Christina Alexandra Djernaes

43. Dec. 19, 1968, Dec. 12, 2012. Christina Alexandra Djernaes passed away on December 12, surrounded by her loving family, in Montecito, California. She was 43 years old. She had been battling appendiceal cancer for the year prior to her passing. She is survived by her two children, Sophia and Torben as well as their father Marc Vraciu; her parents, Niels and Beatriz; and three siblings, Chris, Caroline, and David. She was born in Santa Barbara on December 19, 1968, the third child of Niels & Beatriz Djernaes, who had immigrated to Santa Barbara from Argentina 4 years earlier. Her father previously emigrated from Denmark to Argentina 14 years prior to that, thus providing a varied and multi- cultural backdrop for her to explore. Despite her relatively premature death, Ms. Djernaes managed to explore her tri-cultural roots with many transcontinental trips to visit her parents' homelands, studying abroad and pursuing a Political Economy degree in college. Ms. Djernaes attended Solvang Elementary School, Santa Ynez Valley Union High School, University of California, Berkeley and University of California, Hastings College of Law in San Francisco. She spent 15 years in northern California attending school and working- cementing her belief of what makes California a great place to be: its beautiful geography, land preservation efforts, progressive policies and the multitude of diverse opportunities offered to those who would embrace them. She practiced as an employment law attorney for the majority of her legal career, working as a solo practitioner to accommodate the balance of being a single parent. She successfully brought class actions on behalf of technology company employees. She also brought individual claims for wrongful termination and remained active in statewide attorney organizations protecting employee's civil rights. Later in her career she shifted to non- profit work and founded her own charitable foundation, The Djernaes Telos Foundation, whose mission is to enhance our community by providing grants to single parents and others in need to eliminate the cycle of poverty and limited growth opportunities. She worked toward the goals of her foundation up to the days of her death. She also served on the board of the GSBISA Ice in Paradise Campaign- the effort to bring a new ice rink to Girsh Park in Goleta. Of all her accomplishments, the one of which she is most proud was raising her two kids. She will miss them dearly and rests now feeling she provided a foundation for them to embrace opportunities, savor life and continue the path to becoming contributing public citizens. A private memorial service and celebration held on December 19th. Please direct any remembrances to the Ice in Paradise Campaign or the UCSB Nano Sciences for Cancer Research. Contact Joy Margolis, Esq. at Buynak, Fauver, Archibald & Spray for details.

Christina Alexandra Djernaes

December 19, 1968 - December 12, 2012