VENTURA : College Foundation Gets New Leader
Martha Kessler began work Monday as executive director of the Ventura College Foundation, heading up the fund-raising organization’s new effort to target college alumni.
Kessler, 36, comes to the foundation from United Way of Ventura County, where she worked as campaign director for the organization’s annual fund-raising drive. She received her bachelor’s degree in human services in 1980 from Simmons College in Boston, and is a member of the Ventura County Economic Development Assn. and the Ventura County Professional Women’s Network.
Kessler said she will be building her job nearly from scratch. Presently, the foundation’s main fund-raising effort is the swap meet it sponsors at the college each week.
“We want to find new and creative ways of fund raising so the foundation can play a more vital role in the college,” Kessler said. “As state funding to the colleges continues to decrease, the foundation will become more important.”
Kessler lives in Newbury Park with her husband, Dan, and their two daughters, Deanna, 11, and Jenna, 8.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
