Staff & Board of Directors

STAFF

KENDRA GONZALEZ – Executive Director

Kendra Gonzalez was born and raised on The Avenue. She attended local schools and
graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Business from CSUCI. She has always considered
the westside of town a home base since her family-owned restaurant has been operating for almost 30 years in the heart of The Avenue. Her recent role into motherhood has rekindled her desire in local activism and beautification of The Avenue. She aspires to help improve the area which is often overlooked, and to encourage involvement of residents and businesses. Kendra hopes to see more murals, parks, and local businesses develop in the near future.
Director@WestsideVentura.org

MARGARITA LARUE – Program Administrator & Bookkeeper

Margarita brings diverse experience to WCDC, having served as a mother, wife, grandmother, middle school teacher, church administrator, bookkeeper, secretary-treasurer of a 501c3, and is currently pastor of a Spanish-speaking church in Port Hueneme.  She has been serving on the Westside since 2015, and recently moved here with her husband. She is bilingual and is passionate about building bridges across cultures, socioeconomic barriers, languages, and faiths to create a connected community that values and cares for one another.  She loves the eclectic mix of Westside and believes that every individual with his or her unique perspective and contributions is a vital part of the collaboration that will make such a dream become reality.
Admin@WestsideVentura.org

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

ROBERT ENRIQUEZ – Chairperson

Robert has been a proud Westside resident for nearly 30 years, moving to the area with his family when he was 9 years old. Growing up, he attended local elementary and middle schools and was a regular at Westpark Community Center. As a teenager he got a job at Westpark, working there for the summers.  As he grew up and raised his own family on the Westside he decided that he wanted to be more than just someone living on the Westside, but someone who is involved in the Westside. He loves this neighborhood and what it represents–hard working families that keep this city running.  He wants to see the Westside improve without changing too much, and serves with the WCDC in order to make that reality possible. Robert is married to another Westside native and has two children. He is also a local musician.

KENDRA GONZALEZ

MIKE DEL DOSSO – Founding Member

Mike has a long history of community service. He moved to Ventura after being born and raised in Santa Paula.  He is married with 2 grown children and 3 grandchildren. Mike worked for the City of Ventura and then Area Housing.  After retiring he got involved in volunteering with Community Policing, first with the Montalvo Storefront and then was instrumental in beginning the Westside Police Storefront and Resource Center which is still active today.  Mike is a founding member and prior Chair of the Westside Community Council, as well as Chair of the Public Safety Committee. He was involved in the creation of the neighborhood clean-ups that are ongoing today with a legacy of neighbors helping neighbors, removing trash, and caring for our environment by recycling.  He enjoys spending time with his family and volunteering to better our Westside Community.

DEANNA ENRIQUEZ

Deanna Enriquez moved to the westside of  Ventura in 1991 with her family from Santa Barbara, attending Avenue schools and playing community sports.  She now works from her home, where she resides with her beloved husband and two darling children. 
Deanna has been involved in the WCDC as a volunteer for several years now.  She has been active in community clean ups, community decorating, including the Wall Street Mural project.
Deanna is a creative and intelligent person that we at the WCDC look forward to her perspective.   She is looking forward to becoming more deeply involved and connected to her community.

JENNIFER GREENE

Jennifer Greene is a Washington native that transplanted to Ventura in the beginning of 2000 becoming an Avenue resident.  She has two children, Connor and Molly, ages 21 and 18, that have been raised on the Avenue, going to westside schools, and also involved in volunteering in the local community.
Jennifer runs her business, JCM (Jennifer, Connor, Molly) Financial, Inc. as a mortgage broker and contract processor since 2004.  JCM Financial, Inc. is a certified green business for the City of Ventura.
Jennifer was involved in the WCDC original Changemaker’s group and facilitated the implementation and completion of the Ocean Friendly Garden on the corner of Mission and Ventura Avenues, as well as being involved in the Ventura Botanical Ocean Friendly Memorial Garden.  She also worked with other volunteers in the community to clean up Kellogg Park before the park was constructed and still continues to do so at the present.

