For the last several years, Chris Miyasaki and Monica Garcia of A to Z Law have organized a gift drive for families living at the RAIN Transitional Living Facility in Camarillo. Attorneys and staff donate money to purchase toys and clothing to be given to needy families, which until recently had been without permanent housing. Miyasaki and Garcia receive wish lists from the residents at RAIN and then shop, wrap and deliver the items to the RAIN facility for the families to open on Christmas morning.

RAIN is a transitional living facility that provides shelter, counseling, education and job seeking skills for those who have been without permanent housing. Individuals and families may stay at the facility for up to 18 months while preparing to move into permanent housing. Partner John Mathews serves as the president of the board of directors of the RAIN Communities, Inc., a nonprofit, which raises funds and provides support for counseling and ancillary programs in support of RAIN.

For more information or to make a donation to RAIN, please visit their website at www.RAINCommunities.org/.

From the attorneys and staff at A to Z Law, we wish you and your family a happy and joyous holiday season and a great 2012.

In November, Melissa H. Sayer, a senior associate with A to Z’s Business Law Practice Group, began serving as a consultant for Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV), which offers micro-loans and a self-employment training program primarily for women entrepreneurs. As a legal consultant, Sayer provides pro bono advice to participants in WEV’s program to help them launch their business.

This new role is in addition to Sayer’s involvement with WEV’s corporate committee. She is also on the board of the Museum of Ventura County and the Board of the Ventura County Economic Development Association (VCEDA). Additionally, Sayer is the A to Z Law representative to the Santa Paula Chamber of Commerce.

Stuart G. Nielson, an associate with A to Z Law’s Real Estate and Business Law Practice Groups, recently was elected to the board of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Oxnard and Port Hueneme.

Nielson is dedicated to the community’s youth and supports the work of the Club as it develops young leaders. On the board, Nielson will help the Club continue serving more than 7,500 youth at 18 locations, including the state’s only Club inside a Juvenile Justice Center.

Nielson was honored recently as one of the Pacific Coast Business Times’ 40 Under 40 and serves on the Lawyer Referral and Information Service Committee of the Ventura County Bar Association. He has assisted a number of local nonprofit organizations with various projects on a pro bono basis, including the Museum of Ventura County and the Ventura Botanical Gardens, which he assisted in finalizing a long-term lease with the City of Ventura to secure a site for the future development of the gardens in Grant Park in Ventura.

Susan L. McCarthy, a senior associate with the litigation practice group, recently became the A to Z Law representative to the Oxnard Chamber of Commerce. McCarthy’s expertise in matters of business, commercial and property litigation will be a valuable asset to the organization and its members.
A community-minded professional, McCarthy serves on the board of directors of Goodwill Industries of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties, Inc., and has been a member of the Sandpipers Toastmasters Club since 2009. She serves on the Ventura County Bar Association’s board of directors and is a member of Ventura County Bar Association’s Business Litigation Section Steering Committee. Since 2008 she has been on Ventura County Trial Lawyers Association’s board of directors and is currently in her second term as secretary.

Maria Capritto, an associate with a practice in estate planning, probate, conservatorship, tax law and elder law, is now A to Z Law’s representative for the Ventura Chamber of Commerce.
As the former chairperson of Ventura Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Ventura Advisory Committee, Capritto is looking forward to strengthening local business through the organization’s programs and advocacy.
A Ventura resident, Capritto is the past president of the Boys & Girls Club of Ventura and of Elderpride, Inc. She’s a former board member of Rotary Club of Ventura East and currently serves on the Ventura County Bar Association’s board of directors.