Speakers

Amy Thelen is the Vice President of Bitwise, Bakersfield. Born and raised in Bakersfield, Amy spent time living in San Diego, Utah, and Austin before moving home to put down roots. With more than 10 years of experience in software sales, Amy brings a unique perspective to our Bitwise ecosystem. As Vice President of Bitwise, Bakersfield, Amy is in charge of shaping the Bitwise ecosystem to fit Bakersfield’s personality. Amy oversees the Bitwise Bakersfield campus, managing multiple projects while ensuring we’re creating a place for the community that is diverse, inclusive, and progressive. Her dream job would be the starting forward for the Women’s National Soccer team, but since that train has likely passed, she figures the next best thing would be working in an industry that will forever change our future.

Karen King has enjoyed a long career in public transit, most recently serving for the past twelve years as
the CEO of the Golden Empire Transit District in Bakersfield, California. She started her career at Utah
Transit Authority where she worked for ten years in a variety of progressively responsible positions
before moving on to the Long Beach Transit in California.
In 1998 Ms. King expanded her career to include rail service development and operations as the
Development and Communications Director at North County Transit District in San Diego. She was
hired to guide capital improvements of the COASTER commuter railroad and development of the
SPRINTER diesel multiple unit system running from Oceanside to Escondido. She also served as the
President of the San Diego Northern Railroad and Executive Director of the North County Transit District
for six years.
Ms. King holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Utah and a Master of Science degree
in Intermodal Transportation Management from the University of Denver.

Laura Lollar Wolfe has a passion for literacy and women’s empowerment via education. She has been executive director of Kern Literacy Council since September 2015. All of her previous positions involved fundraising for education programs--Development Director, United Way of Kern County (2012-15), development director/interim executive director, Arts Council of Kern (2009-2012), and 25 years in higher education advancement, including 16 years at CSUB. She is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and Wasco High School. Community service involves the same passions, Member of the advisory committee, Founder, and past chair of the Women’s and Girls Fund of Kern County, Past president of PEO Chapter JT, a philanthropic educational organization, and Charter member of United Way’s Women’s Leadership Council.

Kern Literacy Council empowers individuals to improve the quality of their lives through literacy education. Our vision is to transform lives and thereby generations through Literacy. We provide one-to-one and small group tutoring, currently via Zoom, in Adult Basic Education, English as a Second Language, GED preparation, US Citizenship test preparation, and Family Literacy.

Amy has been the Executive Director of the Bakersfield Museum of Art since 2016. She is responsible for all aspects of operations including budgeting, fundraising, and financial controls. In 2019, she successfully obtained the Museum’s Reaccreditation from the American Alliance of Museums (AAM) – a rigorous two-year process.

Amy has over 20 years of increasing responsibilities, innovative program development, and leadership advancement with various not-for-profit organizations including the American Red Cross, Kern Community Foundation, and Adventist Health Bakersfield Foundation. She is also a 2013 graduate of the Leadership Bakersfield program and served on the Youth Leadership Bakersfield Council for five years.

Amy is a proud member of the Rotary Club of Bakersfield Twilight, serving as President in 2018-2019 and the Club’s Foundation Chair in 2019-2020. This year, she serves as the Group Two Assistant Governor for our District as well as a member of the Rotary District 5240 Charitable Foundation Board of Directors. She has also been a member of the District’s Grants Sub-Committee for the past two years.

She has been happily married to Zane, the Executive Director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of Kern County for 28 years. Together they have two children – Christopher, a CSU Monterey Bay graduate and the Food & Beverage Assistant Manager at the Hyatt Regency Monterey, and Charlotte, a junior at CSU Bakersfield. Amy & Zane, when not working can usually be found watching their daughter perform in various theatre productions.