Theme: Central Valley. Central to The Future.

Ideas worth spreading in the Central Valley of California, central of the world markets in Oil and Agriculture; central to new experiments in high speed rail, education, incarceration, technology and the arts; and central to solutions to issues like redeveloping downtown areas, homelessness, the opioid crisis, and water issues.

Spotlight Theatre/ Ovation Theatre
1622 19th St
Bakersfield, California, 93301
United States

Amy Adams

Actors Equity Association Artist and Teacher

Amy Adams is an American singer best known as a top ten finalist on the third season of the television series American Idol. After touring with a baby, Amy wanted to spend more time in her hometown of Bakersfield. She also wanted to pay forward some of the things that she was able to learn from the best in the industry. In 2008, Amy began operating Amy Adams Voice Studio, helping youth and adults reach their personal goals! Amy focuses on proper breathing and vocal technique for overall healthy singing, and personal confidence to help her students reach their potential! In August 2009 Amy joined with Garden Pathways Inc. Performing Arts and American Sound Recording Studios in Bakersfield, CA to mentor children through the arts.

Andrea Medina

Director of the FAB Lab at California State University, Bakersfield

Andrea Medina will speak on teaching youth 3D printing and design. Physically, a Fab Lab (fabrication laboratory) is an advanced digital fabrication laboratory that consists of a suite of fabrication and rapid prototyping machines, typically including a large CNC Router (the shopbot), a 3D desktop mill and scanner, a vinyl cutter, a laser cutter, an electronics work bench, a 3D printer and the accompanying computers and software. Culturally, Fab Lab is a global community of practice unified by the shared desire to share knowledge, collaborate and to “make almost anything.” MIT-inspired Fab Labs across the world have the same core machines and are connected through video conferencing equipment and online sharing tools that connect labs across the world. The open source ethos of Fab Labs fosters and encourages collaboration and innovation across languages, time zones and even majors.

Dino Giacomazzi

Owner, Giacomazzi Dairy

Dino Giacomazzi is the owner of Giacomazzi Dairy and board chair of the PLANT Foundation. He is a 4th generation dairy farmer and almond grower from California. He'll be talking about his efforts teaching STEM through the farm to youth.

Jim Gray

Retired Judge

After graduating from UCLA, James P. Gray served as a Volunteer in the Peace Corps in Costa Rica. Then, after graduating from the USC School of Law, he served in the US Navy JAG Corps at the Naval Air Stations in Guam and in Lemoore, California. He then served as a federal prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles and as a civil litigator in private practice, until he was appointed as a trial court judge in Orange County, California, where he served for 25 years. During that time, Judge Gray did something unusual for a trial court judge: he held a press conference in April of 1992 and told all who would listen that our nation’s policy of Drug Prohibition was not working and must be changed. Along the way, Judge Jim Gray has been the 2012 Libertarian candidate for Vice President of the United States, along with Governor Gary Johnson as the candidate for President, and the recipient of several honorary degrees as well as “Judge of the Year” awards.

Jordan Nata'e

Dancer, former contestant on So You Think You Can Dance

Jordan Nata’e is an alumni of Fox TV’s dance show, "So You Think You Can Dance" and a Bakersfield native. She's also a sophomore in high school and is preparing to return to the Los Angeles County High School of the Arts, where she will continue her training for the future in hopes of becoming an Alvin Ailey Company 1 dancer. She’s training to go to New York next summer for the Alvin Ailey summer program where she can grow and see what it’s like to be a professional dancer for her dream company. She continues to strive and grow from all of her past experiences and her future experiences to come.

Joseph Bondy-Denomy

Principal Investigator at Bondy-Denomy Lab

Joseph Bondy-Denomy is a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco. Research in the Bondy-Denomy lab is focused on understanding molecular warfare in microbes. Viruses that infect bacteria are found every where on our planet, including on and in our bodies. Bacteria protect themselves from viruses by using immune systems, the same way we protect ourselves from viruses. Recent discovery of an immune system called CRISPR revealed that bacteria actually ‘immunize’ themselves against viruses. Dr. Bondy-Denomy will dig deep into the world of CRISPR, and new discoveries from his lab, including "anti-CRISPRs", small proteins that bacterial viruses use to turn off the bacterial immune system. This exemplifies the ongoing molecular “arms race” that his lab is striving to understand in the hopes of killing deadly bacteria and changing the landscape of CRISPR gene editing.

Sabra Williams

Director of the Prison Project for Tim Robbins’ The Actor’s Gang theatre company

Sabra Williams, acclaimed for her work as an actor and founder of The Actors' Gang Prison Project, was named by President Obama a, Champion of Change in 2016. The program has grown from one California State Prison to 12, as well as programs in two Reentry facilities and Juvenile Camps. She'll speak about bringing arts into prisons.

Sandy Scott-Roberts

Groundwater Replenishment System Program Manager for Orange County Water District

Sandy will speak on the Orange County Water District's innovative Water Solution turning waste water into drinking water.

Tim Calahan

EMCEE: ABC News Anchor

KERO 23 ABC Morning News Anchor for Bakersfield and Emcee for TEDx Bakersfield

Zach Skow

CEO of Marley's Mutts Dog Rescue

Zach Skow has fought liver disease and is a firm advocate for animal rescue. He's the leader of Marley’s Mutts, a non-profit organization that rescues, rehabilitates, trains and re-homes death row dogs from Kern County’s high-kill animal shelters. In addition, we utilize the rescued dogs to transform people’s lives. Through the power of the human-canine bond, we empower dogs and people to live healthy, happy and productive lives. He'll speak on programs that pair rescue dogs with people struggling with disease, incarceration, drug abuse and more.