world. Her global perspective is an excellent fit for our global network of telescopes.
Carole East will be retiring from LCO in May this year and she is looking forward to many more travel opportunities. We will all miss her and we wish her lots of fun adventures in the future.
