Leadership/Giving Circle/Steering Committee

Stephanie Angelini is the Major Gifts Officer for KCLU. She has served on large non-profit boards since 1980 with annual budgets ranging from $250,000 to several million, and has been a leader in creating city- and county-wide strategic plans, feasibility studies and public perception campaigns. Her knowledge and understanding of legislation and public policy has allowed her to work with local and state government as a strong advocate for social justice and arts education. She chairs the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County and the Thousand Oaks City Arts Commission, and is immediate past chair of the California Alliance for Arts Education.

Kate McLean, MBA provides executive coaching and consulting services to nonprofit organizations and foundations. Kate helped create Ventura County’s most comprehensive child family social services agency where she served as Executive Director for 18 years. For 13 years, Kate was the President of the newly formed Ventura County Community Foundation where she developed innovative programs such as the Women’s Legacy Fund; a fund focused on Latino philanthropy and the Civic Alliance. Kate is on the Boards of California Lutheran University; the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation and the Martin V. and Martha K. Smith Foundation.

Judy Bysshe is a retired teacher of high school English, counselor and High School administrator. She was a founder of the Environmental movement in Ventura County in 1968; has been active in the feminist movement, serving on the State Board for the National Women's Political Caucus, chairing the county's teen pregnancy task force, and working to develop VCCF's Women's Legacy Fund; has been a life-long activist on behalf of social, economic and environmental justice. She was on the founding board for the Rubicon Theater and for Theater 150 in Ojai. She currently serves on the Ventura County Civil Service Commission and Review Board, and volunteers with a number of not-for-profits.

Fran Christiansen is a retired senior state appellate court attorney from the Fifth District Court of Appeal in Fresno. While so employed, Fran served on the State Bar Juvenile Justice and Appellate Courts Committees, the latter of which she chaired in her final year, and was active in California Women Lawyers and the National Women’s Political Caucus. Following her retirement, Fran was employed in development work in Ojai at the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation and Villanova Preparatory School. She is a gardens and architecture docent at the Getty Villa in Pacific Palisades and serves as a member of the Getty Docent Leadership Team.

Jamshid Damooei is a professor of economics and the chair of the Department of Economics, Finance, and Accounting at California Lutheran University. He co-directs the Center for Leadership and Values in the School of Business. Jamshid’s prior professional experiences include serving as the Director General of the Bureau of Economic Studies and Policies of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance of Iran. He also served as a senior economist for the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and continues to serve as a UNDP and UNOPS consultant. He holds a Masters of Science and Ph.D. in economics from Surrey University. He received a Masters of Philosophy in economics from the University of London.

Julie Kenny Drezner is a longstanding Ventura County resident who brings extensive philanthropic, planning and community experience to her leadership role with the Social Justice Fund. As principal of the nonprofit consulting firm, The Drezner Group, over the past 20 years Julie has worked with VCCF and many other organizations in this region on creating and strengthening social programs that provide critical community services and contribute to social justice. Julie is on the boards of the McMiles Foundation and Imago Relationships International.

Jill's expertise is in program development and capacity-building for non-profits, with an emphasis in community development. A graduate of Stanford University, Jill first worked at a research firm that measures the impact of educational investments. She then completed the prestigious Coro Fellows Program in Public Affairs. Jill currently splits her time between the Cabrillo Economic Development Corporation, a nationally-recognized affordable housing organization, and the California Community Reinvestment Corporation, a non-profit lending institution that finances affordable housing developments across the state. Jill recently received her MBA from UCLA and serves as a Commissioner for the Housing Authority of the City of Ventura.

Doug Green, MBA provides consulting, strategic planning and organizational development services to nonprofit organizations in Southern California. Doug led the nonprofit agency AIDS Care in the 1990s and created nonprofit consulting programs for the Nonprofit Support Center of Santa Barbara County and the Ventura County Community Foundation. Currently, he teaches nonprofit management at Pepperdine University and California Lutheran University. A doctoral candidate in Pepperdine University’s Organizational Leadership program, Doug resides in Santa Paula.

