Alumni Updates
Forty Under 40
Natalie Pavia (Cohort XXIX) has been named a 40 Under Forty honoree with the Conejo Chamber of Commerce. Natalie is a financial advisor with Thrivent and is committed to making a difference in people’s lives. With a background in the nonprofit sector, she is involved with many local nonprofits like Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV) & ACTION…
Read MoreLeadership Award Announcement
Congratulations to VCLA alumni & Interim President at Oxnard College Oscar Cobian (Cohort XXII) for receiving the 2024 Excellence in Servant Leadership Award from The California Community Colleges Classified Senate! Nominated by members of the OC Classified Senate, Dr. Cobian was recognized for his “exceptional support of the involvement of Classified Professionals in participatory governance at the…
Read MoreMoorpark To Ventura
Congratulations Carlene Saxton (VCLA Cohort XXVIII), who has been selected as the new Assistant City Manager for the City of Ventura. Carlene previously served as the City of Moorpark’s Community Development Director. She is the President of Women Leading Government, helping women succeed in public service.
Read MoreNew Central Coast Director
Congratulations to Hollee King Winegar (Cohort XXVIII), was elected as the new Central Coast Director for the California Chapter of the American Planning Association, and as a member of the APA CA’s State Board. Hollee is the Entitlement Planning Lead for MNS Engineers, a firm based in Santa Barbara.
Read MoreOn the Concours
Since moving to Palm Desert in 2019 Dr. Rick Eberst (cohort XVIII), who served VCLA as a past board member and was the former Interim Program Director has kept up his leadership efforts by recently becoming engaged in new leadership roles in the Coachella Valley. Most recently, he began serving as a VIP Docent at…
Read MoreCity Leadership
Congratulations to VCLA alumni Bill Ayub (cohort XXIII) on his recent appointment as the City Manager for the City of Ventura. Bill was a member of VCLA Cohort XXIII and was also honored as the 2022 Public Sector Leader of the Year at our annual Journey to Leadership Awards event.
Read MoreMaking Waves in Oxnard
VCLA alumni Vincent Stewart (cohort XXVII) was not only sworn-in to serve on the Oxnard Planning Commission in March (and quickly voted to the Vice Chair position), but he also joined the board of the Oxnard College Foundation earlier this month. Thank you Vincent for giving so much of your time and talents to our…
Read MoreSanta Paula’s New Commander
Congratulations, Commander! Congratulations to Eric Starna (cohort XXVII), for being sworn in this morning as a Commander with the City of Santa Paula Police Department. Many of his fellow VCLA alum came out to support him, including Andrew Salinas (cohort XIV), Mark Stadler (cohort XXVII), Kasey Sirody (cohort XXVII), Michael Shanklin (cohort XXVII, Gloria Martinez…
Read MoreNew Board Member
We’re excited to announce that Dhruv Pandya (cohort XXVI), has joined the VCLA board for a two-year term. Dhruv is the Director of Information Security at a video, marketing, and hosting company, Wistia, based out of Cambridge, Massachusetts. In addition to serving on the VCLA board, Dhruv also serves as Chair of the board for…
Read More#Take5 – VCLA Reads 2023
Thank you to all of the VCLA alumni who took part in the First 5 Ventura County #Take5VC program, which encourages us to read, talk, and sing to the children in our lives. Some of the featured readers were Stacie Galang (cohort XX) with the Ventura County Star, Dorina Timbol (cohort XXVIII) with For The Need Foundation, Dustin Gardner (cohort XXI)…
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