John Nielsen
President
John Nielsen joined NAMI Ventura County in 2010. He, along with his family, has received a tremendous amount of support

Diana Skocypec
Vice President, Governance
Diana was born, raised and educated in New Jersey, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with honors in English from Douglass College…

Paula Woodward
Treasurer
Paula is a Certified Public Account and partner at Farber Hass Hurley. She has served public, private and venture backed
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Roberta Rodriguez
Vice President, Special Projects
Roberta Rodriguez worked for the County of Ventura as the Chief Deputy Clerk of the Board of Supervisors for 39 years.
Duane Bentzen
Director at Large
Duane Bentzen, past NAMI Ventura County president, has a long history of working with non-profit organizations. From music to animals, he has worked for over 30 years giving his time to help others.
David Deutsch
Director at Large
David Deutsch is a MSW/ASW and Certified Addiction Treatment Counselor. He earned his MSW from SCS Long Beach in May of 2010 with a 4.0 GPA and Graduate Student Honors.
Joshua E. Newstat
Legal
Joshua E. Newstat has dedicated his entire legal career to protecting the rights of others, including the disabled and the accused…
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Diane Sall
Director at Large
Diane Sall attended California State University, Los Angeles and earned her Master’s Degree in clinical psychology in 1985. She has been licensed as a Marriage and Family Therapist…
Ratan Bhavnani
Executive Director
Ratan first joined the Board of NAMI Ventura County in 2005, and has been its Executive Director since 2008. Ratan graduated from UCLA with an MS in Computer Science.
Chris Novak
Program Coordinator
Chris Novak is a Program Coordinator at NAMI Ventura County. She coordinates the Family-to-Family classes, the Family Support Groups, and all of the Spanish Outreach.
Joan Wiggins
Program Coordinator
Joan Wiggins is the Volunteer Coordinator at NAMI Ventura County. In addition to the volunteer program she also manages the Helpline, Friends in the Lobby…
Diane Bustillos
Program Coordinator
Diane is the Program Coordinator for the Stigma Reduction Programs, including In Our Own Voice, Parents & Teachers as Allies, and Ending the Silence.