Staff

F5VC Staff Directory


To contact staff members, please send them an email. If you need to meet in person, you may schedule an office visit by emailing assistant@first5ventura.org.

Call 805-648-9990 to leave a message in the general mailbox.

Petra Puls, MPA

Executive Director

If you have questions about the strategic direction of First 5 Ventura, please email Petra Puls. 

My favorite childhood lullaby is “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star”! 

Program, Evaluation, and Community Initiatives

Tyla Adams, MPH, CHES

Program Manager

tadams@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about First 5’s Communications, Outreach, or Advocacy Efforts, please email Tyla Adams.

My favorite childhood song is “Isn’t She Lovely” by Stevie Wonder!

Janet Fleming, MA

Program Manager

jfleming@first5ventura.org

If you have any questions about local Early Childhood Education Initiatives, Shared Services or QRIS, please email Janet Fleming.

My favorite childhood book is Caps for Sale by Esphyr Slobodkina!

Jimena Hernandez

Quality & Technical Assistance Coordinator

jhernandez@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about Parent Engagement or Storytime, please email Jimena Hernandez.

My favorite childhood lullaby is “Duermete Mi Niño”! 

Joanna Mackie, Ph.D., MPP

Program Manager

jmackie@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about Cross-Systems Collaboration, Infant Mental Health, Research & Evaluation involving Early Childhood Systems, please email Joanna Mackie

My favorite childhood book is Lion by William Pène du Bois!

Sam McCoy

Director of Program and Evaluation

smccoy@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about First 5 Placed-Based Initiatives, Evaluation and Data Systems, please email Sam McCoy.

My favorite childhood book is Best Word Book Ever by Richard Scarry! 

Grace Montejano

Care Coordinator

gmontejano@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about the Help Me Grow Ventura County Telephone Help Line or Parent Navigation Services, please email Grace Montejano.

My favorite childhood book is The Rainbow Fish by Marcus Pfister!

Mario Rodriguez

Program Manager

mrodriguez@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about Neighborhoods for Learning, Welcome Every Baby, or Parent and Child Together classes, please email Mario Rodriguez.

My favorite childhood book is Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuess! 

Administration, Finance, and Operations

John Anderson

Operations Manager

janderson@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about Contracts, Amendments, or Apricot 360 Reporting, please email John Anderson.

My favorite childhood book is Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak! 

Lauren Arzu, MPA

Director of Human Resources and Operations

larzu@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about Human Resources, Policy and Advocacy, or Communications, please email Lauren Arzu.

My favorite childhood book is Miss Spider’s Tea Party by David Kirk!

Teresa Gutierrez

Fiscal Administrator

fiscaladministrator@
first5ventura.org

If you have questions about Funded Partners or Vendor payments, please email Teresa Gutierrez.

My favorite childhood lullaby is “When You Say Nothing at All” by Allison Krause! 

Jennifer Johnson

Director of Finance and Administration

jjohnson@first5ventura.org

If you have questions about Finance or Administration, please email Jennifer Johnson.

My favorite childhood book is Elmer by David McKee!

Office Coordinator

Main Office

assistant@first5ventura.org

If you have general questions such as accessing Neighborhoods for Learning services, Requesting Community Outreach Materials, or would like to Schedule an In-Person Appointment, please email the Office Coordinator.

Christina Saenz

Fiscal Administrator

fiscaladministrator2@
first5ventura.org

If you have questions about Employee-related payments, please email Christina Saenz.

My favorite childhood book is If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Numeroff!

Neighborhoods for Learning

If you have questions about the strategic direction of the Neighborhoods for Learning program or general questions about the Parent and Child Together classes, please email NfL@first5ventura.org.

We are currently offering in-person PACT classes. Our next cohort will begin in March 2023, to enroll please complete our online interest form by clicking here. If you have specific questions about our PACT classes, please send our NfL specialists an email. If you need to meet in person, you may schedule an office visit by emailing NfL@first5ventura.org.

Call 805-869-1317 to leave a message in the general mailbox.

Jhoelle Aspuria-Arca

NfL Administrator

Fillmore, Santa Paula, Saticoy, Ojai, & Ventura 


jaspuria@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is King Midas and the Golden Touch retold by Freya Littledale! 

Shelby Ferns, M.A.

NfL Administrator

Thousand Oaks, Simi Valley, Moorpark, & Camarillo


sferns@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood activities are sensory games including water play! 

Lilia Gurrola

NfL Administrator

Oxnard & Port Hueneme 

Bilingual


lgurrola@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is La Cama de Mama/Mommy’s Bed by Joi Freed-Garrod and Joi Carlin! 

Sandra Diaz

Senior Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual


sdiaz@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin!

Juana Chaparro

Senior Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual


jchaparro@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood activity is playing with edible applesauce playdough! 

Megan Switzler, M.A.

Senior Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

mswitzler@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is Corduroy by Don Freeman!

Desiree Campos

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

dcampos@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood activity is going on nature walks!

Elizabeth Cervantes

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual


ecervantes@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood song is “5 Little Speckled Frogs/Las Cinco Ranitas” by HooplaKidz! 

Tiffany Charaabi

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

tcharaabi@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren! 

Joselyn Corado Cornejos, M.A.

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist 

Bilingual


jcornejos@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood game is freeze tag! 

Hope DeMoss

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

hdemoss@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is The Kindness Book by Todd Parr! 

Maria Olivia Espinola

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual


mespinola@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood song is “Naranja Dulce”!

Christina Espinoza

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist, Home Visitor

Bilingual


cespinoza@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is “The Very Hungry Caterpillar” by Eric Carle!

Daisy Gomez

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual


dgomez@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is A Bad Case of Stripes by David Shannon! 

Elisheva Hollis, M.A.

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

ehollis@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is Harold and the Purple Crayon by Crockett Johnson! 

Pamela Ibarra Diaz

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist, Home Visitor

Bilingual


pibarradiaz@first5ventura.org

Sabrina Nuno

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

snuno@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle

Veronica Reynoso

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual


vreynoso@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood lullaby is “Los Pollitos Dicen Pio Pio” by Musica ifantil! 

Marilyn Rincon

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual


mrincon@firstventura.org

My favorite childhood book is La Oruga Muy Hambrienta/The Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle! 

Charlotte Testorff

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual (Swedish)


ctestorff@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren!

Margarita Valadez

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual (Spanish)


mvaladez@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is Snuggle Puppy, A Little Love Song by Sandra Boynton!

Chelsea Ventura

Early Childhood Family Support Specialist

Bilingual (Tagalog)


cventura@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is The Monkey and the Turtle by Jose P. Rizal!

Blanca Morales

Administrative Assistant

Bilingual


bmorales@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is The Little Red Hen by Lucinda McQueen! 

Nancy Uribe

Administrative Assistant

Bilingual


nuribe@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is Junie B. Jones Cheater Pants by Barbara Park! 

Maria Negrete

NfL Aide

Bilingual


mnegrete@first5ventura.org

My favorite childhood book is Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle!

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