Another major outcome was the Leadership Academy's hosting in 1998 of the Ventura County portion of the Metropolitan Forum Project, one of nine conducted in Southern California through grants from the James Irvine Foundation and the Ahmanson Foundation. The project was a four-session event that provided the opportunity for city officials and community leaders to research current methods of municipal government funding and develop recommendations for improvements to the system. The forum project findings were presented to a joint committee of the State Legislature at a public hearing. The Speaker of the Assembly has since designated a study group to develop proposals that will be acted upon by the Legislature. The Leadership Academy operates as a nonprofit organization and is under the direction of the Steering Committee that acts as a board of directors.
All members are volunteers.
Currently, the Steering Committee consists of 24 members, including Florence LaManno, owner of DFD Enterprises, Inc. and Entre Computers, who is the president of the committee. The Steering Committee meets monthly. The Leadership Academy also has a voluntary Advisory Board, comprised of former members of the Steering Committee and other longtime supporters of the program. All have extensive backgrounds in volunteer agencies and philanthropy in addition to their careers in business, finance, various levels of government, the media and social services.