Governing Board

PSPR PRESIDENT 2023-2024

Music Teacher, Ret.

Co-Founder, Sergeant Tom Pryor PTSD Fund

Newly retired, Regina Pryor taught  junior high music for thirty-six years in the Panama-Buena Vista School District.  She taught Orchestra and Choir at both Tevis and Thompson Junior High Schools.  She graduated from California State University Fresno with a degree in Music Education and received her teaching credential at California State University Bakersfield.

Regina is the Co-founder of the Sergeant Tom Pryor PTSD Fund (to assist first responders).  Through that fund she was as a member of Rotary House Retreat, which is now known as the Public Safety Professionals Retreat, for which she previously served as Secretary.

She is also a board member on the following community organizations:  Bakersfield Youth Symphony Orchestra, Bakersfield Sister City Project Corporation, American String Teachers Bakersfield Section, and Kern County Music Educators Association. Regina is also one of the teachers for the Panama-Buena Vista School District Strolling Strings. 

Regina has two grown children and three grandchildren.

PSPR SECRETARY AND LEAD CHAPLAIN

 Chaplain, Kern County Sheriff; Chaplain, Cass County Sheriff

I worked for 21 years as a Minister of Christian Education and Youth with three different congregations in Illinois, Indiana, and Kansas.  While an associate pastor in Indiana, I received my Doctor of Ministry degree from Northern Baptist Seminary in Lombard, IL. 

In 1998, my family moved to Bakersfield, CA and I became the senior pastor at Grace Baptist Church.  In 2013, I retired from full time ministry with the church.  Later, I spent a year at the Yuma Regional Medical Center, Yuma, AZ, performing Clinical Pastoral Education as a chaplain resident.  During those twelve months at YRMC, I ministered to just over 200 families who lost a friend or relative as chaplains were called to every death that took place in the hospital.

My introduction to law enforcement chaplaincy took place in Moorhead, MN in 1974 and I have ministered as a law enforcement volunteer chaplain for over 45 years.  Now that both my wife and I are retired, we split time between California and Minnesota. This allows me to volunteer presently as a chaplain with both the Kern County Sheriff’s Office in Bakersfield, CA (September–April) and the Cass County Sheriff’s Office in Walker, MN (May – September).  I am also a National Red Cross Disaster Relief Spiritual Care Provider and have been deployed to national disasters.

As a volunteer chaplain, I became keenly aware that trauma and PTSD were significant issues for first responders.  Hence, when the opportunity presented itself to be a part of a solution for those struggling with the effects of job-related trauma, I was excited to become part of the PSPR team.  Working with a team of mental health clinicians, fellow chaplains and first responder peers to create a safe, healing atmosphere that promotes healthy coping skills is a privilege.  I am blessed to be able to assist first responders who have developed trauma and stress-related symptoms due to critical incidents experienced in their public safety roles realize their full professional potential and achieve fruitful personal lives.

PSPR PROGRAM DIRECTOR

PSPR FUNDRAISER CHAIRPERSON

Regional Director, 

Around The Clock Care and Premier Senior Care Services

Stacie has worked under the corporate umbrella of business for 26 years and has held several position in that time, from a licensed Administrator of a 104-bed assisted living facility to her current role with Around The Clock Care and Premier Senior Care Services as the Regional Director for the past 12 years.  Many people in our community turn to Stacie when they are struggling with a senior loved one's health care needs and is known by many as a senior care expert.  Stacie is very passionate about assisting the senior and disabled population of Kern County by helping them coordinate the  health care services they may need.

Stacie also plays a very active roll with The California Association for Health Services at Home (CAHSAH).  Within CAHSAH, Stacie has served on many committees and was the Chair of the Nominating Committee for two years.  Stacie holds a board seat and was recently elected to serve as Treasurer on the CAHSAH Board of Directors in addition to currently sitting on two other committees.   Prior to COVID, health care professionals would not be surprised if they caught Stacie at the State Capitol lobbying for our industry and being an advocate for those who require home care services. 

Stacie is very active in our community and has helped with many events.  Recently Stacie has gained recognition as Bakersfield National Anthem singer, singing around town at events for our local veterans, Kern County Fire Academy graduations, and most recently, (checking a box off her bucket list), at a Condors hockey game.  Stacie truly enjoys singing the National Anthem from her heart and hopes one day to sing at a Dodger game. 

PSPR PAST PRESIDENT AND CURRENT BOARD MEMBER

I was born in Iowa, raised throughout the Midwest, and graduated from Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan with a BA in political science in 1982.  I went on to graduate from the McGeorge School of Law at the University of the Pacific with a JD in 1986.  I was hired by the law firm of Young Wooldridge while in law school and moved to Bakersfield immediately after taking the bar exam in the summer of 1986.  Later, I was a partner at the firm of Bunker, Saghatelian & Gibbs and established my own practice in the summer of 1996 with specializations in both litigation and transactional general civil law.

I have been a member of the Bakersfield East Rotary Club since 1991 and served as its 2010/2011 president.  It was during this time that a community organization known as Rotary House Retreat was formed and I became one of the original members.  In 2019, I took over as president of the organization and incorporated the entity as Public Safety Professionals Retreat, Inc.  I immediately secured nonprofit charity status for PSPR by certifying the organization with the IRS and the State of California as a 501(c)(3) charitable entity.

PSPR BOARD MEMBER

Kern County Sheriff, Ret.

Fred began his law enforcement career as a Long Beach Police Officer in 1994 and became a member of the police departments Peer Support Team in 1998. In 2004, he transitioned from the Long Beach Police Department to the Kern County Sheriff’s Office after he and his family moved to the mountain community of Tehachapi. Fred worked a variety of assignments and collateral duties at both agencies. One of the most rewarding collateral assignments was being asked to be on the Critical Incident Stress Management (CISM) Team, he would later supervise the CISM Team after promoting to Sergeant. Fred retired in 2018 and is currently employed by California Resources Corporation, an Oil & Gas producer, as a Security Advisor in the Bakersfield area. Additionally, Fred has a Bachelors Degree in Criminal Justice Management and is a adjunct instructor with Cerro Coso Community College for the Criminal Justice Police Academy program.

Fred has been married, to his wife Bobbi, for 32 years. Their son is a deputy sheriff and their daughter is an elementary school teacher, they also have three grandchildren. Fred and Bobbi serve at their church, Fred as an Elder and Bobbi leads the Women’s Ministry program. 

PSPR BOARD MEMBER

Director, Public Safety Training Programs, Bakersfield College 

Kern County Fire Department, Ret.

Derek is one of eight children and the father of one teenage son.  He originally moved to Bakersfield to attend college and swim for CSU Bakersfield.  Swimming led to the start of his career in public service by gaining a job as an ocean lifeguard for the Los Angeles County Fire Department.  Derek would eventually transition to the Kern County Fire Department where he currently serves as a Fire Captain.

As Union President, Derek became an early adopter of the behavioral health campaign by the International Association of Fire Fighters “Stamp Out the Stigma” campaign.  It wasn’t long before he realized he had fallen into the dark clutches of PTSD himself.  After seeking help and learning how to survive and thrive, Derek became a behavioral health advocate.

In his advocacy, he testified in front of the state legislature in support of SB 542.  Senate Bill 542 added Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) as a presumptive injury for first responders.  The bill was passed unanimously and signed into law by the Governor of California.