Business, nonprofit and community leaders from across Ventura and Santa Barbara counties will be recognized later this month during the Pacific Coast Business Times’ annual Latino Business Awards, an event celebrating the achievements and contributions of Latino leaders throughout the region.
The awards ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, July 24, at Limoneira Ranch, 1141 Cummings Rd. in Santa Paula. A networking reception will begin at 5 p.m., followed by dinner and the awards program at 6 p.m.
Tickets are available to the public, and organizers encourage community members, business leaders and supporters to attend. The event also serves as a fundraiser supporting the Pacific Coast Business Times Scholarship Award.
Now in its 15th year, the Latino Business Awards have recognized hundreds of individuals since the program began in 2011. The annual event honors leaders from a variety of industries including business, agriculture, education, nonprofit organizations, public service and professional services.
Henry Dubroff, founder and chairman of the Pacific Coast Business Times, said the awards were created to recognize the significant role Latino leaders play in the region’s economy while highlighting the diversity of their contributions.
“We started the program 14 years ago with the idea that Latino business community was large, it was very important to our economy,” Dubroff said. “We wanted to break some of the stereotypes about Latino businesses and recognize people, men and women across [the] spectrum of our economy.”
Dubroff said the program has always aimed to showcase Latino leaders beyond the industries most commonly associated with the community.
Dubroff said the awards seek to highlight the diversity of Latino leadership across the Central Coast and challenge narrow perceptions of the community’s role in the economy.
“It’s easy to think about a few industries where Latinos make a huge impact… but the community is really part of the economy, and we wanted to recognize that in full,” he said.
This year’s highest honor, the Pacific Coast Business Times All-Star Award, will be presented to Celina Zacarias, the first female port commissioner for the Port of Hueneme, in recognition of her leadership and contributions to the region.
Other 2026 honorees include Juan and Patricia Torres, captains with The Salvation Army Ventura, who will receive the Latino Leadership Award; Lauren Trujillo, executive director of the Santa Barbara Public Library Foundation, for nonprofit leadership; María Ballesteros-Sola, associate professor at CSU Channel Islands, for higher education.
Jorge and Cynthia Lizarraga, owners of Oxnard Grocery Outlet, for retail; Marz Farms for agribusiness; Gloria E. Martinez, economic vitality manager for the County of Ventura, for economic development; Luisa Arzate, business adviser with the Economic Development Collaborative, for entrepreneurship; and Antonio Rodriguez, partner at Staker Rodriguez Law, for professional services.
The event also will recognize Alexa Ojeda as the recipient of this year’s Pacific Coast Business Times Scholarship Award. Ojeda, a Santa Paula High School graduate and sophomore at UC Davis, is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in managerial economics.
According to organizers, proceeds from the annual awards event help fund the scholarship program, which supports students pursuing higher education while recognizing future Latino leaders.
In addition to honoring this year’s recipients, the evening will provide networking opportunities for business owners, nonprofit organizations and community leaders from across the Central Coast. The Pacific Coast Business Times also publishes a special Latino Business Awards section profiling each honoree and highlighting their accomplishments.
Organizers said the annual awards are intended to celebrate the lasting impact Latino leaders continue to have on the Central Coast’s business community and the region as a whole. Additional information and tickets are available through the Pacific Coast Business Times.
