Photos courtesy of House Farm Workers.
VENTURA COUNTY — Nov. 15, 2025, was a rainy, dark night, especially since the power at the Four Points by Sheraton in Ventura was out. Guests arrived unaware of the power outage and ran from their cars into the hotel lobby to shelter from the rain, ready to warm up and enjoy the Ventura County Bar Association’s Awards Dinner, only to find a dark room with a small table staffed by a kind VCBA member and a tiny battery-operated light.
Attendees did not scare away, and spirits did not fall; everyone embraced the low-lit event, as it was still a grand celebration of Barbara Macri-Ortiz, who would be honored with the Ben E. Nordman Public Service Award.
Before the award, VCBA reached out to House Farm Workers! Executive Director, Gabrielle Vignone, for a quote about Barbara for the Citations Magazine. Gabrielle shared,
“I don’t know anyone who doesn’t know of Barbara. She is the person the experts in the room will defer to. She is full of tenacity and encourages people to continue working, have faith, and hope.
Personally, I know Barbara to be a champion not only of farm workers but of the underserved and vulnerable. Barbara will either help you or give you enough advice to help yourself.”
Barbara played a key role in the creation of House Farm Workers!, which traces its founding to 2004 under the auspices of the Ag Futures Alliance.
The alliance, a stakeholder group dedicated to ensuring the viability of Ventura County agriculture in perpetuity, had two years earlier produced a white paper titled “Farm Worker Housing: A Crisis Calling for Community Action.” That report described the lack of affordable, safe and stable housing for agricultural workers as an existential threat to the future of Ventura County’s signature industry, and recommended a number of community actions to address the crisis, including convening a Ventura County Farm Worker Housing Summit.
The summit took place in January 2004 and drew more than 300 people, scores of whom volunteered to participate in future housing advocacy. In response, AFA established the Farm Worker Housing Task Force, which would later be renamed House Farm Workers!, co-chaired by Barbara and grower Ellen Brokaw, both of whom were members of the AFA roundtable. The Task Force in turn established a network of city committees to coordinate advocacy and share information.
“Barbara is a legend in the community of farm workers and their supporters,” said John Krist, a member of the AFA roundtable from 2003 to 2006, past CEO of the Farm Bureau of Ventura County, and a current member of the HFW! board. “She has been fighting to improve the lives of countless local farm workers and their families for decades, not only as a vocal housing advocate but as an effective litigator who has won important legal victories on their behalf.”
Barbara continues to support House Farm Workers! by being a dedicated member of our Oxnard City Committee. She continues to fight for affordable housing, farm workers, and others in need. With her pending retirement, she has not abandoned us; instead, she has started coaching a new leader, Maria Navarro, to take her place. House Farm Workers! is proud to currently have both Barbara and Maria as part of our Oxnard City Committee and as resources to Ventura’s farmworker community.
So, of course, we attended the Ventura County Bar Association Awards Ceremony to watch her be honored and hear her speak. VCBA did its best with what it had to ensure that the room was not pitch-black as Barbara received her award. Actually, Barbara mentioned that the lack of light on the night she was getting an award made sense because she isn’t a fan of the limelight. Wishes aside, Barbara was still the brightest light in the room.
It was a special moment when Barbara, in her award speech, mentioned the long history she has with House Farm Workers! She commented on the needs of the farm worker community and the continuous struggle for affordable housing, then mentioned founding member Ellen Brokaw and the board members in attendance by name: Leslie Leavens, John Krist, Karen Flock, and our Executive Director, Gabrielle Vignone.
House Farm Workers! was able to get a couple of pictures with Barbara, thanks to the VCBA staff repositioning a temporary lightbulb and placing everyone behind a casino table.