Anikka Abbott
Communications Officer
Anikka Abbott is the Communications Officer for VCERA. She is an Emmy-nominated journalist, and formerly served as the Chief Weather Forecaster for News Channel 3-11-12 (KEYT) in Santa Barbara. Anikka graduated summa cum laude with her Master of Mass Communication at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication. While at the Cronkite School, Anikka was a reporter and weather anchor for Cronkite News on Arizona PBS, and her work was featured nationally on PBS NewsHour.
Doug Arnett
Retirement Benefits Specialist
Doug works in our Death Benefits Unit. He is primarily responsible for processing survivor continuances and beneficiary payments.
Betsy Byrne
Chief Operations Officer
Betsy oversees all member services, including the benefits teams (actives/retiree payroll/disability) as well as customer service (front desk reception).
Chantell Garcia
Retirement Benefits Specialist
Chantell works in our Actives Unit. She is primarily responsible for processing benefit estimate and service credit purchase requests.
Michelle Hernandez
System Administrator
Michelle is primarily responsible for ensuring our pension system stays up and running effectively.
Amy Herron
Retirement Administrator
Amy was appointed by the Board of Retirement as VCERA’s Retirement Administrator, effective January 2024. Previously, she had served as VCERA’s Chief Operations Officer since January 2023. Prior to this, she was the Chief Deputy over Payroll & Accounts Payable at the County of Ventura Auditor-Controller for about six years. She also held various positions with the County of Santa Barbara Auditor-Controller for 20 years, finishing the latter half of her tenure there as the Financial Systems Division Chief.
Leah Oliver
Chief Technology Officer
Leah provides leadership in building and supporting VCERA’s information technology (IT) infrastructure. She has 20 years of IT experience, including 10 years with the County of Ventura’s Information Technology Services Department. Leah received a B.S. in Computer Information Systems and a Master in Public Policy and Administration from California Lutheran University.
Jackie Pineda
Retirement Benefits Specialist
Jackie has worked for the County of Ventura since 2013. Before joining VCERA, she worked for the Department of Child Support. She enjoys working at VCERA due to the positive, encouraging, and happy attitude feel in the office. She also enjoys helping members with their questions and concerns.
Angie Tolentino
Retirement Benefits Specialist
Angie works in our Retiree Payroll Unit. She is primarily responsible for calculating benefits.
Christina Webb
Retirement Benefits Specialist
Christina has worked for the County of Ventura since 2002. Before starting with VCERA in 2012, she worked for Public Heath Fiscal and the Farm Advisor Agency. Her favorite thing about working at VCERA is educating members about their pension benefit.