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Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

Brynn Carrigan being inducted into CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame next month

By California State University, Bakersfield

January 26^th, 2024

For Brynn Carrigan, connection and fun are the fuels that power her through the long days, stark challenges and tough decisions she faces as Kern County’s director of public health.

She still has Sunday meals with her parents and family. When she’s out in the trenches with her staff, she will hop on social media to post a high-energy boomerang video to keep things fun and positive. She has a habit of laughing a lot and building close relationships with the people who work alongside her.

Brynn Carrigan works hard and has fun. It’s a powerful combination for the woman whose job is making Kern County a healthier place to live.

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

Jumping into the fire

The COVID-19 pandemic was in full roar when Carrigan took over the reins of the Kern County Public Health Services Department in early 2021, after serving for more than eight years as its assistant director.

Kern County was closed down, people were struggling, communities were facing dramatic health impacts and Public Health was in the middle of it all — working to comply with state and federal rules and address the unique needs of the county and its residents.

“I have to say, being appointed by the board smack dab in the middle of a pandemic was actually an honor,” Carrigan said. “It was an honor to have the trust of the board to be able to serve the community in this fashion. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that it wasn't challenging, because every day brought a new challenge our way.”

The work was tough. She and her staff learned quickly that the systems and plans they had in place to deal with a public health crisis weren’t truly ready for a years-long pandemic like COVID-19. They had to build stronger communication networks and learn new ways to reach out to underserved communities that were struggling to get the information and care they needed.

“It brought about opportunity to build relationships very quickly with community partners that — had it not been in the middle of the pandemic — I don't think I would have had that opportunity,” to connect with, Carrigan said. “We got to build a family here at Public Health because we worked so closely day in and day out, and we truly were each other's support system during those difficult times.”

But, with her characteristic positivity, Carrigan said that time was the most rewarding period in her career. Her “work bestie,” Kern County Public Health Public Relations Officer Michelle Corson, saw it all.

“Brynn is so passionate about improving the lives of our community. It guides everything she does, and it's always how she talks about an issue. What's the right thing to do? How can we help our community? How can we make this a better place,” Corson said. “She's grown up here like I have. She is so invested in making it a healthier, safer community that it drives her in a way unlike anything I've ever seen.”

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

CSUB bound

Carrigan said her roots have dug deep into the soil of Bakersfield and Kern County.

“My parents are actually from Fresno, where they met and got married. My dad finished out his college in Fresno. And his first job was with the County of Kern, and that's what brought them down here to Bakersfield. My dad promised my mom he would only bring her here for two years and they would go back to Fresno,” she said.

Decades later, they still live in the same house they bought in Bakersfield when he took that county job.

Carrigan grew up in local public schools and went to Bakersfield College, where she got the first hint of her future career path.

“I fell in love with business, and I wanted to explore getting my degree in business. And so, I took a few classes. But I needed to finalize what I needed to do at Bakersfield College and went directly over to Cal State Bakersfield into the Business Administration program,” she said.

CSUB was the perfect place for her to follow this new love to a bachelor’s degree, while maintaining her strong bond with her family and friends.

“I wasn't ready to, you know, leave the nest to move away from my family. I'm very, very close with my parents and with my brother,” Carrigan said. “And so, I wanted to stay here and in Bakersfield and be close to my family — but also pursue an education and business administration was available to me at Cal State Bakersfield.”

From there she followed in her father’s footsteps, taking a series of jobs at the County of Kern before accepting the assistant director of public health job in 2012.

“I have an amazing life and I had an amazing childhood, and I was surrounded by probably more love and nourishment from my mom than you could ever imagine. And then my dad was just so much about trying to raise me to be a good human being and to have good work ethic and to work hard,” Carrigan said.

Driven

Carrigan’s father, Chuck Lackey, knew from an early age that she was going to be successful because, he said, she has always had a strong will and a focused mind.

“Anything she sets her mind at, she's 100%. She's going to make sure she accomplishes that,” he said. “She has a very positive, kind of hopeful demeanor about herself. And it seems like that probably helps her with focusing on a solution rather than getting weighed down by the problems.”

Corson said Carrigan is committed to the work she does and works her tail off to do it.

“She never stops working. Her work ethic is through the roof. She's the earliest here. She's often the latest to leave. She and I are texting after work on weekends about ideas she has. It never stops because of her passion to make (Kern County) a better place. And when I think of a true public servant and someone that is put in these positions to do something for the residents of our community, I think of Brynn.”

And Carrigan doesn’t just work from her office on the top floor of the Public Health Services building on Mt. Vernon Avenue, Corson said.

“If she can get in the trenches and do the work herself, that's where you're going to find her. It's truly how she leads. It's how she has always operated,” she said. “She will go on her weekend, and she will work amongst us at a clinic, and she'll pick a role that is very behind the scenes. She'll have her hat on. No one will even know she's the director and she's working her tail off. She wants to see and be with the people we are serving.”

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

Fun and focus

Corson counts Carrigan as one of her closest friends.

