Museum of Ventura County Elects New Board

VENTURA, Calif. - Nov. 2, 2017 - PRLog -- The Museum of Ventura County recently announced that it has elected a new board of directors who will direct the museum's fundraising, exhibits and programming, connecting the community with the history and culture.

"We have a past, present and future that make us a celebrated place to live or visit," said Elena Brokaw, interim executive director of the museum. "Our mission is to present the history, events, activities and art that have created the culture of Ventura County, and we are fortunate to have these leaders at the helm."

In alphabetical order, the new board members are:

Yissel Barajas, chief human resources officer (CHRO) for Reitera Affiliated Companies (RAC), the world's largest fresh multi-berry producer.

Betsy Chess, born into a pioneer Santa Paula ranching family, Betsy Blanchard Chess grew up with a desire to understand and preserve Ventura County agriculture. She has written extensively on Ventura County agricultural and business history and in 1988 became editor and publisher of The Broadcaster Magazine for the Farm Bureau of Ventura County.

William Kearney joined Merrill Lynch in 1975 and in 2004 was honored with the Merrill Lynch Lifetime Achievement Award. In addition to serving on many non-profit boards, he has served as the president of six different Ventura County charitable organizations: Casa Pacifica, Ventura County Taxpayers Association, Rubicon Theatre Company, Ventura Rotary Club, the CSU Channel Islands Foundation Board and the Foundation Board for the Community Memorial Health System.

Gordon Kimball, director of the Limoneira company since 1995 and president of Kimball Engineering, Inc., which provides race car design and production services, since 1992.

Leslie Leavens is vice president of finance and operations for her family's farming company, Leavens Ranches LLC, growers of lemons and avocados in Ventura and Monterey Counties, and wine grapes in the Santa Lucia Highlands appellation of Monterey County.

Al Lowe has been a general contractor for over 38 years and is founder/president of Al Lowe Construction. He has served on the board of directors for Casa Pacifica Centers for Children and Families, Camarillo Chamber of Commerce, Food Share and the Alliance for the Arts Board of Directors. He currently serves on the Camarillo Health Care District Advisory Panel and the Camarillo Hospice Advisory Panel.

Kate McLean provides consulting services to nonprofit organizations and foundations in areas of executive coaching, feasibility studies, strategic planning, community assessment, board development and program design.

Richard Rush served as president of California State University, Channel Islands, from June 2001 to August 2016. Rush serves or has served on the boards of the Economic Development Collaborative of Ventura County, Camarillo Chamber of Commerce, Community Memorial Hospital, Casa Pacifica, California Campus Compact and American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) Council of State Representatives, among others.

Mike Sedell retired in 2012 from the position of city manager with the City of Simi Valley, a position he had held with the unanimous support of his city councils for 17 years. In 2013, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors unanimously appointed him to a trustee position on the County's Retirement Association Board, overseeing $4.2 billion of retirement funds on behalf of the County and its employees.

Jim Scanlon is area president for Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Gallagher, which operates in over 120 countries and has revenues exceeding $5 billion.

Peter T. Zierhut is a senior-level manager at Haas Automation, Inc., responsible for oversight of Haas Automation's HTEC-branded education program comprising more than 2000 institutions around the world that utilize Haas machine tools for educational purposes.

The Museum of Ventura County, through its collections, exhibits, educational programs and publications, celebrates the history, art, and culture of Ventura County and the Channel Islands. Located at 100 East Main Street, Ventura, CA 93001, the museum is open Tuesday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. (Closed Monday). Admission is $5.00 Adults (18 years and older), $3.00 Seniors (62 and over) and Students with ID, $1.00 Children (17-6 years old); Children 5 years old and younger are free. For information, visit www.venturamuseum.org or call 805-653-0323.