The mission of Ventura County Leadership Academy is connecting people and issues to strengthen our county.  And today, on Patriots Day, Cohort XXVI did just that.  With the task of taking a deeper dive into ten of the largest cities in Ventura County, each team had the opportunity to connect with many key individuals that make up each city.  Even with Covid restrictions and limited “in person access”, our virtual research and meetings were a fun way to get to know fellow cohorts and learn about a specific city.

From City Council Members, local Mayors and Assembly Members, to business owners, college presidents, artists and General Managers of Park & Rec, we were able to ask the tough and not so tough questions that make each city unique.  On the surface, we found significant city differences in housing prices, school district sizes and funding, crime statistics and populations.  Then we looked below the surface.  The one thing that each city had in common was the success of community and connection.  Each council member, business owner, county representative or board member we spoke with agreed that “their sense of community and connection” allowed for their cities success during some of the toughest times in the county.  Each city embraces their diverse culture and longstanding history that make them unique, all the while knowing we all form a bond that connects – We Are Ventura County!

In the weeks and months ahead, each immersion activity that we complete not only brings our cohort closer as leaders but allows us to embrace each and every part of our county.  We will be pushed out of our comfort zones to ask the deep questions.  Then, we will look deep inside ourselves to help find and answer.  But mostly, we will continue to connect, grow and expand our knowledge of this beautiful county . . . and create some lasting partnerships that will stand up to the hardest of times.  We are virtually the best – Cohort XXVI.

Melissa Miller, VCLA Cohort XXVI

Lately, as the success of the Reel Guppy Outdoors program has surged, I have taken some time to reflect upon the people and events that have gotten us here. An important part of my success with this program has been the lessons I took away from my participation in the Ventura County Leadership Academy.  What VCLA has done for me in my career and volunteer work is incredibly valuable: first and foremost, it taught me how to be a leader.

I have been active in my community for many years. I have long held a deep drive to serve others and to make my community better. What I needed were the tools for making connections, for building a network of leaders to support my vision, and for taking my dreams from vision to reality. From day one in VCLA we were instructed in a leadership approach that involved empowerment, personal connection, and ethical behavior. I grew tremendously; I learned how to be a leader in building my own company and brand. I learned how to identify a need and then step up to fulfill it.

In short, I want to share three key take-aways that I learned through my participation in VCLA Cohort XX.

1. Education is valuable. By becoming more educated I was building more value in myself. This allows me to make a decent living, and empowers VCLA graduates to apply for top positions in the county. This lesson inspired me to go back to Oxnard College to take filmmaking courses. What has developed since then has exceeded my expectations. By building my personal value, I have been able to use that as the vessel to start an impactful nonprofit organization that has served more than 2,400 youth and counting. The Reel Guppy Outdoors program serves Ventura County kids, connecting them to the outdoors and a valuable and relaxing hobby (or career). It teaches them patience, hard work, and about aquatic ecosystems. It is endorsed by the California Department of Fish & Wildlife, and has been recognized by state, national, and international fishing organizations for our educational and ethical practices.
2. Sustainability and philanthropy are more than just buzzwords. During our cohort’s visit to Limoneira, John Chamberlain spoke about his company’s calculated risks and efforts toward achieving greater sustainability. The way that they built their infrastructure, working throughout Ventura County, and in different regions around the world – it’s an effective blueprint for growth. I was impressed how Limoneira provides so much for the community, and the commitment it takes to sustain this level of support.
3. Health care is vital to our communities, but can be very difficult to access. I grew up “in the system.” A child thrust into foster care like this can develop certain personality traits that result from the psychological trauma we suffer, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Things that were not spoken about during my childhood are more openly addressed now. Mental health does not deserve the stigma it receives; I can see that some of my insecurities and defense mechanisms have arisen from the upbringing I had. It’s too bad that I had to struggle so much as a kid and a young person, and that I only had these revelations as an adult – kids should not have to experience that. Nevertheless, the open conversation we had in the health care session put me on a path to understanding. It also got me more fired up than ever to help the kids now growing up in the same system I grew up in.

