Bios: Naomi Vidales and Officer Jose Lara

Naomi Vidales, Executive Director, Police Activities League

Good morning,

I am so pleased to introduce you to Naomi Vidales, Executive Director of the Bakersfield Police Activities League, who was appointed to this position in February 2024 after an extensive career with the Bakersfield Police Department.

Naomi started as a Bakersfield Police Explorer, where she first interacted with the Bakersfield Police Activities League as a volunteer at various PAL events.

She began her “paid” career with the BPD as a Police Cadet assigned to the BPAL Center. BPAL then hired her as an Activity Leader, allowing her to continue working directly with youth.

Naomi worked full-time, raised her 3 younger siblings and her own son, and, at the encouragement of a BPD Sgt., she earned her Associates degree in criminal justice at night through an online program.

In 2005, she became the full-time Office Manager and later, the Assistant Director at BPAL, overseeing daily operations, fundraising, bookkeeping, and grant writing.

In 2015, Naomi left PAL to work for the BPD in a variety of administrative positions in the Records department, Traffic Unit, and Special Operations. In 2024, she joined the Community Engagement Unit assisting BPAL on the administrative side and soon was appointed Acting Executive Director.

With 24 years of involvement with BPAL as a volunteer, and as a mother and grandmother, this work and organization is deeply personal to her.

BPD Officer Jose Lara has been an officer for 3-and-a-half years and is currently assigned to the Bakersfield Police Activities League.

Officer Lara grew up down the street from BPAL and started attending at the age of 7. For 5 years he felt safe growing up at the facility as he participated in after school and summer sports activities.

It was at BPAL where he learned to play soccer in a league setting; skills he took to compete in club, high school and collegiate soccer, first in Nebraska, then at Cal Poly