TAKE A STAND AGAINST HUMAN TRAFFICKING!
executive members
Vice President
Vacant at this time
Secretary
Annette Londquist is an avid volunteer who enjoys serving the local community through non-profit organizations and the St. George Greek Orthodox Church. She grew up in Bakersfield and started her college journey at Bakersfield College. Annette earned a Bachelor’s Degree, Master’s Degree, and holds a teaching and counseling credential as well as a Pupil Personnel Services Credential; all earned at Cal Poly (SLO), Fresno State, CSUB and CSU Sacramento. Her education career spanned 35 years at Bakersfield City School District. She taught elementary school for 18 years, served as counselor at school sites for 15 years and finished her career as BCSD lead counselor for 2 years.
For 3 years, Annette was a co-owner of a small business in the Bakersfield Valley Plaza Mall.
Annette volunteered as a board member on the BCSD Educational Foundation for 4 years, helped with the mobile unit blood drives at the Houchin Blood Bank for 2 years and now continues to spend her time assisting non-profit organizations with numerous projects, as well asworking on various committees at the St. George Greek Orthodox Church.
Executive Accountant
Kami Paulsen is a Bakersfield native. She is a graduate of the University of California at Santa Barbara, an advisor, writer, speaker, and creator of Bako Box. She is an executive in the technology space with over 20 years experience advising companies such as Apple, Starbucks, Nike, and Hulu in contract legal operations, technology adoption, contract process and negotiation, sales and services delivery, adoption, and upsell opportunities for the Enterprise.
I support emPOWERment because both of our sons are adopted and could easily have been another statistic in the system. The biological mothers, of both sons, were victims of trauma and sexual abuse. I firmly believe this cycle stops with our boys and I strongly advocate for emPOWERment and the opportunity we can create for at-risk youth. We have to be the voice!
Board Member
Ms. Angel Cottrell has consulted with and coached entrepreneurs and taught entrepreneurship topics for more than 15 years. Most recently, she joined the Kern High School District as Program Manager of Entrepreneurship Resource Centers (ERC). The KHSD ROC & CTEC ERC are designed to support youth in developing entrepreneurial and intrapreneurial mindsets and thinking. Angel believes everyone should have the opportunity to experience the greatest version of their grandest vision in business and in life.
She is the CEO of Apollo Consultancy Group, the program manager of the KHSD Entrepreneurship Resource Centers, and an adjunct faculty member in the business department at Taft College and CSU Bakersfield School of Business & Public
Administration. Angel serves on the B3K Entrepreneurship & Business Ecosystem Committee, KITE CDFI Consortium, as an Executive Board Member and Vice Chair of the Bakersfield Women’s Business Conference, KITE Executive Committee member, KHSD CTE Advisory Board member, Kern Community Foundation Bakersfield Youth Jobs Advisory Board, is a mentor with Kern Inclusive Entrepreneurship Hub (KIEH),
volunteers with Virtual Enterprise International, and proudly serves on the board of Dess Perkin’s Foundation, emPOWERment . In 2022, Angel won the Beautiful Bakersfield
Award in the field of Education. She is a certified facilitator of the Entrepreneurial Learning Initiative Icehouse curriculum, a certified practitioner of the Entrepreneurial Mindset Profile, and a member of the Price-Babson SEE #47 Entrepreneurship
Education Symposium. She holds a master’s degree in organizational management.
ADVISORY BOARD
Outreach Coordinator at Kevin McCarthy for Congress
Regional Director; Department of Special Needs and Community Outreach; Dignity Health Mercy & Memorial Hospitals
Outreach Coordinator at Kevin McCarthy for Congress
Christine Diaz was born in San Diego but raised in Argentina. In December of 1999 she moved back to Bakersfield to be closer to her father. Christine obtained her teaching credentials in December of 1999 while in Argentina. When she moved back to the US, she worked in banking and insurance for 20 years and she is currently Kevin McCarthy’
Christine Diaz was born in San Diego but raised in Argentina. In December of 1999 she moved back to Bakersfield to be closer to her father. Christine obtained her teaching credentials in December of 1999 while in Argentina. When she moved back to the US, she worked in banking and insurance for 20 years and she is currently Kevin McCarthy’s campaign Community Outreach coordinator; working with non profits and the community. Her new career gives her more opportunities to continue her church and community involvement. Christine has a history of cultivating relationships and uses that expertise to reach out to the community. Christine enjoys spending time with her family and pets. She also loves reading a good book. In addition, she is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield East
Co-Founder of Hoffmann Hospice
Regional Director; Department of Special Needs and Community Outreach; Dignity Health Mercy & Memorial Hospitals
Outreach Coordinator at Kevin McCarthy for Congress
Beth Hoffmann was born and raised in Bakersfield, California where she attended West High School and graduated from California State University, Fresno.