These lessons have helped to shape who I am and how I approach my work in Ventura County. Since my participation in Cohort XX, I have built the Reel Guppy program from concept to action. I am proud to say that my leadership has brought in more volunteers, supporters, and media attention than ever. And it’s only the beginning! We are providing healthy, exciting, hands-on opportunities for kids – most of them low-income and at-risk. VCLA helped to give me some tools that I use every day in making Ventura County an even better place to live. I’d like to invite all of you to come out to see what we are doing and to get involved. Visit http://reelguppyoutdoors.com/ for more information, and please contact me to visit, volunteer for, and participate in this life-changing program.

VCLA is very near and dear to my heart. The lessons I learned have helped to propel me to greater things than I had ever imagined. I’m thankful for the opportunity to serve Ventura County, and to put my leadership skills into action.

Kevin Brannon, Cohort XX (“Dos Equis”), AKA the Best Cohort Ever

Founder, Reel Guppy Outdoor, a nonprofit corporation

By Colleen Malone

The focus of the day was on Public Safety and the Arts. The most impactful part of the day for me was visiting the Museum of Ventura County and listening to Tracy Hudak, Founder of CreativityWorks, discuss creative economics. How do we define quality of life? Does the quality of life mean the things I accumulate, professional successes or does the quality of life mean the experiences that I have and how I interact in the world? These were the questions and thoughts that resonated with me. As I was listening to Ms. Hudak’s presentation, I realized that arts education plays a critical role in shaping our life experiences and how we view the world. It not only teaches us how to become excellent observers of the natural world it also helps us develop problem solving skills. Being able to creatively solve problems are vital in helping us become leaders in innovation. If we want to be the leaders of new ideas, we must give students the opportunity to use creative expression. Arts education needs to be woven into all parts of our school curriculum. What does this look like? Multi-disciplinary collaboration, art being used in assignments across all content areas. Through the creative process, we learn to ask questions. From our questions or proposed problem, we look for answers. From our answers, we find solutions! So again, to recap Ms. Hudak, “What if we defined the quality of life as…living an expressive life; building creative skills; make meaning together as a community; and solving community problems”. What is the quality of life here in Ventura County? MB Hanrahan said, “If you want good art, lead an interesting life”. Yes, and I want to add, “If you want to find new ways to solve local problems, teach the creative process to the next generation”.

By Alejandra Tellez

I had no idea what to expect for this session. I enjoy not getting the agenda until days before, the fact that I just show up, get awesome speakers I learn so much all while getting snacks and food throughout the day; makes me feel so fortunate and will suffer when I attend any other long day event. I was still in holiday mode and was having a hard time getting aaallll the way to Simi by 8 am. But the day turned out to be one of the coolest sessions yet.
Morning started off easy topics that I am familiar with; energy and water. I enjoy hearing people talk about topics I work on, I always learn something new. The history, politics and evolving landscape of water in our County is ever flowing; energy is a resource standing behind the fork on the road, ready to make a turn, make changes, be innovative and evolve with the climate change. We got a cool tour of Calleguas facilities sprinkled with facts about water chemistry and engineering.
Then we all caravanned to the Simi Landfill, as we made our way and started to be surrounded by trash trucks it all became real. Everything was so structured, clean, and organized starting with the specific lanes to drive on as we made our way up and into the middle or the organized chaos. We all got on a bus and experienced stops full of information and but most important of all behavior altering evidence “I need to produce less trash” “wow all that comes here” “oh wow” were phrase heard throughout the bus. Guides were full of great on the job experiences and effortlessly answered all our questions, and there was a lot of questions. I think none of us expected to be so intrigued by trash. From the sorting, layering, gas production, pest control, falcons and what and how to recycle. Walking out with a miniature trash can was a gold stamp at then end. Now if we all just produced that small amount of trash in a day, I’d call that a win.
The caravan once again made its way up to the next hill, the Reagan library, we all circled the parking lot, trying to find a spot. We finally all parked and took in the views as we rushed to our next stop, got a quick peak of Air Force one and got to enjoy a quick bite refill our water bottles and headed to what became an activity full of stress, fun and laughs. As we all got our roles assigned and acted out through a situation room scenario with constant direction of who are your allies or foes and decisions you had to make everyone seemed to embrace being pushed out of our comfort zone. It was great to see everyone in the cohort step up to the challenge. The county it’s in good hands with this 25th best cohort ever.