Sharon Hillbrant retired from Raytheon in 1999 and proofread at Miller Magazines in Ventura until 2008. A member of the Ventura County Democratic Central Committee since 1990, Hillbrant was Chair from 2002-2006. Sharon serves on the California Democratic Party Rules Committee and is Vice President of the Zeta Chi unit of the National Association of Parliamentarians (NAP). She is a Regional Director of CCS (the Congress of California Seniors) and a volunteer Regional Mobilizer for Central Coast AARP. Sharon is active in the National Women’s Political Caucus of Ventura County, Destino Hispanic Legacy Vision Fund, and CSUCI Campus Ministry. She is currently chair the board of Palmer Drug Abuse Program of Ventura County.

Dr. Jordan is a California licensed and national board certified social psychologist who has dedicated most of his career toward social justice. He is a Research Psychologist with Ventura County Health Care Agency, and is Dean of Social and Political Psychology at the International University for Graduate Studies in St Kitts & Nevis, BWI. Dr Jordan teaches sociology part-time at Ventura College. He consults on social and community development issues. He has developed and presented professional continuing education programs on human rights and social justice.

Terri Lisagor is a Registered Dietitian (RD) and Assistant Professor of Nutrition and Food Science at California State University, Northridge. She also has a private practice as an RD. Along with her husband Mark, she has been a community activist for over 30 years. Terri serves on the Board of Directors of Ventura County Community Foundation, is a charter member of the Social Justice Fund, and the Women’s Legacy Fund, and is the Chair of VCCF’s Programs and Grants committee. In addition, she is involved in International Health Emissaries, a non-profit group that has been providing healthcare and education for children in Guatemala for the last 14 years.

Hugh Ralston has been president of the Ventura County Community Foundation since 2003, with initiatives around Latino literacy, health care access for Latinos, farmworker housing and assistance following the 2007 freeze, nursing strategies, strengthening the arts, expanding board leadership and technology training for local nonprofits, all supporting the foundation's growth. His prior experience includes executive director of the Catholic Education Foundation in Los Angeles and as vice president for Security Pacific in New York and J.P. Morgan in Los Angeles. Current board service includes Workforce Investment Board of Ventura County, Southern California Grantmakers, Planned Giving Council of Ventura County, vice chair of the Community Commission for Ventura County, treasurer of the League of CA Community Foundations as well as Scripps College, Community Arts Music in Santa Barbara. A third generation partner in a family business in Santa Barbara, he lives in Ventura and is an choral singer. He is a charter member of the Social Justice Fund.

RaeLynne Rein, Ph.D. has been a life-long advocate for individuals with disabilities. She was a special education teacher, a member of the Special Education Commission of the Los Angeles Unified School District, a private consultant for parents and teachers, a published author and a university teacher trainer - specializing in teaching general education teachers how to successfully integrate students with disabilities into their classrooms. Throughout her adult life she has been involved in and/or contributed to a variety of community organizations (a suicide hotline, The Women's Foundation of California, the Ojai Film Society, etc.) - the Social Justice Fund being the one closest to her heart. She also squeezes in time for her beloved and energetic grandchildren.

Gabriela Torres, is a graduate of UC Berkeley and is currently pursuing her Masters in Counseling and Guidance with a Pupil Personnel Services Credential at California Lutheran University. Gabriela is able to carry out her passion for social justice by serving first-generation and low-income elementary through college students and families. Her work has focused in both educational and non-profit sector fields in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties. Gabriela continues to work and volunteer for non-profit organizations, by developing programs that promote advocacy, leadership, collaboration among stakeholders, and systemic change. “Being a member of the SJF allows me to give a voice to those who have been oppressed for years.”

Marcos Vargas, Ph.D. is the founding Executive Director of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy (CAUSE), a community planning and policy research center serving Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. Founded in 2001, CAUSE has led numerous successful advocacy and community organizing campaigns addressing regional social, economic and environmental justice issues (www.coastalalliance.com). Vargas’ experience in the non-profit sector includes Executive Director of El Concilio del Condado de Ventura (1986-1995) and the Director of Planning for the United Way of Ventura County (1984-1986). He currently serves on numerous boards, including the McCune Foundation, the Ventura County Workforce Investment Board, US Partnership for Working Families and the Common Counsel Foundation.

Matthew Weisman is looking forward to his second year as a member of the Giving Circle and his first on the Steering Committee. He still has a lot to learn and hopes his experience as a writer and background in developing projects will be of value to the Social Justice Fund.