Highlighting the amazing Administration, Faculty, Classified Professionals, and Students that make up our pirate family.
This month's highlights include:
Grant Jones, I.T. Director (Administrator), Brandon D’Amico, General Counselor (Faculty), Alan Wood, Instructional Lab Technician for Physics, Engineering, and Geosciences (Classified), Lisa Marie Ruiz (Student)
Name: Grant Jones
Primary role at the college: I.T. Director
Years of Service: 10 years +
Family: My furry baby Truman.
Hobbies: Hiking, snowboarding, trail running, fly fishing, surfing, video games, mountain biking, camping.
Favorite Movie: 2001-A Space Odyssey
Favorite Song: Black Sabbath- Planet Caravan
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: Most of my relatives live in Australia and I am an Eagle Scout.
Name: Brandon D’Amico
Primary role at the college: General Counselor
Years of Service: 5th year at Ventura College
Family: Wife and 3 Pomeranian Furbabies
Hobbies: I enjoy anything Sports and history related. I love playing basketball, watching basketball, learning about cultures and historical figures.
Favorite Food: A Good Chile Verde Burrito
Favorite Movie: Gladiator
Favorite Song: I don’t have a favorite song, but I have really been enjoying disco and country music lately.
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: I have an odd obsession for researching professional sports players, their statistics, where they went to college and where they are from.
Name: Alan Wood
Primary role at the college: Instructional Lab Technician for Physics, Engineering, and Geosciences
Years of Service: 2 years
Family: My wife Gabi, her son Josh, and 2 dogs
Hobbies: I enjoy nature, surfing, snowboarding, skateboarding, etc.
Favorite Food: Fresh seafood—fish, bivalves, and crab
Favorite Movie: Tough call, but probably the original Star Wars trilogy
Favorite Song: This changes from day to day, but I gravitate towards Scottish and Irish traditional/folk music…and Radiohead.
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: I am also a musician and play a few different kinds of bagpipes and other instruments. I enjoy performing around town as well as in Santa Barbara and further afield.
Name: Lisa Marie Ruiz
Major: Psychology and Social Justice: Chicano Studies
Years at Ventura College: 1976-1990, A.A. in Liberal Art
Fall 2019 – present; plan to graduate in Spring 2021
Family Life: 2 children: son Guillermo Hernandez (1 granddaughter Alyssa Hernandez Carroll (Junior @ UC Davis) & 3 grandsons ages 3 to 12 years old) and daughter Jessica Perez (husband Carlos Perez & grandson, 14 months)
Hobbies: Reading and Scrapbooking
Favorite Food: Mexican Food and Filet Mignon
Favorite Movie: “To Sir with Love” and “Breakfast at Tiffany’s”
Favorite Song: “By the Grace of God” by Katy Perry & “Sabor A Mi” by Los Panchos with Eydie Gormé
Something fun, interesting, and/or unique about you: Retired after 37 years with the U.S. Government, currently working on my education for a second career as a Federal Attorney (currently in the VC Pathway to Law School Program). Enjoy learning new things and am thriving at Ventura College – living my best life!