City Adventures

For session   number four, people were divided in to teams to explore assigned cities within the county. As we ventured out in the day, we reunited in Camarillo where we got to meet Dr. David El Fattal, Acting Chancellor and Vice Chancellor Business and Administrative Services for the County Community College District. He spoke about his responsibilities and one thing that stood out was how he shared that every day was different. He could be going to Wall Street one day and the next, learning about what is the best chemicals to clean the campuses restrooms.

We also had the opportunity to learn about Coffee with a Black Guy. James Joyce III, from Cohort XVII shared about how his company came to be.   What I enjoyed was how he shared personal experiences, answered tough questions and brought a sense of hope for the future as long as we continue to have a conversation.

Highlights from the groups consisted of the following:

• Thousand Oaks – The group visited the Parks and Recreation department, where we learned it was a special district and called Conejo Valley Parks and Recreation Department. Not only did they make sure their newest park was ADA accessible, they created special trails for walking, biking, and a lot space to be able to play disc golf.
• Oxnard – We learned how Oxnard College is struggling financially and that 90% of their students are first generation attending college.
• Fillmore – Two highlights we learned were that 50% of the city’s income comes from Hollywood making movies in their city and the Fire Department is the only one of its kind as having only volunteers running the department.
• Ojai – Is the oldest city in the county and one-third of the populations are older adults.
• Moorpark – The group visited Moorpark College and we learned it was the second college in the nation that had a class/subject on how to train exotic animals.
• Camarillo – The team decided to visit Ventura County Community Foundation. We learned it had one million in assets and has several scholarship programs and is a wish granter for the Make a Wish foundation.
• Port Hueneme – This team had the opportunity to meet with the Chief of Police. We learned that the city was the first to adopt legalizing marijuana. While some may think that crime increased, the Chief stated that the city had not seen any negative effects. What I found interesting that the city had no freeways, no high schools, and no bars.
• Ventura – The team had a fun time at the Poinsettia Awards where the Ventura Chamber of Commerce hosts to celebrate the best of the best. Ranging from the best in their community, to recognizing the community leaders. We also learned that the city only promotes the city by running ads in Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, England, Germany, and Canada.
• Santa Paula – A shout out was given to Elena for helping the team plan out their fun day. This group went to the Agricultural and California museums where they learned about a bee colony to their day being filled with a lot of people named Bob.
• Simi Valley – This group shared how the Ronald Reagan Library gets half a million visitors a year to sharing about all their open space. The open space is used for hiking as the city have 50 parks and 2 RV parks.

By Chris Beck

The mission of Ventura County Leadership Academy is “Connecting People and Issues to Strengthen Our Community;” what better way to live this mission that by exploring every corner of our county in individual groups, and then reporting to the cohort (25-To Life – the best cohort ever.)  Our cohort was assigned investigative tasks to research, explore and connect with the communities of Thousand Oaks, Oxnard, Fillmore, Ojai, Camarillo, Moorpark, Port Hueneme, Ventura, Santa Paula, and Simi Valley.

The resulting reports were both intriguing and informative. While you could expect reports from meetings with city leaders, city institutions and figureheads, what resulted instead were reports of challenges, struggles, triumphs and plans for a bright future. Some of the more interesting and exciting reports included: 1) learning that Thousand Oaks has a disc golf course that hosted the first national championship; 2) Ojai is the oldest city in the county 3) Moorpark College has a wild animal training center, and 4) Pot (via legal marijuana dispensary) has actually been GOOD for Port Hueneme.

As every day observers that traverse through the county, we are often neglectful in recognizing the beauty, providence, and innovation that exists around us in our smaller cities. While we learned specific facts and trivia about each city, we were vested with the ability and knowledge to be observant of our surrounding communities and enjoy the beauty of every corner of our county.

Giving Sight to a Blind Society

I think we can all agree that all too often we see our community and society before us, and fail to recognize that our perception is based on our past experiences and framed by our present situation. This process can blind us from perceiving the lives and experience of those not situated as similarly. A breath of fresh air to remedy this malady was delivered by James Joyce (Cohort 17) who exposed himself in raw form to provide a detailed description of cultural bias and the alternate experiential interactions within our society.

With a list of accomplishments and appointments worthy of more than a single blog post, James Joyce is a resident expert on examining misperceptions and misgivings in a society, that at some times, prefers to avoid the difficult conversations that need to happen.

