Meet Kim Marra Stephenson

Kim Marra Stephenson is a dedicated teacher, mother, and community leader, whose roots run deep in Ventura County.

Kim’s family has lived in Ventura County for over 40 years. She comes from a long line of hard workers. Her grandmother was a farmworker. Every generation of her family has served in the military since immigrating to the US from China and Italy. Her grandfathers served in World War II, her stepfather is a disabled Vietnam Vet and career Naval officer, and her brother served in Afghanistan. Kim and her sisters all have careers in public education.

At an early age, Kim was required to have a strong work ethic and learned the value of determination and dedication from her mother, Corrine. After a battle with mental illness, Kim’s father committed suicide at age 30, widowing Corrine with 4 children under the age of 8. 

Kim’s family has experienced economic insecurity. Times were tough. By age 14, Kim had her first “social security” job, selling shoes alongside her mother for the first mayor of Camarillo, Earl Joseph. He appreciated Corrine’s values and work ethic and sold his name and store to her a couple of years later. She and Kim’s stepfather, Corrine and Dave Larson, ran the store for the next 30 years.

Kim hasn’t stopped working since age 14. She worked through school and was a top student at Rio Mesa High School. She then earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology with honors from UCLA, while working and relying on veteran’s benefits to cover expenses. She went on to receive a full fellowship to Stanford University, where she earned her PhD in Educational Psychology.

After finishing school, Kim chose to go into public education and has taught every level from preschool through graduate school and served as a middle and high school administrator, including Principal of Adolfo Camarillo High School. She currently teaches at Oxnard Middle College High, a full-time public high school on the Oxnard College campus, where students graduate with associate degrees and high school diplomas at the same time.

Outside of work, Kim brings people from all over the county together around critical issues and has done so for decades. Kim is an active community member, mentor, and organizer, serving as:

• Founding Member and President of the Ventura County Women’s Forum Collaborative 501(c)3
• Board Member of the Social Justice Fund for Ventura County
• Member of Camarillo-Somis Pleasant Valley Lions
• Member of American Association of University Women
• Foster for Paw Works Animal Rescue

For her work, she has received awards and recognitions including: 

• Woman of the Year for California’s 19th State Senate District
• Certificated Employee of the Year, Oxnard Middle College High School
• Women’s Leadership Award from CSUCI Multicultural Programs
• Kay K. Fukushima Fellowship for Humanitarian Service, California Lions Foundation
• Dwight E. Stanford Fellowship for Outstanding Contributions, Fourth District Lions Student Speakers Foundation 
• Henry J. Aslan Fellowship, Fourth District Lions Student Speakers Foundation
• Several Volunteer and Honorary PTA Service Awards between 1997 and 2023

A resident of Camarillo, Kim is happy to be busy with her family as a wife and mother of two daughters and two rescue dogs, managing a small business with her family, and raising chickens and ducks in her backyard.