VCCF Names Leah Lacayo New Board Chair, Honors Legacy of Outgoing Chair Sean L. Leonard
Camarillo, CA 11/18/2025 — Following four years serving as the Ventura County Community Foundation’s board chair, Sean L. Leonard, president and CEO of S.L. Leonard & Associates, is handing over the reins to incoming chair Leah Lacayo.
During his tenure, Leonard helped steward nearly $80 million in grantmaking to Ventura County and beyond, through VCCF’s work during the pandemic, and community efforts such as the creation of the Ventura County Neighbors Support Fund, disaster response during the Mountain Fire and winter storms of 2023 and championing early childhood education through the Isabella Project. Through his dedication and leadership, he supported the foundation in grantmaking to local nonprofits, lifting up causes from animal welfare to environmental protection to the arts and more, as well as encouraging the academic dreams of hundreds of local students through VCCF’s Scholarship Program.
“Meaningful change takes collaboration,” Leonard said. “Every day we put our mission of connecting people, resources and solutions to create a lasting impact in our shared world into action, and that is something I am very proud of.”
Lacayo joined VCCF’s Board of Directors in 2019, and has a passion for community activism, mentoring young women and the power of education. She is a Southern California native and a Ventura County resident of over 35 years. Lacayo has a history of service with VCCF first as a volunteer scholarship reader, which she continues to this day for the Destino Scholarship Fund. The Lacayo Family helped found the fund in 2006, which helps support local Latino students to attend higher education in California, especially first-generation college students. Her late husband Hank also served as a past board member from 2002 to 2015.
“As I embark on this new chapter as VCCF board chair, I am filled with gratitude for what has been and hope for what will be!” Lacayo said. “I am deeply encouraged by our community’s generosity and support for one another, in moments of both strength and struggle. It is this commitment to our community that inspires us all at VCCF to live our core values of trust, transparency, compassion, equity, tenacity, excellence and authentic connection.”
Beyond VCCF, Lacayo’s community service stretches across Ventura County and California. Her past and current involvement includes the 31st District Agricultural Association, Ventura County Fair Board as past vice chair; the California State University, Channel Islands Alumni & Friends Association as past co-president; the Ventura County Women’s Political Council; the Congress of California Seniors Education and Research Fund as past chair; the Congress of California Seniors and the Jewish Labor Committee Advisory Board.
In other updates to VCCF’s board, treasurer Veronica Quintana has transitioned into a new role as secretary, and Brando Pozzi serves as the board’s new treasurer.
Quintana is a director at CBIZ Advisors, LLC, and specializes in providing services to companies in the agricultural, construction, manufacturing, restaurant and professional service industries. She cares deeply about our community’s youth and serves on the boards of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme and several other organizations.
Pozzi is the grandson of founding VCCF board member Martin “Bud” Smith, and he is proud to continue his family’s legacy of philanthropy in Ventura County. He is a lifelong local resident and a small family businessowner, his work focusing on property investment and management. After serving several years on the Smith Foundation Board, he now serves on both VCCF’s and the McCune Foundation’s boards and their investment committees.
ABOUT THE VENTURA COUNTY COMMUNITY FOUNDATION
Since its founding in 1987, the Ventura County Community Foundation has believed that everyone has something of value to contribute. With more than 24,000 donors from every corner of our community and across the nation, we specialize in connecting people, resources and solutions to create lasting impact in our shared world. VCCF’s Philanthropic Consulting Office helps individuals, families and businesses on their philanthropic journey. As part of a network of more than 900 community foundations nationwide, VCCF is also committed to being a community leader in our region. Together, we work to create a better future for all by pursuing our community’s greatest opportunities and addressing the most critical challenges, inclusively uniting people, institutions and resources from throughout our communities and providing significant, widely shared and lasting results. Learn more at VCCF.org.
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