“We're like sisters in a way, and in fact we call ourselves ‘work besties’ because we never stop laughing. The laughter comes alongside the hard work,” Corson said.

The pair have a laundry list of memories that make them laugh, from drawing a disapproving look from former Public Health Director Matt Constantine for taking selfies during a community event to light-hearted fun at formal events.

“One time, we were invited to a local gala where we got to wear these fancy gowns, and she and I don't do this very often. So we felt pretty, you know, fancy about wearing these long sequined gowns. We get to the gala and everybody's acting oh, so proper, right? While Brynn and I are giggling like little girls,” Corson said. “And we did this silly little boomerang (video). We looked around and we realized how ridiculous we were acting — and we laughed even more.”

But for Carrigan, having fun, laughing and taking time to build good relationships with people is rooted in a very serious approach to life. For her, it’s a conscious decision about how she wants to lead her agency and impact the world.

“I try to make the best of every circumstance because I feel like your attitude really does dictate what the outcome is going to be. If you look at things with a sour attitude, if you look at things through that lens, that's what the outcome is going to be,” she said. “I just I truly think that there is good in everything, and you just have to look for that — and find it — because otherwise you could just be completely weighted down by the bad and then you're no good to anybody.”

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

Brynn Carrigan participates in the Bakersfield Marathon.

Living healthy

Some of the biggest challenges facing Kern County are tied to how the community eats, exercises and experiences life. Part of Carrigan’s job is to help teach Kern County the habits and lifestyles that promote healthy, longer lives.

“We have extremely high rates of obesity. We're disproportionately impacted by chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, cancer and stroke. Here in Kern County, you're more likely to die from diabetes than anywhere else in the state of California, and that's not to mention our communicable diseases,” Carrigan said.

To combat those challenging numbers, Carrigan said, she’s had to be more than an administrator. She had to commit herself to living what she preaches.

“I've been on a health journey for the last year-and-a-half because I’m one of those people that struggle with food and food is sort of my outlet. When I’m feeling stressed, I turn to food to make me feel better,” Carrigan said. “I recognized as we were coming out of the pandemic that I had turned to food a little too much.”

So, she said, she walked the walk.

“I thought, ‘How am I going to try to encourage Kern County residents to live a healthier life if I’m not doing so myself?’ And so I started this health journey and I lost 50 pounds in doing so. And I have really found a love and a passion in exercising and eating well. And I’m now training for a marathon,” Carrigan said.

Corson has watched her boss tackle this aspect of life with a characteristic commitment and focus.

“She’s always taken her health seriously. But the journey she’s been on since the pandemic has been nothing but amazing. She has really taken her personal health and working out and eating right to a whole new level,” Corson said.

And that passion and focus on health extends to the entire Public Health Department, where eating healthy meals together and talking walks during breaks to relive stress and exercise the mind are commonplace.

“We have a robust worksite wellness program, and I know that means different things to different organizations. But here at Public Health, we have a devoted fitness instructor and nutritionist that not only provides coaching and teaching to our residents through various programs, but to our employees,” Corson said.

Alumni Hall of Fame

Lackey was on the zoom call when retired CSUB President Lynette Zelezny told his daughter she was going to be inducted into the 2024 class of the CSUB Alumni Hall of Fame.

“It was a wonderful experience to see her emotions changed to tears and (her) just being overcome with the magnitude of such a recognition. Yeah, she had all of the emotions and that was fun. It was fun to be a part of that,” he said.

He said his daughter has learned to take in everything that she experiences — from the lessons she learned from professors and fellow students at CSUB to her years at the county and the relationships with the community, her family, faith and friends — and developed it into a leadership style and drive that makes her a worthy addition to the Hall of Fame.

Corson said Carrigan is the last one to think she deserves the recognition — even though she does.

“I call her a unicorn because I believe she is one of the smartest people I know, but she also works from her heart. She's really passionate about the work she does, but she is so smart and she is so innovative,” Corson said.

Carrigan said the credit really belongs to the people who work at Kern County Public Health Services.

“I would just like to say that this is an incredible honor. It is so amazing that I'm getting this recognition, but I would honestly not be where I am today without the 400 people that I have working with me day in and day out, that were there supporting me and our community during the COVID-19 pandemic, that continue to show up every day and do the hard work,” Carrigan said. “We have an incredible family here at Public Health and, without them, I would be lost.”

The Alumni Hall of Fame recognition ceremony will be held on Feb. 15 in downtown Bakersfield. Click here to purchase tickets for the ceremony.

Brynn Carrigan's father, Chuck Lackey

Carrigan's friend and colleague, KCPH Public Relations Officer Michelle Corson.

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

Public Health leader rooted in Kern, guided by drive and fun

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Footnotes

Story by James Burger, marketing and communications director; feature photo by Albert Baker, other photos contributed by Brynn Carrigan

FootNotes

Story by James Burger, marketing and communications director; feature photo by Albert Baker, other photos contributed by Brynn Carrigan

© 2026 California State University, Bakersfield

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