About Us

Church HR Network was founded by Leslie DeMattia. Leslie and her team have more than 30 years of experience combined in faith-based Operations; including 15+ years leading all aspects of Human Resources and Safety at Ventura Missionary Church and Schools.

Leslie DeMattia

About Our Founder

Leslie DeMattia

Leslie is a retired Peace Officer with extensive law enforcement, civilian security, and human resources expertise. During her law enforcement career as a highly decorated senior officer, Leslie worked in jail operations, patrol, patrol operations, sex crimes task force, agricultural protections, hostile work environment investigations, and personnel investigations, and she implemented patrol orientation policy and procedures.

Leslie is a retired Peace Officer with extensive law enforcement, civilian security, and human resources expertise. During her law enforcement career as a highly decorated senior officer, Leslie worked in jail operations, patrol, patrol operations, sex crimes task force, agricultural protections, hostile work environment investigations, and personnel investigations, and she implemented patrol orientation policy and procedures. She was a Field Training Officer, Custodial Training Officer, Personnel Management Mentor, and authored “Patrol Orientation,” a manual and training program to integrate custody deputies into patrol. Leslie’s law enforcement career was cut short by an on-duty injury that forced her medical retirement.

After her injury and recovery, Leslie negotiated with HUD (the Department of Housing and Urban Development) to create a transitional living center program for Project Understanding. She devised a program to reintegrate homeless families back into society. She authored a client interview and intake screening process, handled all placements, and was responsible for all case management. Leslie is well-versed in contract management, negotiations, and operations in both the public and private sectors.

Completion of her contract with HUD and Project Understanding led to an invitation to work for the Department of Investigative Services as Director of Operations/Facility Security Officer. As Facility Security Officer, Leslie oversaw defense warfare contractors from Vandenberg AFB to Edwards AFB. She held top secret and NATO security clearances. Leslie managed a staff of 500 and completely reorganized the human resources department. She is fully trained in multiple levels of background and personnel investigations, executive management, risk management, human resources, operations, benefits administrations, tactical deployment, project management, budgeting and finance, workers compensations, EEOC complaints, IWC complaints, cost controls, dispute resolution, hiring and retention, organizational liability, and school and church security.

Leslie has spent the past 35 years in human resources and operations. This time includes 15+ years leading all aspects of human resources and operations at Ventura Missionary Church, School, and Counseling Center. She has dealt extensively with the non-profit and for-profit industries. She has comprehensive training in wage and hour law and has authored hundreds of employee handbooks and injury and illness prevention plans. Leslie has hours of training in ADA and FEHA. She has considerable experience lecturing sexual harassment in the workplace, hiring for HR, best practices, consistent leadership, all hazard response, performance management, wage and hour law, exempt/non-exempt classifications, the ministerial exception, crisis management, workplace violence prevention, school safety, active shooter staff training, and classroom and workplace security. Leslie has developed a unique and in-depth hiring process that aims to put the right people on the right teams. She is a seasoned human resource professional.

In 2014, Leslie left Ventura Missionary and started DeMattia Consulting, now known as Church HR Network. Serving hundreds of clients in California and throughout the U.S., her team is passionate about taking their experience to churches, schools, and other faith-based groups with the goal of furthering God’s kingdom through training leaders that support the infrastructure of the organizations.

Leslie was born and raised in the city of Ventura, California. She enjoys her faith and her family. She and her husband Brian have six adult children and currently reside in Ventura. She spends her free time biking, kayaking, and competitively showing her top-ranked Soft-Coated Wheaten Terriers in the Conformation dog arena.

Professional Training/Certificates

  • Wage and Hour Law—Fed/State White Collar Exemptions
  • Employment Discrimination and EEO Practices and Complaints
  • Employee Handbook and Personnel Policies
  • Personnel Investigations and Workforce Reductions
  • Recruitment and Retention
  • Advanced Management
  • Workers Compensation
  • Unrelated Business Income Tax
  • Manager of Information Services
  • Civil Treatment for Managers
  • EPSQ Administrations
  • Harassment Prevention Training
  • Benefits Administrations
  • Verbal Judo
  • Personnel Management
  • Risk Management Training
  • Peace Officer Standards & Training
  • Field Officer Training
  • Administration of Justice Homicide School
  • First Aid/CPR/Defibrillator
  • Crisis Response & Management
  • Criminal Behavior Clues

Education

  • Bachelor of Science in Business Management
  • University of Phoenix
  • San Jose State University
  • Ventura County Criminal Justice Training Center
  • Department of Defense
  • S. Department of Justice

Affiliations

  • Society of Human Resource Managers
  • National Human Resources Association
  • University of Phoenix Alumni
  • Non-profit Resource Network
  • American Society for Industrial Security
  • Christian Businesswomen’s Association
  • Crisis Consulting International
  • Ventura County Deputy Sheriff’s Association
  • Non-Profit Human Resource Network of Ventura County
  • Soft-Coated Wheaten Terrier Club of Southern California

Meet the Team

Elyce Wyatt

Beth Cheatham

Beth’s varied career includes working for a liberal arts college in Santa Barbara, doing story boards for Neiman Marcus, managing See’s Candies, and working at a fabric store where her love of plaids was born. She puts her creativity and people skills to work on our CHRN team providing excellent service for our clients and writing articles.

