President/CEO Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, co-founder Kern County Latino COVID-19 Task Force
Jay Tamsi is used to giving back, particularly after seeing his parents set great examples. His father's work in the community mattered to him, and he did not expect anything in return other than to make a difference for others, while his mother instilled in him the importance of selflessness when it comes to helping others. As the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce president/CEO, Tamsi has worked with individuals in the community by providing personal and professional opportunities for members through leadership programs, government relations, business academies and educational opportunities for local entrepreneurs.
The life lessons and experiences he has gained thus far came in handy for the Delano native who, as best as he could, would help Kern County's Latino population during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Since the inception of the Kern County Latino COVID-19 Task Force, which Tamsi is a co-founder of, the group's mission has been to save lives through outreach, education and awareness to find solutions to the disproportionate social and economic impacts of COVID-19 on the Latino community. As case numbers were increasing and state regulations for the economy to continue to operate were changing, the Kern County Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Kern County Public Health Department and a group of 30 dedicated and prominent individuals throughout Kern County saw a need to outreach to the Hispanic and Latino community, especially in the outlying and rural communities.
This fall, the Hispanic community made up 61 percent of positive cases in Kern County, he said. The group found ways to communicate with the Hispanic and Latino community and encourage them to get tested. The task force also focused on outreach to youth and farmworkers, created a strategic campaign in English and Spanish through various media platforms and assisted businesses and employees while providing mental and behavioral health support. The work is still far from over, and the challenges associated with educating and reaching as many individuals as possible are felt, but Tamsi and his colleagues are determined to provide free testing sites to all members of the community and educate them on how to best take an active role in their health during the pandemic.
Sometimes you have to think big in order to make a change in your community, and mural artist Brandon Thompson sees opportunity with each wall, corridor and stretch of concrete in town.
Thompson's art has made Bakersfield a brighter place — whether it's a mural for a business such as the one he collaborated with Jorge Guillen for Martin's Meats, an artwalk addition or a piece for a local exhibit. He's been an artist all his life, but he became serious about pursuing it full-time in 2009.
Since then, his art has taken on various shapes, sizes and mediums, but one thing remains consistent: He wants his art to inspire change. With his latest mural, Bloom, located underneath the Beale Street overpass in east Bakersfield, he hopes to “change the face” and “bring life” to an area people often avoid. That part of town, he said, has always “needed the most love,” and a collaboration with City Councilman Andrae Gonzales could inspire more people “to walk this way instead of walking around it.”
Bloom will feature six to eight handpicked east Bakersfield girls of color playing, reading and experiencing life surrounded by greenery and beams of light representing the sun at various part of the day — from sunrise to sunset. It's a message of empowerment to the girls and women of east Bakersfield to be unapologetically themselves and, like the flowers in the springtime, they have the potential to bloom and aspire for greatness. Thompson is collaborating with Jennifer Williams- Cordova and Deidre Hathor on the project.