Meet our Board of Directors
Immediate Past President
Mike LaPlant
President
Deputy Chief
Ret. Ventura County Fire Department
Mike LaPlant
After serving 8 years in the United States Air Force, Mike served for 32 years with the Ventura County Fire Department. He worked up through the ranks and retired from the Department as the Deputy Fire Chief in 2014. He continued his career as a consultant and trainer in advanced incident management. In 2016, Mike joined the Santa Paula City Fire Department as an Assistant Chief and served there for two years. Upon the consolidation of the Santa Paula City Fire Department and the Ventura County Fire Department, Mike left the Santa Paula Fire agency and continued to provide training and consulting services to agencies throughout the country. He continues to be a member of a Federal Incident Management Team and has responded to major incidents such as major wildfire incidents and hurricane relief efforts in many areas of the country. Mike is committed to the mission of the Fire Safe Council. He sees that protection from devastating wildfires must include efforts of homeowners, neighborhoods, and the whole community and that the Fire Safe Council is instrumental in bringing these partners together.
“As a retired Deputy Fire Chief with the Ventura County Fire Department, I am excited to be part of an organization that has worked so hard to address the very real threat that wildfires present to our communities. As I look ahead to the future of the VRFSC, I’m proud to carry the mission forward and expand even farther – the list of services we provide to our local communities in areas of fire prevention, property preparedness, fire safety education and support to partner agencies.”
Brian Clark
Vice President
Fire Marshall
Ret. Ventura City Fire Department
Brian Clark
Jim Stevenson
Treasurer
Fire Captain
Ret. Ventura County Fire Department
James A Stephenson
I go by Jim. I’m a California native and lived in Ventura County most of my life. I’m currently a resident of Ventura City. I spent my school years living in Santa Paula. My father was a Ventura County Fire Department firefighter. During my youth, I got to experience my father’s occupation in a very personal way and decided I wanted to become a firefighter. Once I graduated from high school, I volunteered to go into the Submarine Service of the Uniter States Navy.
Upon discharge from the Navy, I was hired by Ventura County Fire Department as a Fire Control worker. Our primary purpose was to fight wildland fires. Our crew would respond to fires as an initial attack resource on a helicopter. We used chainsaws and various hand tools that were adapted for firefighting and create control lines around the fire by separating the fuel from the fire. As I promoted up in the Ventura County Fire Department, I have responded to many wildland fires in Ventura County and throughout California. During my career, I observed the intensity of the fires grow due to extreme weather events, fuel growth and us wanting to live in the wildland/urban interface.
I spent 36 years serving the people of Ventura County and retired as a Fire Captain at Station 50 at the Camarillo Airport. I recently was voted onto the Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council board and want to bring my experience and knowledge to help our communities by educating and creating ways for our communities to fire harden their homes. I appreciate this opportunity to serve.
Michael Lopez
Secretary
Wildland Fire Division
Santa Barbara City Fire Department
Michael Lopez
Born and raised in the Ojai Valley, Mike has always been one with nature. After graduating Nordhoff High School Mike went off to work with the Federal Fire Service both with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and National Park Service (NPS) serving on fire crews and as an Engine Captain. He has responded to many campaign fires across the Western states both on management teams and operations. Mike attended and graduated from Oxnard College Regional Fire Academy and continues to educate himself through the California State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Today Mike is a big advocate for wildfire prevention and mitigation. He currently works for the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department in the Wildland Division where his goals are to protect lives, property and natural resources in the Wildland Urban Interface by the creation of defensible space, engineering, education, fuels reduction, and modification activities.
Mike resides in (Ventura County) with his wife Priscilla and four kids. He enjoys spending time with his family camping and working at the farm. He has been a big advocate in wildfire prevention along the Santa Clara Valley of Ventura County.