In 1990, she and her husband, Tom Hoffman, owned and operated a successful home health agency. During this time, they provided care for a young mother who had been denied hospice care be
Beth Hoffmann was born and raised in Bakersfield, California where she attended West High School and graduated from California State University, Fresno.
In 1990, she and her husband, Tom Hoffman, owned and operated a successful home health agency. During this time, they provided care for a young mother who had been denied hospice care because she had AIDS. They also helped with her two HIV-positive children. Deeply impacted by this experience, they founded Kern County’s only non-profit hospice, Hoffmann Hospice, and pledged that no hospice-eligible patient would ever be turned away, regardless of
their illness or ability to pay.
Highly respected in the industry, Hoffmann Hospice is now the oldest hospice agency in Kern County and has served over 30,000 adult, children and veterans who have a serious or terminal illness since its founding 20 years ago. In December 2015 Hoffmann Hospice opened the doors to Kern County’s first and only freestanding in-patient hospice home. This home has expanded Hoffmann’s ability to provide hospice services to all hospice-eligible patients. This beautiful
homelike, 18-bed facility is professionally staffed with registered nurses 24-hours per day, as well as social services, home health aides, chaplains and volunteers Beth and Tom have been married for over 42 years and have 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. They consider it a privilege to give back to their community.
Regional Director; Department of Special Needs and Community Outreach; Dignity Health Mercy & Memorial Hospitals
Regional Director; Department of Special Needs and Community Outreach; Dignity Health Mercy & Memorial Hospitals
Regional Director; Department of Special Needs and Community Outreach; Dignity Health Mercy & Memorial Hospitals
Donna Sharp is Regional Director of Special Needs and Community Outreach for Dignity
Health Mercy & Memorial Hospitals. She joined Dignity Health in 2014 and is responsible for the overall strategic planning of community-based health education outreach programs focused on cultural access to health care, disease prevention, chronic dise
Donna Sharp is Regional Director of Special Needs and Community Outreach for Dignity
Health Mercy & Memorial Hospitals. She joined Dignity Health in 2014 and is responsible for the overall strategic planning of community-based health education outreach programs focused on cultural access to health care, disease prevention, chronic disease management and overall wellness for the poor and underserved in the Bakersfield community as well as outlying areas of Kern County. Donna designs programs in collaboration with businesses, government and social service agencies to help create a healthier Kern County. Currently, Donna’s team coordinates 42 outreach programs serving over 70,000 residents each year.
Currently, Donna is actively involved in multiple community health initiatives and
participates on several committees. She also serves as the Executive Board President for
the Alzheimer’s Disease Association of Kern County. She has been the recipient of multiple community leader designations. An avid runner and cycling enthusiast in the Bakersfield community as she inspires others to be the best version of themselves through fitness and wellness-related activities.
FORMER ADVISORY
Director of Public Relations and Business Development
Director of Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development
Director of Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development
Michael T. Bowers is well-known and respected visionary with the capacity to provide communication strategies and direction for the business’s various platforms. Over 10 years of professional experience formulating advanced concepts and solutions that demand a high degree of, creativity, innovation, technological expertise, and ingenuity.
Michael T. Bowers is well-known and respected visionary with the capacity to provide communication strategies and direction for the business’s various platforms. Over 10 years of professional experience formulating advanced concepts and solutions that demand a high degree of, creativity, innovation, technological expertise, and ingenuity. Newly appointed to the Planning Commission for the city of Bakersfield and currently the Director of Public Relations and Business Development for Centric Healthcare in Bakersfield, CA. Progressive thinker and has served on many boards and community campaigns in Kern County.
Director of Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development
Director of Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development
Director of Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development
NaTesha “T” Johnson has a heart for Bakersfield as an architect of change. She is passionate about empowering a new generation of leaders through personal and professional development. Her contribution to building community engagement and leadership is the union of her experience as a social activist and community advocate. She is often r
NaTesha “T” Johnson has a heart for Bakersfield as an architect of change. She is passionate about empowering a new generation of leaders through personal and professional development. Her contribution to building community engagement and leadership is the union of her experience as a social activist and community advocate. She is often referred to as the “Community Connector” and an advocate for the creation, development, and general economic growth of small-to-micro minority businesses in Kern County. As the founder and owner of Upside Productions Management, a strategic partnership company in Bakersfield, CA, she specializes in cultivating relationships focusing on diversity, equity, and inclusion outreach. In 2017, NaTesha founded Upside Academy, Inc., a non-profit organization that provides volunteer and community service opportunities for middle and high school youth in Kern. Also, under the tutelage of Kern College Community District Chancellor Sonya Christian, NaTesha is the Director of Entrepreneurship and Workforce Development servicing three community colleges and five counties focusing on improving economic mobility and bringing resources to small businesses and entrepreneurs. NaTesha is a product of local schools in and around Bakersfield. She earned her Master’s in Public Administration at California State University, Bakersfield. She also received her certificate in Diversity and Inclusion, Cornell University, NY.
