Ventura County Chapter
Founding Region of FLA, Inc.

Since 1983, thousands of Latino youth from Ventura County have passed through FLA's peer-led programs, led by volunteer leaders who are their peers and also their preceptors. The most concrete evidence of FLA's impact in Ventura County is the success stories of those served by FLA programs. FLA'ers return as adults to serve the communities that nurtured them:

• Maricela Morales - Graduate of Fillmore High School; After attending Leadership Camp, she set high academic goals for herself and later graduated from Stanford University. She became involved in community service throughout high school and college, and this year she ran a community based campaign with the help of FLA peers and high school students and won a seat on the Pt. Hueneme City Council in Nov. 2002. She also serves her community as a health advocate working for CAUSE (Central-Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy).

• Imelda Magana - Parent participant from Rancho Sespe; After attending a Family Leadership Camp, Mrs. Magana enrolled in English classes, got her drivers' license, and is now a parent advocate organizing other parents to become involved in the schools.

• Adrian Palazuelos - Graduate of Hueneme High School and UC Irvine; After joining FLA served in every staff capacity to run camps, and recruits young men most at risk to gang violence and underachievement to become involved with FLA. He returned to Oxnard as a teacher and is now principal of Haycox Middle School.

• Emilia Pablo- Graduate of Hueneme High School and UC Berkeley; After joining FLA, she was inspired to learn English, take college prep courses, and subsequently graduated with straight A's from Oxnard College. She currently serves as a volunteer camp director and speaks regularly on community leader panels. She is tri-lingual, immigrated to the US at age 9, and now works as a reporter for "Mi Estrella" newspaper and media assistant at a local ABC station.

• Maria Alejandrina Cobian- "Alex" graduated from Channel Islands High School and attended University of San Diego to study political science. Upon her return to Oxnard, she was hired as an intern coordinator at CAUSE and successfully managed a city councilwoman's race in Port Hueneme. She currently works as a case manager for Congresswoman Lois Capps and sits on the state board of the National Women's Political Caucus in California.

FLA-Ventura County supports two county-wide clubs that meet twice a month at the Old Oxnard High School. The first group is called FLAMA (Future Leaders of America Master Achievers) and runs its meetings in English on Monday nights at 7pm. Anyone can join FLAMA, which is made up of over nine high school FLA clubs in the county. A representative from each club (usually the president) attends officer meetings along with the FLAMA Council chair and co-chair of the county-wide group. Each president then goes back to their respective high schools to run weekly meetings and coordinate projects locally and county-wide. Associate membership at the high school level is also available for peers who did not attend the Leadership Camp experience in the summer.

The second, equally important group Chispas, runs its meetings in Spanish and boasts a more broad membership including younger siblings of FLAers and parents who volunteer at fundraisers and projects that require parent chaperones/drivers. Chispas is operated at the county-wide level; not at the high school level. FLAers who complete the Empowerment or Family Leadership Camps typically join Chispas first, however, many members from both clubs cross over to support one another's activities throughout the year. It is not uncommon for FLAers from both groups to team up for larger events. In 2003, Chispas' projects were recognized in the LA Times, VC Star, Prevention Profile Magazine, and Vida Newspaper.

HIGH SCHOOLS INVOLVED
Oxnard, Channel Islands, Hueneme, Fillmore, Nordhoff, Rio Mesa, Santa Paula, Pacifica, Camarillo, Buena, and Moorpark.

CONATCT INFORMATION
you would like to contact a representative from the FLA-Ventura County chapter:

Future Leaders of America
Ventura County Chapter
702 County Square Drive, Suite #103
Ventura, CA 93003-5404