Maggie Tougas
Emergency Manager
Maggie Tougas
Maggie Tougas, CEM has lived in Ventura County for over 33 years. She has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Both Criminal Justice Administration and Public Administration from San Diego State University. She is a Certified Emergency Manager with the California State Training Institute (CSTI/Cal OES). She worked for Oxnard Police Department in Crime Analysis as a Serious Habitual Offender Analyst for several years. She went on to become a Probation Officer, then Crime Analysis and Crime Scene Investigator with the City of Port Hueneme for 14 years. She also wore the hat of Emergency Manager at Port Hueneme. The first disaster she responded was the La Conchita mudslide. In August, 2011 she contracted with CSU Channel Islands in writing their Gas Pipeline Emergency Plan. The plan won an award the following year from Cal OES. On May 13, 2013, she began her career as a full time Emergency Manager on the day of the Springs Fire. Since then, she has responded to numerous fires and emergencies on campus and in Ventura County. She is a certified Incident Command System Trainer with CSTI and Plans Section Chief with the CSU system. For over 13 years Maggie was the chair of Ventura County Volunteer Organizations Active in Disaster (VC VOAD) and is still involved with VOAD in disaster recovery. She has an emergency preparedness consulting business and continues to meet the needs of the campus and Ventura County Community where help is needed before, during and after an emergency. She loves to spend time with her family, especially at her cabin in Tahoe.
Ken Carter
Assistant Chief
Ret. Torrance Fire Department
Michael Lopez
Born and raised in the Ojai Valley, Mike has always been one with nature. After graduating Nordhoff High School Mike went off to work with the Federal Fire Service both with the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) and National Park Service (NPS) serving on fire crews and as an Engine Captain. He has responded to many campaign fires across the Western states both on management teams and operations. Mike attended and graduated from Oxnard College Regional Fire Academy and continues to educate himself through the California State Fire Marshal’s Office.
Today Mike is a big advocate for wildfire prevention and mitigation. He currently works for the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department in the Wildland Division where his goals are to protect lives, property and natural resources in the Wildland Urban Interface by the creation of defensible space, engineering, education, fuels reduction, and modification activities.
Mike resides in (Ventura County) with his wife Priscilla and four kids. He enjoys spending time with his family camping and working at the farm. He has been a big advocate in wildfire prevention along the Santa Clara Valley of Ventura County.
Gabriel Albarian
Owner & Broker
Elevate Reality Group
Ken Carter
Gabriel Albarian, Jr. is a lifelong resident of Westlake Village, CA who graduated with his degree in Political Science from UCLA and his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from the USC Marshall School of Business with an emphasis in Accounting and Entrepreneurship. At the USC, Gabriel was awarded the Entrepreneur of the Year award and admitted into an incubator program for his then start-up business.
Gabriel owns and operates a Real Estate Brokerage and Investment firm and is an investor and advisor to start-up companies.
His journey in fire prevention started after his community in Westlake Village suffered a loss of four homes during the 2018 Woolsey Fires. After suffering through a rebuild project and insurance woes, he stepped back and asked, "What can I do to keep my community safer from wildfires?"
This one fundamental question has led him on a meaningful leadership journey in fire prevention, which includes:
Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council
Board Director
Santa Monica Mountains Fire Safe Council
Board Director & Secretary
Academic
University of Southern California (USC) Alumni Trojan Sustainability Network (TSN) Board Member (Communications Co-Lead)
National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Firewise USA
Volunteer Regional Coordinator for Los Angeles & Ventura Counties (successfully engaged over 75 communities)
CalFire
Qualified Entity for Home and Community Ignition Zone Evaluations
County of Los Angeles Fire Department
Taskforce, Bringing Fire Prevention education to fire.lacounty.gov
Taskforce, Community Risk Reduction Project aka SHIELD; education and resource allocation throughout the County
City of Westlake Village
Project Lead, Community Wildfire Protection Plan (CWPP)
Advisor, Public Safety Advisory Board
Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Team Member
President, Homeowners Association Board of Directors 2022-2024, 2025-current
Other Charity Work
Children's Hospital Los Angeles
Special Olympics Los Angeles - Coach
Gabriel is enthusiastic to continue his work with the Ventura Regional Fire Safe Council and especially enjoys growing the NFPA Firewise USA program footprint alongside Natasha Saxena and the entire team!