Community Action of Ventura County Adds Three New Board Members

OXNARD, Calif. - Nov. 4, 2013 - PRLog -- [Oxnard, CA] – Ventura County’s Community Action Agency has added three new board members to their governing board. The fifteen-member CAVC board is tri-partite in structure with one third representing local elected officials, one third representing the private sector and one third representing the low-income population which the agency serves.

Brenda Birdwell is a Senior Advocate for Senior Concerns in Thousand Oaks. Working out of the Goebel Senior Center, Brenda assists local elders find and access services like Meals on Wheels, transportation, housing, legal assistance and Medicare. She was recommended to the board by Ventura County Supervisor Linda Parks from District 2. She had a lengthy career at Verizon holding several positions of responsibility. A graduate of The University of Denver Publishing Institute, she holds a B.S. in Communications from the University of Tennessee. She is a Certified Senior Advisor, Health Insurance Counselor, and Medicare Counselor. She has served the Ventura County District Attorney’s Office as an elder abuse victim advocate. Brenda also volunteers at the Agoura Hills Animal Shelter.

Richard L. Francis is a well-known local attorney with an extensive record of service to the community. Recommended by Supervisor Steve Bennett, Richard brings his wealth of legal knowledge and far-reaching connections to CAVC. Richard has served on numerous boards and has often taken up the fight for disadvantaged people. His firm, Richard L. Francis and Associates, is located in Oxnard. He has extensive and wide-ranging civil trial and negotiation experience in the areas of real estate, contracts, family law, debt collection, personal injury, wills, trusts and all civil disputes. He has served on the Ventura City Council and was Mayor of Ventura for 2 years. Richard graduated from the University of California Hastings College of Law and clerked for the Court of Appeals in Oregon.

Dr. Ramon Flores, recommended by Supervisor John Zaragoza, has a rich education and work history, including — rocket science. He is president of the Ventura County Board of Education. Keenly aware of the barriers young people face, especially Latino young people, as they anticipate securing the education necessary to compete in this fast-paced world, Dr. Flores devotes a considerable amount of time and effort to finding ways to pave the way for students. He is a registered professional engineer in California. He received his Bachelors and Masters degrees in mechanical engineering from California State University, Northridge and earned his Doctorate in Educational Technology from Pepperdine University. Since 2006 Dr. Flores has worked at the Center for Seabees and Facilities Engineering where he is both Director of Knowledge Management and Director of Information Technology.

These three join a board of several well-known community leaders: Bruce Stenslie, Executive Director of the Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County; Bernardo Perez with Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation; Dr. Betsy Connolly a Thousand Oaks veterinarian and member of the board of the Conejo Valley Unified School District; Dr. Roseann Mikos, member of the Moorpark City Council; Dr. Gabino Aguirre, Nancy Pederson and Rosemary Pallan-Briceño, advocates for low-income families in Santa Paula, Oxnard and Ojai; Danny Carrillo, representing Local 721 of SEIU; Vincent Stewart, representing the NAACP; Joe Asebedo, representing Veterans for Peace.

Based in Washington, DC, the Community Action Partnership provides training and other services to more than 1,000 Community Action Agencies across America that are helping low-income people and families improve their lives, strengthen their communities and embody the spirit of hope. For more information, visit www.communityactionpartnership.com or follow the organization on Twitter, http://twitter.com/CAPartnership.