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PHOTO BY HENRY A. BARRIOS
“Hopefully her example will encourage younger people to help create change,” Barbich said. But even Marquez, an avid runner, admits to feeling overwhelmed from time to time. “When I start thinking that I may make the choice to slow down on my community involvement, I re-read a small note taped to my computer monitor which says, ‘the more you give, the more you will have’,” she said. “It reminds me that as long as I keep giving to others and to my community, I’ll have everything I need, including the energy to keep giving!”
Kim Albers
Kim Albers Kim Albers, Garden Pathways’ executive director, is Bakersfield’s tech-savvy Mother Teresa. Her fingerprints are on nearly every organization in town dedicated to helping the disadvantaged and disenfranchised. Bakersfield Californian columnist Lois Henry once called Albers “as tenacious as hell.” Albers, 44, agrees. The turning point for the co-founder of Flood Bakersfield Ministries, Inc. came seven years ago while she nursed her mother back to health. “As I sat there in the hospital, I had lots of time to think about the value of human life and relationships,” she said. “I had the opportunity to meet some people experiencing homelessness. My heart broke for them. I truly believed I could make a difference in their lives by being present, listening and loving.” Described as a consummate problem solver, her commitment to advocacy led to the formation of Flood Ministries in 2008. 66
Bakersfield Life Magazine
February 2013
“Community transformation through the power of relationships is my passion,” she said. In June 2010, Flood's Board of Directors officially hired her as its executive director, and after Garden Pathway’s director Karen Goh joined the Kern Board of Supervisors, Albers was the obvious choice to take over. She is as relentless as she is tenacious. Albers is a powerful voice on the Kern County Homeless Collaborative, the mayor’s “A Ten Year Plan to End Chronic Homelessness,” and Bakersfield Safe Streets Partnership, among others. According to Albers, more than 4,000 individuals are served annually between Flood Ministries and Garden Pathways. “There are so many people hurting and in need it is very motivating,” she said. “I walk in confidence that this is where I am to serve.” Goh has described Albers as having a “heart of boundless compassion for the hurting, the vulnerable, and the marginalized. Kim deeply feels their pain. She is moved by their suffering, but beyond emotion, Kim resolutely translates her compassion into purposeful action.” In Kim Albers’ world, everyone should have a roof over their head. Until then, she presses on “as if lives are at stake, because they are,” she said. “We all have to do something.” Fellow community activist Judi McCarthy called Albers’ Facebook page “a window on her soul.” “Here she shares her passion for her community work, her concern for our community’s homeless, her love for her family, and her deep faith,” McCarthy said. “Postings from other Facebookers demonstrate how admired she is by so many in the community.”
Cynthia Pollard If Cynthia Pollard — the Greater Bakersfield Chamber of Commerce’s new president and CEO — faces a bit of a learning curve upon returning home, it isn’t likely to be a steep one. Despite a four-year absence, the Bakersfield native, who honed her public relations skills over many years here and earned wide respect from the business community, was the perfect fit to replace retiring CEO Debbie Moreno. Board chairman Tim Terrio, on announcing Pollard’s selection, likened her to a “rock star” in the world of business advocacy. “She can speak to the plight of small business owners, but also has connections with big business,” Terrio said at a news conference last August. At 54, Pollard’s sterling resume would make most green with envy. A graduate of the University of Southern California, she went on to receive her master’s degree from the University of LaVerne. Her first job out of school was with Walt Disney Productions. “My experiences there helped shape my beliefs in business, and standards for customer service delivery,” Pollard says. She launched her own public relations firm in the 1980s helping a broad spectrum of businesses both large and small, including the mammoth Bakersfield Business Conference and PG&E. She also managed government relations for the Central Valley for the public utility, and worked on the Hink-