Five new trustees have been selected to serve on the board of the Conejo Valley/Las Virgenes Future Foundation, executive director Karen Malatesta announced.

The new trustees bring a “wealth of experience and expertise to the organization,” Malatesta said.

Tom Mitze, director of the Department of Community and Cultural Services for the city of Thousand Oaks and executive director for the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Foundation, is a new member.

“I am looking forward to my service as a trustee,” Mitze said. “I hope to work with my fellow trustees and the executive director to continue to serve the community specifically in areas of youth and senior activities.”

Other new members are Cliff Moore, assistant superintendent of human resources with the Oak Park Unified School District; mediator Mario Metzger; and Tim Stephens, a 12-year Conejo Valley Unified School District board member who is now serving as the panel’s president. Carol Tubelis, retired assistant to the city manager and city clerk of Agoura Hills, is also new to the board. David Oeffling, an environmental consultant, returned as a board member after a two-year absence.

Tubelis, who was appointed to chair the special events committee, said she became interested in working with the foundation because she enjoys “working on the future as opposed to reminiscing over the past.”

“Retiring is hard to do,” Tubelis said. “This enables me to go beyond that. It’s good to keep your mind working.”

The 2010 officers were installed at the foundation. Audrey Brown, Westlake Village’s assistant city manager, will continue to serve as foundation chair, and Tony Kourounis, regional vice president of National Bank of California, will serve as vice chair. Joan Yacovone, former mayor and council member of Agoura Hills, will continue to serve as secretary, and Steve Schulz, president of Schulz & Associates Inc., has joined the Executive Committee as treasurer. Carl Herman, a retired career management consultant, will continue in his role as past chair.

Brown has been with the foundation for five years, three of which have been spent as a member of the executive committee. She said the Future Foundation is a “unique” organization in that all sectors of the community are represented—business, education and public agencies like cities and water districts, nonprofits and for-profits.

“Just like our name says, we look to the future,” Brown said. “We look at the concerns of the region.” She said that each year the organization works on a specific project. Foundation members are in the middle of assessing this year’s project focus, she said.

The foundation sponsors a variety of workshops, projects and youth leadeship programs for the community.

“We work with students to expose them to different sectors of the community,” Brown said. “The purpose is to expose these students to different kinds of jobs.”

Malatesta said that the nominating committee of three trustees and two members-at-large met to assess the board composition.

“It is the goal of the committee to maintain the balance of the board with representation from all walks of life and all parts of the region,” she said.

“Since I began working at the foundation a year and a half ago, I am continually impressed by the caliber of leadership demonstrated by the trustees,” Malatesta said.

She said that the foundation is “showing off” a new website at www.CLVFF.org. The new site provides a historical perspective on the organization, information about current activities, ways for people to get involved and links to area governments and services. A new brochure celebrating the Future Foundation’s role in the community is available upon request, she said.

For further information or membership in the Conejo Valley/ Las Virgenes Future Foundation, visit the website, call (818) 880- 1054 or e-mail Malatesta at info@clvff.org.