Erika D. Beck, Ph.D.
President
CSU Channel Islands
Erika Beck began her tenure as President of California State University Channel Islands in August 2016. Prior to her appointment, she served as Provost and Executive Vice President at Nevada State College.
President Beck is dedicated to furthering Cal State Channel Islands’ vision of becoming recognized nationally as a leader in providing equitable, affordable and transformative education that enables social and economic mobility for its diverse student population.
She is also deeply committed to the community and serves on the Ventura P-20 Council and the Santa Barbara Zoo Board of Directors. She is an honorary board member of the Gold Coast Veterans Foundation.
A native Californian, President Beck holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of California, San Diego; an M.A. in Psychology from San Diego State University; and a Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology from the University of California, San Diego, where she also served as a faculty fellow.
She was selected as a Woman of the Year by the California Women’s Caucus, one of the Top 50 Women in Business by the Pacific Coast Business Times, a Woman of Distinction in Education by the National Association of Women in Business Leaders, and as a Top Female Business Leader in Education by the Las Vegas Business Press.
A devoted mother of two young boys, President Beck enjoys running, yoga, and perpetual conversations with her children about how many more minutes until “we get there.”
Jacqui Irwin
Assembly member
Forty-Fourth District
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin is in her third term representing the 44th Assembly District in the State Assembly. She was first elected to the Assembly in 2014, and serves as the Chair of the Assembly Veterans Affairs Committee and the Select Committee on Cybersecurity. She also sits on committees that oversee Agriculture, Business and Professions, Higher Education, and Privacy and Consumer Protection.
While in the legislature, Assemblymember Irwin has had more than fifty bills signed by the Governor, including: requiring security on internet of things devices, banning powdered alcohol in CA, securing funds to establish an engineering school at Cal State Channel Islands, and investing in business incubators at UC campuses to ensure that research is being transformed into real-world products.
Assemblymember Irwin served for ten years on the Thousand Oaks City Council, including two terms as Mayor. Before her election to public office she was a systems engineer at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics lab and worked at Teledyne Systems.
Michael Powers
CEO
County of Ventura
Michael Powers became the County Executive Officer for Ventura County in April 2011. In this role he oversees a budget of over $2 billion and nearly 9,000 employees in 27 agencies and departments. Along with his strong leadership team, he is responsible for overseeing and supporting all major county functions and services including budget, finance, legislation, human resources, labor relations, economic development and information technology.
As CEO, Mike is focused on providing quality public service, ensuring fiscal discipline, protecting the environment while supporting responsible land use and infrastructure development, investing in critical facilities and information technology projects, as well as our community and County workforce, and working to keep the county's communities safe and healthy.
Prior to being named as the CEO, Mike was the Director of the Health Care Agency where he was responsible for the operation and management of the County's health departments, including the Ventura County Medical Center, Santa Paula Hospital, the County's system of clinics, and its Public Health and Behavioral Health departments.
Mike has a degree in Economics and Business from UCLA, and received his law degree from Loyola Law School. He serves on a number of boards, including the Ventura County Chapter of the American Red Cross; Dignity Health St. John's Hospitals Ventura County Community Board; the ARC Foundation of Ventura County; and the Ventura County Leadership Academy Advisory Council. Most recently, he was appointed by Governor Brown to the California In-Home Supportive Services Authority.
Mike feels it is a privilege to work alongside the talented, passionate and high-caliber people who form the County Family. He was born and raised in Ventura, where he resides with his wife Erin, and two sons Charlie and Zackary.