Jennifer spends her time while not working, reading, hanging out with her animals, spending time with family and friends, hiking, and frequenting delicious Ventura restaurants. She is and will continue to be a big supporter of Avenue businesses and shopping local.

RICHARD CARRADINE

Richard Carradine is a proud resident on Ramona Street where he lives with his wife and son. Because of this community pride, he initiated and co-created the Avenue’s “Taco Week,” an annual event he helps organize which shines a spotlight on the great places to eat in this neighborhood. He also painted the “West Side Stories” mural on the side of Herrera’s Bakery that celebrates the strange folklore and unusual legends of the westside. Additionally, he painted a mural for the non-profit Grid Alternatives in Los Angeles, authored and illustrated books about Southern California folklore, has lectured to various historical societies, led walking tours/house tours/bus tours/subway tours, organized outdoor public movie screenings, curated exhibits of odd artifacts, produced shows at the world famous Bob Baker Marionette Theater, and collaborated with the Institute of Art and Olfaction to create a series of site-specific perfumes as well as other unique events and meet-ups. Richard has always enjoyed getting people to look at (and think about) places and objects in a different way with new eyes, and draw attention to overlooked neighborhood gems. Through community activism he hopes to do the same thing for the westside.

MATT WILLIAMS

Matt Williams was born in Redondo Beach, visited Ventura a kid and has loved it ever since. He’s lived all along the California coast and off the Avenue since 2013. He chose the west side because it reminds him of growing up in a small beach town,  and his time studying in Morelia, Michoacan. Graduated from San Francisco State in ’97 with a BA in Lit. He volunteers at CSUCI Santa Rosa Island Research Center and has been a  member of IATSI local 600 since 2000.
        Local goals include cleaning, painting  and maintaining the historic culture of the Avenue to attract more local small businesses and artisans.

CARMEN DELOERA

Hola mi nombre es María del Carmen DeLoera, yo nací en Villanueva Zacatecas México, llegué a este país hace 32 años soy madre de tres hijos y dos hermosos nietos. Viví en Santa Bárbara por 14 años ahí nacieron mis hijos. Me movía aventura hace 18 años y desde entonces vivo en el Westside. He trabajado en una compañía de mantenimiento de pisos desde hace 27 años del cual ahora soy dueña de ese negocio, con la ayuda de WCDC y WEV que me abrieron puertas y me capacitaron para tomar esta pequeña empresa.

OZZIE RIOS

Osmany “Ozzie” Rios is a native of Southern California and a long-time resident of Santa Barbara and Ventura Counties. He is the Vice President and Branch Manager of Rabobank in downtown Ventura. Ozzie moved to the Avenue in 2010 and found the food too good to move away from! As a local product, Ozzie dedicates his time to helping his communities by volunteering with various local organizations, including Habitat for Humanity and teaching Financial Literacy classes to AVID Students. When away from the office, you can find Ozzie seeking adventure on the local trails or at the beach. If he is not outdoors, keep an eye out for Ozzie at a local museum or attending a TED talk as he quenches his thirst for knowledge.

FORMER BOARD MEMBERS and CURRENT MUSES

JACKIE MICAELA PEARCE – Executive Director

Jackie  is a “product of the Avenue”.  Her family moved to the area in 1977, where she  attended all Westside schools, participated in a variety of Westside activities, and was immersed in the diverse and eclectic culture of the community.  She earned a degree in Spanish Literature from UCLA, which enabled her to study abroad in Spain and Mexico and later receive her single-subject teaching credential- a credential she has used to work with Westside youth and their families. She is the co- creator of the global non-profit Laundry Love, co-creator of two Westside school gardens, a former Westside Community Council board member,  and co-creator of the Westside’s newest and first ever community- driven park, Kellogg Park. Jackie, along with her husband and their two teenagers, continues to reside in the Westside Community. She feels deeply honored to be working and serving in the community through the non-profit WCDC.

