Cohort Reflections

We All Have One Mission

Reina Bejerano Director/Chief Technology Officer – Oxnard Union High School District As an educator I am always in awe of how effortless it is for us to come together as an education community to support our students and families. Whether you work in K-12, Higher Education or for the Ventura County Office of Education, we…

An Encouraging Day

Nick Sondergoth Sr. VP – Investments,  Wells Fargo Advisors During our most recent VCLA session, we had the opportunity to hear from a fantastic lineup of speakers that each held an impressive breadth of knowledge within their respective disciplines.  In particular, the front half of the day was particularly impactful, as the focus turned towards…

The Economy and Transportation

Nelson Buss Realtor – Aviara Real Estate We opened our session at the Port of Hueneme with a report on the local economy from Bruce Stenslie, CEO of the Economic Development Collaborative. Key takeaways for me included Ventura County being the #1 ranked county in the nation amenities index and ranked near the top in…

Keeping Our County Running

Erin Larner Manager of Operations – Ventura, Aera Energy LLC At our most recent VCLA session, I learned so much about the breadth and depth of what the Public Works Agency does to keep the County running. A huge thank you goes out to David Fleisch and the Ventura County Water & Sanitation Department in…

Leading in Crisis

Nathan Hickling Community Impact Officer and Executive Assistant to the COO, Ventura County Community Foundation Each member of our cohort is required to blog or “reflect” on an individual session, and my assumption was that most of my fellow cohort bloggers would share about our time at the Situation Room Experience at the Ronald Reagan…

Team Presentations from Cohort XXVIII

Kyle McIntosh Lecturer & Program Director for the MBA/EMBA/MSM Programs, California Lutheran University The Community Exploration session with VCLA on October 6, 2022 was a day that I’ll remember for years to come. Let’s start with the morning. As a member of Team Oxnard, I was privileged to spend time at the Boys and Girls…