Speakers

Ashley Sodergren is the new Regional Development Director with Make-A-Wish Northeastern & Central California and Northern Nevada Chapter serving the Kern, Kings, Inyo and Tulare counties.  Previous to her current role, she worked for the Alzheimer’s Association and the American Cancer Society in Kern County in a variety of roles.  She is a fellow Rotarian with the Downtown Bakersfield Rotary Club and sits on their board of directors as their secretary. 

Kiyoshi Tomono is passionate about the well-being of Bakersfield and creating partnerships that lift
up the community. Previously, Kiyoshi was the face of local TV news as an anchor and reporter at
KGET-Ch. 17 (NBC) and as a reporter at KERO-CH. 23 (ABC) in Bakersfield, where he first built
connections by telling the many stories in Kern County. Now, Kiyoshi's work focuses on building
different types of connections, aligning community resources and deploying the Blue Zones’
systematic approach to leverage the people, places and built environment to lift well-being
outcomes. 
Kiyoshi graduated from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) with a degree in
molecular biology and from Northwestern University with a Master's degree in journalism.
He is an avid runner and hopes to add more marathon medals to his accomplishments. He and his
wife, Cecilia – the multi-site administrative director of Business Development for Adventist Health
Kern County – are the proud parents of two sons, Joshua and Christian
Kiyoshi believes in the power of surrounding himself with a positive pack. There’s nothing better than
collaborating and spending time with colleagues, friends and family members who support each
other and are committied to each other’s well-being.