Sandy Smith elected Ventura County Economic Development Board Chairperson

VENTURA, Calif. - Dec. 15, 2014 - PRLog -- The Ventura County Economic Development Association (VCEDA), recognized as the regional voice of business on issues affecting the economy in Ventura County and California, held its 66^th annual meeting on Tuesday, December 9^th at Limoneira Ranch in Santa Paula. Sandy Smith, Land Use Consultant for Sespe Consulting, Inc. was sworn in as VCEDA’s board chairperson for 2015-16.

“I’ve been involved with VCEDA for years and have experienced the important work this entity does to provide focus on key initiatives that impact our regional economy,” says Smith. Most recently, Smith served as the chair of VCEDA’s Policy Committee.

“We’ve got a great board with active participation from a wide variety of economic sectors,” says outgoing chair, Ellen Brown, regional manager of Volt Workforce Solutions. “I’ve had the pleasure of providing leadership to the association for the past two years.”

Agreeing to an additional three-year term on the board are Brown, Nan Drake, E.J. Harrison & Sons, Henry Dubroff, Pacific Coast Business Times, Rudy Gonzales, Southern California Edison , Melissa Sayer, A to Z Law, Vlad Vaiman, California Lutheran University and Rob Westberg, Amgen.

“At its heart, VCEDA is about economic policy,” said Bill Camarillo, Agromin CEO, VCEDA board member and past board chair. “Legislation being formulated in Sacramento is complex. VCEDA provides in-depth analysis of what helps and hinders business vitality in Ventura County.”

VCEDA holds an annual Business Outlook Conference each October. This year, the topic was “The Future of Health Care in Ventura County,” Over 250 business leaders attended the event, and Dr. Harlan Levine, chief executive officer of the City of Hope Medical Foundation, was keynote speaker. A panel of representatives with expertise in insurance, managed care, wellness and big data provided perspective. “The Business Outlook Conference is another example of VCEDA’s value-added service,” says Mike Silacci, VCEDA board member and regional vice president, AT&T External Affairs – Greater Los Angeles. “This past October’s conference shed light on the complicated health care issue, not easily understood by many.”

For more information about VCEDA, go to www.VCEDA.org.

About VCEDA

As Ventura County’s primary economic and business advocate since 1949, VCEDA’s mission is to advocate for policies, legislation and programs that stimulate business and a vital economy as the foundation for vibrant quality of life in Ventura County. For more information about VCEDA, call 805-676-1332 or visit www.vceda.org.