Board of Directors

ILCKC’s current Board President is Lito Morillo, a graduate of Cal State Bakersfield with BA in Public Administration. He has over 18 years of experience in the field of social services. Lito currently works as the Executive Director for Kern County Aging and Adult Services and has held this position since 2011. Prior to this position, Lito worked for the Department of Human Services in the Employers Training Resource Department.
In addition to serving on the ILCKC’s Board, Lito also serves on several other boards and committees including the Domestic Violence Advisory Committee, Kern Senior Network Board, IHSS Advisory Committee, and the Kern Federal Credit Union Supervisory Committee.

Penny Valdovinos currently serves as the Vice Chair for ILCKC’s Board of Directors and Chair of the Fundraising Committee. Penny has worked with those with disabilities and the aged for over a decade.
After 20+ years of service with the County of Kern Department of Human Services as a Human Services Technician III, Penny has since retired and spends her time volunteering and serving as an advocate.
Penny participates in legislative advocacy events for both the blind and disabled in Sacramento as well as locally. Penny has been involved with The Salvation Army’s Community Care Ministries including “In-Sight In-Touch,” a program designed for families and people affected by visual impairments and/or blindness. For over a decade she has been involved with the Greater Bakersfield Council of the Blind and serves the Council as President. Penny is also a proud member of the Guide Dog Users International as well as Guide Dog Users of California.

Jason Watkins grew up in the community and earned a B.A. in Psychology and an M.S. in Educational Counseling from California State University, Bakersfield. Jason is now the Assistant Director for Programs and Services for Services for Students with Disabilities at CSU Bakersfield. In his role, Jason serves on several advisory committees for local community colleges. Additionally, Jason has a background in mental health and suicide prevention that continues to serve him well in his work with people with disabilities. He is a married father of one who enjoys traveling and spending time outdoors.

Nathan Gutierrez has worked at Employers’ Training Resource (ETR) in the County of Kern since 2014, where he currently serves as a Departmental Analyst overseeing multiple sub-grantee contract agreements with local education providers and is responsible for the implementation and oversight of disability-related programs and services.

Prior to working for the County of Kern, Nathan was the League Coordinator with the League of Dreams, a non-profit organization that provides social and health programs for youth with disabilities through sports including baseball and basketball. Along with partnerships with the City of Bakersfield and several local businesses, he was responsible for the development of Abilities Field, the first and only universally-accessible baseball field in Kern County for children of all abilities.

Nathan played wheelchair basketball for more than twenty years, coached high school basketball for both boys and girls, and has given TEDx talks on overcoming adversity.

Shawn, a proud Bakersfield native, has extensive experience in designing, developing, and overseeing for-profit and not-for-profit businesses that benefit people with disabilities. Shawn has a Bachelor of Arts in Organizational Leadership from Fresno Pacific University and graduated Magna Cum Laude. In addition, Shawn is a Graduate of the National Leadership Consortium through the University of Delaware. Shawn has 30 years of experience working with people with disabilities, 20 of which were in executive level leadership. Shawn serves on multiple non-profit boards and is a member of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield Downtown.