Leadership

Board of Directors

Marianna Buoni, Clean Harbors, Buttonwillow, LLC
Jess Frederick, WZI, Inc.
Jamie Thornberry, Freeport-McMoRan Oil & Gas
Jim Varley, Kern County Superintendent of Schools Office

Staff

Michael Turnipseed, Academy Director
Marlene Heise, Owner/Chief Strategic Officer of Heise Media Group

Faculty 2025

Alex Alva, Budget and Finance Director of Kern County Administrative Office
Joe Arriola, Senior Fiscal and Policy Analyst, Kern County Administrative Office
Juan Avila, COO of Garden Pathways
Alison Burrowes, MA, LCSW, Director of Kern BHRS
Brynn Carrigan, Director of Kern County Public Health
Morgan E. Clayton, President, Founder of Tel-Tec Security Systems Inc.
Christian Clegg, City Manager of the City of Bakersfield
Jim Damian, Local Entrepreneur
Mark Evans, Ph. D., California State University, Bakersfield
Dr. Joseph Florez, Associate Director of the Kegley Institute of Ethics
Melissa Frank, VP, Sr. Associate General Counsel-Government Affairs, The Wonderful Company
Steven Gamboa, Ph. D., California State University, Bakersfield
Richard Gearhart, Ph. D., California State University, Bakersfield
Jessica Grimes, Ph. D., Dean of Economic and Workforce Development, KCCD
Marlene Heise, Owner/Chief Strategic Officer of Heise Media Group
Barry Hibbard, ASU Associates
Jenny Holtermann, Executive Director of Water Association of Kern County
Scott Hurlbert, City Manager of Wasco
Ariana Joven, Government Affairs Manager, The Wonderful Company
Stacy Kuwahara, Kern County’s Chief Operations Officer
Nyakundi Michieka, Ph. D., California State University, Bakersfield
Brian Miller, Principal of Kern High School District’s Regional Occupational Programs (ROC/CTEC)
Rachel Nettleton, Executive Director of Kern County Farm Bureau
Nate Olson, Ph. D., Kegley Institute of Ethics, California State University, Bakersfield
Georgia Petropoulos, President and CEO of B3K Prosperity
Melinda Santiago, LMFT, Director of Behavioral Health, Kern Health Systems
Lauren Skidmore, CEO of Open Door Network
Michael Turnipseed, Kern County Taxpayers Association, Faculty Director
Keith Wolaridge, Five Pillars and Associates
Mike Zulfa, Ed.D., Superintendent, Kern High School District