How do we create discourse to bring light to the tough conversations we don’t have? Coffee with a Black Guy! (CWABG.COM) James Joyce has held several conversational setting wherein he sets personal vulnerabilities asides, and invites members of the public to learn from his past, become part of his history, and guide them on their future journey. The discussion is frank, the topics are real, and the lessons are the golden ticket to participating in a society where everyone is equal and inclusion reigns supreme. An inspiring speaker, Coffee with a Black Guy is a must attend!

Ventura County Community College District

Sometimes, numbers are impressive and awe inspiring.  Cohort 25 heard from Dr. David El Fattal and Patti Blair and they relayed the following information regarding the Ventura Community College District:

• There are three colleges in the Ventura County Community College District; Oxnard CC, Ventura CC, and Moorpark CC. Moorpark is the largest, by far, with an enrollment of 14,553 students, followed by Ventura with 13,431 students, and Oxnard with 7,482 students. Between the three, in the year 2018, 6,676 Associates Degrees were awarded, and 4,157 occupational certificates were awarded. Wow!
• With a budget matching that of a multinational Fortune 500 Corporation, VCCCD is a true gem within our community.

By Carlos Evans

In the spirit of Thanksgiving and being grateful for the many blessings we enjoy here in Ventura County, here are just a few of the many people, places and things that I learned about/from during our November VCLA cohort session. It goes without saying that their contributions are worth acknowledging and celebrating:

1. I had no clue that Oxnard’s very own Haas Automation Inc. is one of the Earth’s leading manufacturers of machines other companies purchase to create parts essential for their business plans. With over 1.2 billion dollars in revenue annually, Gene Haas has created a privately owned company focused on creating a robust, reliable, easy to troubleshoot product that is competitively priced against global competition. Haas’ products positively impact the automotive, medical, aviation, manufacturing and technology sectors. Of course, little of that is possible without their captive workforce that bleeds “Haas Red” which our cohort observed while touring their factory. Hats off to the Haas leadership team for hosting our cohort that morning and proving that Ventura County has the infrastructure required to attract, sustain and retain a global leader.
2. Close to my heart was a presentation led by a fellow Naval Aviator, Brad “Brick” Conners, from Pharos Leadership. Brick was upfront and asked the cohort two critical questions for all leaders to ponder in the spirit of self-assessment before getting to his brief: (1) Why be led by me? (2) How will I honor their choice? Personally, I love great questions like these which when answered honestly force you to decide your leadership agenda. All of that to say, Brick went on teach us about innovation from the Native American medicinal wheel worldview through the wisdom centers of spirit, gut, head and heart. One of the great takeaways was that as we develop our personal and corporate wisdom centers, our leadership will be better prepared to innovate in any dynamic and chaotic environment.
3. Has anyone ever asked you to re-imagine in order to re-invent the wallet to fit the 21^st century lifestyle? Probably not, unless you have met the founders of Matterlabs. Built on the premise of progress through innovation, Matterlabs said something profound in their presentation that I instantly respected for them sharing publicly. After being wildly successful early on, they had lost a sense of purpose and yearned to leave a legacy worth remembering. Moving forward from this existential impasse, they would only take projects if it… Inspired, Impacted and Saved. Those values are powerful criteria to discern where to spend your time and how to make an impact in Ventura County. I can only hope that my next generation wallet design lives up to Matterlabs expectations!
4. We changed venues in the afternoon to the brand new Gold Coast Transit Center in Oxnard. As a company with over 200 employees, 50+ buses, 20 routes serving thousands of customers predominantly in West Ventura County, their new 15 acre facility is well needed and deserved. Of note, I appreciated how they intentionally designed into their construction plans a community-minded meeting space able to host local groups like VCLA.
5. Following lunch from Toppers (Thanks to Pattie Braga!!), we received presentations from the Mixteco Indigena Community Organizing Project, Ventura County Economic Development Collaborative, Ventura County Transportation Commission and burgeoning community land trust led by Tim Gallagher and Matthew Fienup. After taking pages of notes from those engaging speakers outlining the impactful work their respective organizations are doing for migrants, local businesses, commuters and aspiring homeowners, I left thinking the best is yet to come. Despite their individual specialties, all of the organizations shared in common the changing local socio-economic landscape and a passion to positively shape the future of Ventura County for its constituents before that opportunity is lost or taken.