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CSUB announces 2024 Alumni Hall of Fame inductees

Four graduates recognized for contributions to their fields, communities

By California State University, Bakersfield

October 6^th, 2023

The California State University, Bakersfield Alumni Association would like to introduce you to four exceptional people who have used their passion, intelligence and CSUB educations to bring justice, health, entertainment and energy to Kern County, the San Joaquin Valley and the world.

Law enforcement consultant and trainer Hajir Nuriddin, award-winning screenwriter Matt Harris, geologist and energy industry advisor on carbon management Ken Haney and Kern County Public Health Director Brynn Carrigan will be honored in February as the newest members of the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame.

The four honorees were chosen because of the impacts they’ve made in their fields and communities during their professional careers.

“We’re thrilled to share their stories with our broader CSUB family,” said CSUB Director of Alumni Engagement Sarah Hendrick. “What Brynn, Ken, Matt and Hajir have accomplished in their respective fields is extraordinary. I think this will be evident in the months leading up to the event in February, and we invite everyone to join us for the festivities.”

Let’s meet the four inductees of the 2024 class of the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame:

CSUB announces 2024 Alumni Hall of Fame inductees

Brynn Carrigan

Occupation: Director of Kern County Public Health

CSUB degree attained: B.A in Business Administration, 2006

Brynn Carrigan is director of the Kern County Public Health Department, the agency which is responsible for promoting and furthering community health and well-being across the county’s 8,000 square miles.

Carrigan graduated from South High in 2001 and took advantage of all that Kern County’s higher education system had to offer, first graduating from Bakersfield College and then pursuing her degree in business administration from California State University, Bakersfield.

Carrigan has spent her professional career working for the County of Kern, first as an accountant and then as a budget analyst in the Kern County Administrative Office. There she worked alongside Kern County Public Health leaders and became passionate about how the department helps the communities of the county.

She joined Public Health in 2012 as the assistant director. Then, in February 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to rage across the world, Carrigan was appointed as director by the Kern County Board of Supervisors.

Carrigan’s co-workers describe her as an energetic and passionate leader who helped shepherd the county through the pandemic, working long hours and taking on tasks at all levels of the department to help the public health system overcome and rebound from one of the most trying periods in its history.

In addition, she has spearheaded a host of community health projects including Waste Hunger, Not Food, the Black Infant Maternal Health Initiative, Grounded in Health, and the Know Your Numbers program.

Her passion for leadership and public health also extends to CSUB, where she partners with the university to promote public health and mentor upcoming students so they have a clear path from the classroom into work in the public health sector. Mrs. Carrigan also serves on CSUB’s School of Natural Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering (NSME) Dean’s Advisory Board.

Ken Haney

Occupation: Strategic Advisor — Carbon for California Resources Corporation (CRC)

CSUB degree attained: B.S. in Geology, 1984

Haney has over 30 years of experience in the upstream petroleum industry and over five years in carbon management. He is currently a strategic advisor on carbon for California Resources Corporation and oversees the engineering aspects of CRC’s Carbon TerraVault projects, which will capture, transport and store carbon generated from industrial emissions and captured directly from the atmosphere. The goal of these projects is to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and allow CRC and California to reach carbon neutrality by 2045.

Originally from Surrey, British Columbia, Haney came to CSUB on an athletics scholarship and competed in both track and cross country, becoming a two-time NCAA Track and Field All-American.

An interest in science led him to major in geology. After graduating with his bachelor’s in 1984, Haney began working as an Assistant Engineer for Texaco in Bakersfield. After returning to school to earn a master’s degree in engineering, he worked his way up through engineering and leadership positions at Texaco, Chevron and Occidental Petroleum, which spun off to become CRC in 2014.

Haney has given back to CSUB over the years as a donor and a speaker at campus events. He has also assisted geology students with their research projects and supported efforts within Oxy/CRC to recruit, hire and mentor CSUB geology and engineering graduates as part-time assistants, interns and full-time professionals.

Haney has been actively involved in the local community by coaching youth sports and volunteering and fundraising with local county organizations including the United Way, Golden Empire Gleaners, and Boys and Girls Club. He has also served on several boards, including Valley Water Management and the Californian Conservation Committee of Oil and Gas Producers.

Matt Harris

Occupation: Executive Producer and Screenwriter

CSUB degree attained: B.A in English, 1991

Harris has established a successful career developing and running TV shows as an executive producer. He has also written screenplays that have been made into major feature films.

After graduating with his bachelor’s from CSUB and his master’s from San Diego State University (SDSU), Harris moved to Los Angeles and accepted an entry-level position as a production assistant for PBS. After working various jobs in the industry, he eventually worked his way up to becoming an executive producer for a several TV series, including “Ridiculousness,” “Crashletes” and “truTV Top Funniest.”

Harris also worked on screenplays during that time. His first, a western called “Moon of Popping Trees,” earned him an Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Nicholl Fellowships in Screenwriting in 2002. However, efforts to get the screenplay made at the time were unsuccessful.

His next screenplay — “The Starling” — became a Netflix film that premiered last year that earned a Humanitas Award for writing. Shortly thereafter, his “Moon of Popping Trees” screenplay was adapted into a film called “Dead for a Dollar,” which was released in theaters last year.

Harris has made time in his busy work schedule to give back, such as by partnering recent graduate students from SDSU with TV production jobs.

Hajir Nuriddin

Occupation: Law enforcement consultant and former Assistant Police Chief

CSUB degree attained: B.A. in Public Administration, 2000, Master’s in Public Administration, 2002

Nuriddin has lived a professional life of community service, breaking barriers and becoming a powerful voice for innovation, change and diversity during her 32-year career in law enforcement in Bakersfield and Coral Gables, Florida.

She began her law enforcement career in 1985 as a dispatcher for the Bakersfield Police Department. Over the next 30 years in Bakersfield, Nuriddin moved from the phone to the street and into top leadership roles at BPD, commanding the Operations, Narcotics, SWAT/EOD and Specialized Enforcement divisions. She was the first woman to earn the rank of Captain in the Bakersfield Police Department and retired in 2016 as the commander of the Criminal Investigations Division.

Nuriddin earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in public administration from CSUB in 2000 and 2002, respectively, and built a reputation as a national and international leader on the topics of diversity, equity, inclusion and reform.

She also graduated from the Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government Senior Management Institute for the Police Executive Research Forum and the FBI National Academy.

After serving as the assistant police chief in Coral Gables, Florida for two-and-a-half years following her career in Bakersfield, Nuriddin retired to focus on her work as a mentor and national law enforcement leader working as a consultant and trainer for law enforcement agencies across the United States and the world.

Her connections to Bakersfield and CSUB, however, have remained strong. She and her husband Rashaad, also a `Runner, are longtime supporters of the Bakersfield Jazz Festival and the CSUB Roadrunner Basketball team. Her son, Imaad, is a four-year veteran of the CSUB University Police Department.

Details on tickets for the Alumni Hall of Fame induction ceremony in February are forthcoming.

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Footnotes

Story by James Burger, marketing and communications director, and Joseph Luiz, writer/marketing and communications specialist; photos contributed by Hall of Fame inductees.

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FootNotes

Story by James Burger, marketing and communications director, and Joseph Luiz, writer/marketing and communications specialist; photos contributed by Hall of Fame inductees.