Alumni Updates
On 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)…
Read MoreOur Alumni are Experts
An expert from her own cohort! Loredana Carson, Senior Lecturer and Academic Advisor with California Lutheran University was able to call on her fellow cohort XXII member Heather Sumagaysay, Communications Manager and PIO for the City of Ventura, to lead a class on communications for public sector managers. Heather talked about the importance of a…
Read MoreSanta Barbara News
Congratulations to Kirk Lagerquist (cohort XXVII) on being appointed as the General Services Director for the County of Santa Barbara! Kirk recently concluded a 27-year career with the United States Navy Civil Engineer Corps, where he served as the military equivalent of a Public Works Director at both large and small Navy installations. The Santa…
Read MoreNew Position
Congratulations to Arturo Zaragoza (cohort XXIV), who was recently promoted to director of financial equity programs at Ventura County Credit Union (VCCU). Zaragoza has served as a branch manager at VCCU for nine years and has more than 16 years of experience working in the financial services industry. He has been the recipient of awards…
Read MoreNon-Profit Addition
Congratulations to Mike Silacci (VCLA Class III), for joining the team at the Ventura County Community Foundation (VCCF), serving as Chief Philanthropy Officer. Mike is a former VCCF Board Member bringing years of expertise and passion in serving the philanthropic sector in Ventura County. Mike was also named VCLA’s Distinguished Community Leader in 2002.
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