Jimmie Soto

Executive Director
Jimmie is an active member of the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers Board and their Executive Committee. He has been appointed to the State Independent Living Council (SILC) since 2013, and is on the State Plan for Independent Living committee with the SILC. He is a proud member of the local VOICED coalition, comprised of other non-profit Directors throughout Kern County. He is also a proud member of the Bakersfield East Rotary Club.
Before moving to Bakersfield, Jimmie held the position of Director of Program Services at Fresno County’s Independent Living Center, a position he held since 2001.
Jimmie is passionate about the independence of all people with disabilities. Disability has affected his own family with his own visual impairment and having a brother that is Deaf. In his spare time, Jimmie likes to spend time with his wife and three brothers, exercise, and watch football.
Tammy Hartsch

Finance Manager
Brooke Whitehead-Tolles

Program Manager
Brooke, her wife, and her son, are Disney fanatics and in their spare time like to take weekend getaways to Disneyland. Brooke also enjoys playing with her service dog, Angus, and working in her garden.
Jan Lemucchi

LTSS Manager
Alexandra Leyva

Services Manager (Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services)
She is a trilingual, Bakersfield native with an eclectic educational background. She attended Bakersfield College where she completed the ASL Program, transferred to CSUB to study Art History and Criminal Justice, and began interpreting at the collegiate level. Alexandra is a firm believer in life-long learning and completed the Dental Assisting program at SJVC “just for fun.”
Alex has been involved in the local Deaf Community for over 20 years. She has interpreting experience predominantly in the educational setting but also has festival, concert, wedding, and religious interpreting experience as well. She is eager to collaborate with other professionals, consumers, and advocates to help raise the bar for interpreting services and access provided here in Kern County.
Laura Rodriguez

Program Coordinator
Susan Privett

Assistive Technology (AT) Coordinator
Susan believes the OIB program (Older Individuals who are Blind and Visually Impaired program) is a good fit and will give her opportunities to serve consumers with knowledge and compassion. The ability to learn and teach different methods, tailoring OIB instruction to consumer-specific needs, and using the many types of assistive technology devices available are essential tools which enable others to preserve and enhance the visual acuity still possessed by our ILCKC seniors. “Where there is a will, there is a way”, is a motto Susan believes in to empower others to live fuller lives as independently as possible.
Savanah Adams

Public Policy Coordinator
Jessica Renteria

Transitions Coordinator
Jessica pushes herself every day in hopes of being a great role model for her kids and to her husband. In her spare time she loves spending time with her family and taking trips. Jessica’s dream is to one day open up a group home for special needs children. Jessica lives by the famous quote, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door” –Milton Berle
Carol Henry

Program Evaluator
Santeri Salomaki

Accounting Clerk
Since becoming a member of the ILCKC team, Santeri has brought his knowledge of business to improve finance-related issues and procedures.
Adelaida Moreno

Accounting Clerk
Since returning to Bakersfield, Adelaida has been a Bakersfield Club of the Deaf committee member and helped organize events for Deaf Night Out. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors with family and friends.
Stephanie Smart

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Services Provider
Jasmine Rubio

Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Services Provider
Martha Magana

Deaf Advocate/ IL Specialist
Renee Hernandez

Independent Living (IL) Specialist
Jessica Carrillo

Independent Living (IL) Rural Specialist
Outside of ILCKC, Jessica has been married for 8 years and is a mother of 5 children. One of her hobbies is extreme couponing. Jessica’s favorite quote to live by is from Henry Ford “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success”.
Stephany Cisneros

Independent Living (IL) Specialist
Valerie Rodriguez

Independent Living (IL) Specialist
Hannah Witthans

Independent Living (IL) Specialist
Heidi Frye

Independent Living (IL) Specialist
Ian Dowda

AT Specialist
Ian enjoys helping people and was drawn to ILCKC because of that. He believes that if at the end of the day he was able to help someone who needed it and put a smile on their face then that was a great day.
In his free time, Ian enjoys spending time with his wife, playing some games, eating some food, and occasionally going out.
David Hendrickson

AT Advocate
As owner/operator of Cyber Works Computers, David specializes in small office networking. With advancements in technologies offering new opportunities for education and employment, David found himself reaching out to visually impaired community and individuals with cross-disabilities to share the information. Current technologies are now more attainable than any other time in history and David is passionate about raising awareness.
Diana Gonzalez

Older Individuals who are Blind (OIB) Specialist
Diana is a Bakersfield native, graduated from Ridgeview High School, has an AA degree in Psychology from Bakersfield College with plans to continue her education at CSU Bakersfield to become a school psychologist.
Ian Spark

Special Projects Provider
Once Ian learned about the services that are available at the college through their varied job experiences, they became empowered and began to encourage other students who may have also had learning/mental/physical disabilities, financial hardship, or lack of access to academic assistance to become self-advocates and become a “creator” in their life. By giving encouragement and direction to the proper services, Ian discovered their passion to assist others in becoming independent and empowered to advocate for the services that someone may need to optimally live, learn and grow. Ian truly believes in actively learning in every moment. They are proudly a part of the LGBTQI+ Community as a Trans individual, identifying as Nonbinary. Pronouns accepted are all pronouns (they, she, he, ze, xe); however, “they, them, theirs” is encouraged as a good neutral rule of thumb for any individual.
Patty Grubbs