Born and raised in Ventura, California, Beth is also an artist and writer. Her drive to tell a story culminated in 2020 in the form of a debut novel. She and her husband are blessed with six children and two grandchildren. She enjoys cooking, raising chickens, gardening, and the occasional backyard project.

Elyce Wyatt

David Bograd

David has a background in Project Management and Technology at the US Navy. He has extensive experience in Naval Weapon and Data Systems, Logistics, Contracting and developing Maintenance Facilities around the world. He applies his skills and experience as IT Coordinator for our CHRN team.

A frequent volunteer on worship teams, church orchestras, and community bands, David is a drummer and percussionist. He and his wife host a weekly couple’s Bible study in their home, often serving up his world-famous smoked chicken.

David and his wife live in Southern California as almost-empty-nesters. They have five children, and most have launched as productive members of society. He is a Navy veteran and loves mountain biking, camping, and swimming.

Elyce Wyatt

Elyce Wyatt

Director of Human Resource Service

Elyce Wyatt is a seasoned ministry operations professional. She has a background in both business and ministry. Elyce is experienced in church finance, facilities, and human resources. She is known for ability to produce and edit documents with a keen ministry perspective. More importantly, she is a God-send to Leslie by fixing all of her unnecessary apostrophes and repairing her dangling participles.

Elyce’s background consists mainly of administration and ministry coordination. In addition to working with us, she is Operations Director at her church, overseeing the facilities, office, HR, and finance departments.

The California Central Valley is home to Elyce, her husband Jason, and their two lovely girls. They are active in their church, serving in the Children’s, High School, Men’s, and Life Group ministries. Their family can usually be found hanging out with friends or heading to the beach.

Ken Klopman

Ken Klopman

Director of Safety & Security

Now Director of Safety and Security for Church HR Network, Ken retired as a police sergeant from the Oxnard Police Department after 37 years in public service. His assignments included field services/patrol sergeant; training officer; traffic motor officer, coordinator, and investigator; beat coordinator; youth services sergeant; Police Activities League officer; citizens academy, police explorer academy, police academy, and youth academy instructor; and police chaplains’ corps sergeant. His experience includes extensive work with public and private schools and churches around conducting site vulnerability assessments, developing safety response plans, and coordinating contingency training and drills for emergency evacuations, active shooters, and lockdowns. Ken has also authored eleven state and federal grants, bringing nearly $2.5M to his community for violence reduction efforts. He has an Associate of Science degree in Administration of Justice.

Ken’s most meaningful and impactful years on the job were as a youth officer at the Oxnard Police Activities League mentoring young people and as a detective in the Sex Crimes and Child Abuse Unit, where he investigated sexual assaults and child abuse cases, requiring him to conduct delicate, challenging, and strategic forensic interviews and investigations to help survivors of child abuse and sexual assault pursue justice. Ken and his wife, Lyz, have given a large part of their lives serving children of abuse, abandonment, and neglect as they led Royal Family KIDS Camp of Ventura Missionary Church for 18 years, where Ken served as the Camp Director.

Ken was born in Inglewood, California, but lived most of his life in Ventura County. He is now very happily retired from law enforcement and resides in southern Washington with his wife of over 30 years and their two teenage children. In his free time, Ken enjoys nature walks, hiking, travel, photography, boating, and hand-crafting coffee beverages for family and friends.

Lyz Klopman

Lyz Klopman

HR Associate Preferred Partner

Lyz Klopman is a seasoned business operations professional with over 25 years of experience. Lyz brings her vast knowledge of operations, employee relations, marketing, construction, property management and negotiations.

She has developed, implemented, and coordinated employee policies and procedure manuals, as well as security plans utilizing on-site staff and local government agencies. Lyz’s strong work ethics, thoroughness, and commitment to her work have earned her the respect of clients and colleagues alike. Throughout her career she has worked closely with owners, employees, tenants, vendors, architects, builders, and government officials.

Lyz is married with two children and lived in Ventura County for 54 years and now resides in Washington. She loves to travel and host dinners with family and friends. Lyz and her husband have spent the last 18 years serving children, who have been abused, abandoned, and neglected, through Royal Family Kids Camp of Ventura.

Lyz Klopman

Marcela Szybisty

Marcela has a background in both business and ministry. Born and raised in South America, she gained her experience in Human Resources working in the corporate world. She moved to the US in 2008, and since then she has been devoted to learning the ins and outs of the trade as it applies to ministry and faith-based organizations.

Marcela’s accomplishments in the ministry environment include assisting in setting up human resources departments nationally and internationally, bringing ministries into compliance with federal and state requirements, conducting audits, and creating organizational policies. She puts her skills and passion for helping ministries to work on the CHRN team as a Client Relations Representative.

Marcela resides in the San Gabriel Valley of California with her husband Marcel and their two adorable pets, Luna and Emilia. They attend church in LA, where they can be found serving on Sundays. They also love spending time at the beach, hosting gatherings at home, and cooking their favorite dishes for family and friends.

We get itand we’re here to help

Book a call and we will answer your pressing HR ministry needs.