Garufis began her banking career as a teller more than 45 years ago with Security Pacific Bank, now Bank of America. She rose through the ranks of retail banking and after completing the Security Pacific Management Training Program, successfully led retail banking, commercial banking, and private banking organizations. She joined Montecito Bank & Trust in 2004 and became the bank’s President and Chief Executive Officer in September 2006 and became Chairman & CEO of the Board in April 2017.
She was born in Los Angeles and graduated from Marymount High School. She attended UCLA and holds B.A. and M.A. degrees from California State University Northridge and is a graduate of Pacific Coast Banking School at the University of Washington. She moved to Santa Barbara in 2002 to attend the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, UC Santa Barbara to earn a Ph.D. in Composition and Rhetoric.