TRACY HUDAK – Program Officer

Tracy and her family moved to the Avenue from Los Angeles in 2006. She has expertise in economic and community development and specializes in program design, management, marketing and evaluation. As the director of the creative economy think tank, CreativityWorks, she is especially interested in the role that artists, creativity and social capital play in community success. She serves on the steering committee overseeing the County of Ventura’s Economic Vitality Strategic Plan. She served as the Executive Director of Bell Arts Factory in 2010 and as the Arts Impact Director for Downtown Oxnard in 2011. She was faculty member of Women’s Economic Ventures and the Center for Nonprofit Leadership and is the Creative Economy Fellow for CultureLab, an international library of cultural research. She has a Masters in Public Policy from California Lutheran University. While her family now lives in Oak View, they consider The Avenue their ‘home’ as its neighbors, businesses and artists continue to inspire and enrich their lives. 
Outreach@WestsideVentura.org

ROXANA LLANO

Roxana is a Bilingual School Psychologist at De Anza Academy of Technology and the Arts (DATA) and Will Rogers Elementary School where she collaborates with families from the Westside to ensure that their children learn and become good neighbors. She moved to Ventura when she was hired by VUSD in 2007 and has been a resident of the Westside since 2011. Roxana has two children who attend DATA and a small rescue dog who enjoys walks on the Avenue. She is currently actively involved with her local 4-H chapter and is the team mom for the DATA wrestling team. Prior to her work in education, Roxana was employed with various nonprofit organizations with a focus on affordable housing, women’s professional development, and international foreign aid assistance. She is excited about the work of the WCDC and looks forward to working with the community to create opportunities that will contribute to the continued revitalization of the Westside.

SHARON TROLL – Secretary and Founding Member

Sharon has lived in Southern California all her life, moving to Westside Ventura in 1986. She has been married for 46 years and has 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. During her career in the medical and dental fields, she served as Commissioner of Parks and Recreation in Ventura for 12 years. She volunteered with the Westside Police Storefront since its opening in 1994 and joined the Westside Community Council shortly afterward.  She has received many awards for her volunteer work and had the great honor of carrying the Olympic Torch along with her daughter in Ventura.

She is a proud founder of the WCDC and invites you to be the one and carry that torch onward!

SHAYNA METZNER

Shayna arrived in Ventura in 2005. She began her community volunteer work with Laundry Love as Ventura Coordinator in 2006. In 2011, she purchased her home off Ventura Avenue and got involved in Westside Community Council where she served on the board for 2 years. Prior to that she led a team effort for the WCC entry into the 4th of July Parade, where they won 1st place! Shayna has spent her professional career in sales and marketing in the tradeshow business with a brief stint in sponsorship sales in the music festival business. She currently sells tradeshow technology to top exhibitors in the US and travels to about 12 tradeshows a year to support her clients. Shayna holds a degree from Cal State Fullerton with a BA in Communications and a minor in Art.

“I love the Westside and consider it an honor to support the vision established by the WCC and WCDC founders. The vibrancy and eclectic nature of our residents along with the striking landscapes, fertile soil, and perfect weather make this area one of the best places to live in the world! I love investing in our community knowing the effort is bigger than I.”

DONNET MONTANEZ

I’m a Westside Avenue college student that has been living in the area for about 10 years. Originally from Mexico, I moved to Ventura when I was 12 years old and continued grade school at De Anza Middle School. Currently I’m a student at UC San Diego majoring in International Studies. I have worked with my community in the Avenue through the non-profit organization CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for A Sustainable Economy) by informing voters on propositions regarding affordable housing and aiding residents during the fires of 2017. I love the Westside, most of my friends and family are part of this community. I enjoy outdoor activities such as hiking and skateboarding.