How can I help?

Brigiett Guzman is a 2023 Alumni Rising ` Runner

By California State University, Bakersfield

May 2^nd, 2023

Brigiett Guzman has been selected as the 2023 Alumni Rising ` Runner for the School of Business and Public Administration. Each spring, the Rising ` Runner program recognizes CSUB alumni of the last 10 years who are already making an impact in their career and community.

Brigiett Guzman, like many others, entered California State University, Bakersfield as an undeclared major. She was interested in law school, but she later turned her sights to public policy and administration (PPA). She reached out to Dr. Thomas Martinez, and he encouraged her to go the PPA route and to do the accelerated program to obtain her master’s degree simultaneously.

Dr. Martinez believes that Brigiett is the youngest graduate of the master’s PPA program. However, Brigiett doesn’t like to focus on her youth. She prefers to focus on the quality of work she has produced and her efforts in helping her community.

“How can I help?” is the question that drives Brigiett, and her philosophy of helping others has led her into public service. As an economic development planner with the City of Bakersfield, part of her role is to figure out ways to make more sustainable and equitable communities and engage and help residents regardless of immigration status and income. She wants to provide assistance and resources throughout her community.

Brigiett's family serves as her main source of inspiration. She is a first-generation graduate. Watching her parents’ work ethic encouraged her to be a hard worker too. Her family helped Brigiett to reach her goals.

“There’s always going to be a way to overcome the adversity,” she said. “It just takes the initiative to try and find the help that you need.”

Brigiett found another support system within the School of Business and Public Administration (BPA). Faculty such as Dr. Martinez, Dr. Chandra Commuri and Lecturer Fred Plane helped by connecting her with mentorships and internships and advice on how to navigate the job application process.

“CSUB has a really good support system and really cares about serving their students,” Brigiett said.

Dr. Martinez helped Brigiett obtain an internship with the City of Arvin, her hometown, and it was her first experience in public policy. There, she focused on urban policy and economic development. This opportunity led her to take internships with non-profit organizations like The Central Valley Asthma Collaborative and Community Action Partnership of Kern.

A Central Valley Commercial Brokers internship allowed her to become well-versed in community development and real estate. While at the Kern County Department of Public Health, Brigiett learned public health policies.

Brigiett really wanted to gain experience in diverse subfields to amass a greater wealth of understanding, as well as find her niche. All of these experiences shaped her knowledge, allowed her to bring a unique perspective to her current role with the City of Bakersfield and helped her navigate through intergovernmental and community relations.

Brigiett helped prepare the Kern County 2040 General Plan and reviews developer projects for compliance with environmental impact regulations. She also assists in coordinating community development projects by drafting land use maps, conducting research, gathering information, analyzing project budgets and specifications, soliciting public comment, conducting public meetings, doing presentations and preparing recommendations for public policy.

Additionally, she interprets planning documents and delivers information to the public, provides Spanish translation, analyzes sustainable land use policies and specializes in ArcGIS software. Brigiett’s initiative, maturity and persistence have made her a model of excellence as a student and rising young public service professional.

Throughout her career and internship experiences, some of Brigiett’s favorite projects include the home weatherization program, which creates more livable housing through energy efficiency upgrades; the entrepreneurship grant program, a program designed to connect small businesses with greater resources and help them be more profitable; and the Brownfield Grant Program, a program funded by a grant through the Environmental Protection Agency designed to redevelop and rehabilitate polluted property to create affordable housing.

Many of these programs allow for input from the community to facilitate better decision-making, and communications are offered in other languages such as Spanish and Punjabi to reach more audiences. Brigiett isn’t a stranger to acting as a Spanish translator when it comes to communicating programs and policies to the community. Building trust is an important part of economic community development and improving quality of life for all.

There is a pressure that comes along with working in public service and getting resources and assistance to the community in a timely manner, but Brigiett knows that remembering her “how can I help” philosophy helps keep her from feeling overwhelmed.

“Our focus is quality of life, and we want to make sure we do it correctly,” she said, noting that taking a step back and reflecting can allow the space to review and reframe projects, so they make it to the end goal.

Brigiett continues to expand her education. She feels strongly that a doctoral level of education will allow her to be a greater contributor to the City of Bakersfield and her community. She was recently accepted into Old Dominion University’s online Ph.D. public policy program and CSUB’s faculty helped guide her through the application process.