Congratulations to VCCDC's 2nd Annual Award Winners!

On October 6th, we held a very special celebration at Spanish Hills Club in Camarillo to honor four important leaders who inspired our work and four award winners who are making significant contributions in our community. Learn more about the 2022 celebration here. We invite you to learn more about each of our award winners below!

JOHN C. GAMBOA

Lynn L. Jacobs Award for Excellence in Lifetime Achievement

John C. Gamboa is Board Chair of California Community Builders (CCB), a nonprofit affordable housing development organization. John is the co-founder and former President of CCB. Through his leadership at CCB his primary goal was to develop policy alternatives out of the direct experience of developing for-sale housing for very-low and low income families in the Central Valley. CCB has attempted to address the underlying public policy issues that impede or support the development of new affordable and lower-income workforce housing opportunities.

Prior to CCB, John was the co-founder and former Executive Director of the Greenlining Institute where he focused on public policy issues that promote economic development in urban and low-income areas, and in developing future leaders within this country's minority youth. He has been active in combating redlining and providing a voice for the poor and underserved in insurance, philanthropy, banking, housing, energy, higher education and telecommunications issues.

Mr. Gamboa has led and helped negotiate over $2.4 trillion in community reinvestment agreements from the nation’s leading financial institutions. A considerable percentage of these commitments have been tailored towards minority business development, affordable housing programs and innovative first-time homebuyer programs for immigrants.

Mr. Gamboa has also served on numerous boards and commissions including: The National Federal Reserve Consumer Council in Washington, DC, The Common Cause, The Health Access and the State Bar Examining Committee.

Congratulations John Gamboa, recipient of VCCDC 2022 Lynn L. Jacobs Award for Excellence in Lifetime Achievement!

LINDA BRAUNSCHWEIGER

Rodney Fernandez Founder's Award for Excellence in Visionary Leadership

Linda Braunschweiger is the CEO of both the Housing Trust Fund Ventura County and Housing Land Trust Ventura County. Her deep understanding of affordable housing and community development comes from her ancestral lineage and her own successful career in the banking industry which includes serving as the Community Investment Officer with Affinity Bank, first Executive Director of the CA Housing Consortium, and the Director of Legislative Affairs with CA Housing Finance Agency. She also owns Market Research Ventura County, a boutique research firm, as well as a local consulting firm.

As a young leader she became a State Department representative teaching democracy, public policy and grassroots lobbying in Russia. Her experience in the country later led to adopting two young children from Russia, of whom have grown-up into productive, college-aged students.

In her role at Housing Trust Fund, Linda parlays the benefits of a nonprofit with the spirit of entrepreneurship to leverage public, private, and charitable funding in order to provide loans to developers building affordable housing. To-date, the Housing Trust Fund has loaned $26M and created 1,110 housing units for very low- to moderate income individuals and families in Ventura County.

Over the last 16 years she’s managed to spearhead and organize Missions projects twice a year in Baja, CA where her group constructs homes and provides food stipends to residents of a very impoverished village. Knowing they have made a difference for those less fortunate, Linda and her volunteers celebrate each time they create a home and provide the new keys to a family with whom they have built genuine relationships.

She helped found the House Farm Workers! Ventura County organization, serves as chairperson of the Camarillo Affordable Housing Task Force, participated on Women’s Economic Ventures Managing Board and Ventura County Regional Board, and serves as hearing officer for several housing authorities in Ventura County.

Congratulations to Linda Braunschweiger, recipient of the 2022 VCCDC Rodney Fernandez Founder’s Award for Excellence in Visionary Leadership!

COUNTY OF VENTURA EXECUTIVE OFFICE, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIVISION

Michael McGuire Award for Excellence in Community Partnership

For 36 years, the County of Ventura Community Development Division has received and distributed Federal Community Development Block Grants which began with a modest $2M. This funding has expanded greatly over the last four years where the staff of nine distributed over $50M from 15 different sources of funding to support the development of new housing, improving communities, and supporting programs to address homelessness.

Key to the Community Development Division’s hard work and effort is developing grant funding opportunities and agreements with local communities to enable administration of funds on their behalf. VCCDC, as a grant recipient of the County’s CDBG grant funding for over 3 years, is able to help clients by awarding down payment assistance to qualified low- to moderate-income households that is forgiven after 5 years.

Through a commitment of collaboration, the hard work and effort of this team of professionals at the County of Ventura helps improve the quality of life for County residents, and has led to other examples of recognizable impact. They have developed year-round emergency shelters, their HomeKey projects for more permanent housing solutions, transitional housing programs for at-risk vulnerable youth, and managed over $6M in federal disaster recovery funds following the Thomas and Woolsey Fires.

The commitment and dedication of the Community Development Division at the County of Ventura is seen in their effort of creating sustainable pathways to house the County’s most vulnerable residents, underway 365 days a year.

Congratulations to the County of Ventura Executive Office Community Development Division, recipient of the 2022 VCCDC Michael McGuire Award for Excellence in Community Partnership!

Mike Petit Assistant CEO of the County of Ventura Executive Office Community Development Division, recipient of the 2022 VCCDC Michael McGuire Award for Excellence in Community Partnership with Daniel Bednar of CBC Federal Credit Union, VCCDC event sponsor.

LUIS MC ARTHUR

Ernest Baskette, Jr. Award for Excellence in Community Support

Oxnard Police Department Commander Luis Mc Arthur, who currently oversees Oxnard’s North District, that includes The Collection at Riverpark, was raised in Oxnard and began his career with Oxnard Police Department in 1995. He quickly rose through the ranks having served as a field training officer, bicycle team member, school resource officer, beat coordinator for the Colonia neighborhood, Police Activities League co-director, lead sexual assault detective and patrol sergeant.

His passion for public service lies in the fact that he has built a very inclusive community that helps young people develop more meaningful relationships with police officers to inspire Oxnard’s youth to realize their full potential and prevent juvenile delinquencies. He created a competitive and recreational PAL youth soccer program that inspires children of all ages and engages parents alike with competitive sports through team concepts delivered through quality, affordable youth programming. He also has a weekly Spanish language radio show and is seen on public access TV regarding police issues, crime prevention and police-community relations.

Nominated four times for the officer of the year award, in 2006 Commander Mc Arthur received the Chief’s Award of Excellence and was named outstanding person of the year by the indigenous community of San Martin Peras.

Congratulations to Commander Luis Mc Arthur as the winner of the 2022 VCCDC Ernest Baskette, Jr., Award for Excellence in Community Support!

Keily VictoriaOctober 11, 2022