Published February 2, 2026 / Updated May 5, 2026
By Kathleen Hokit | Featured Photo Credit: April McGill with April and Co. photograph
Every love letter has a setting.
For Amy Travis, that setting is Kern County—the place where her life’s work, faith, and leadership have taken shape over time. It’s where she learned to serve, where she stayed through seasons of loss and rebuilding, and where she continues to invest in children, families, and future leaders.
Holding Many Roles, Staying Rooted
Travis currently serves as Executive Director of First 5 Kern and is pursuing a doctorate in strategic leadership. She is also a leadership consultant, board member, entrepreneur, and a mother. And when it comes to Travis, it wouldn’t be outlandish to say the list will keep growing.
“I do see myself as a multi-hyphenate leader,” she says. “Knowing that other women especially hold these multiple roles, it actually builds out a skill set that makes them more flexible and maybe even empathetic and relatable because of the multiple roles that they hold.”
Only in hindsight did the pattern become clear. “Holding those titles and having so much going on can really turn into your identity,” she says. “Even though I might hold multiple roles, none of them are really my identity.”
To understand how Travis learned to hold so much without losing herself, you have to go back to where her sense of purpose first took shape.
A Childhood That Sparked A Different Vision
Amy Travis with her mother at her high school graduation at Community School
Travis’ early years were shaped by instability. Her father was incarcerated from the time she was two until she was 12. Her mother struggled with poverty and abusive relationships. The family moved frequently, shifting schools and environments.
“I knew at an early age that I wanted a different life,” she says.
But, for a time, she followed the patterns she knew. “I traveled in the same footsteps as my mom and dad,” she says. “Rebellion, drugs, alcohol, until I was 25.”
The turning point came with a decision to pivot toward something different. “The miracle happened at 25 when I surrendered my way of doing things and enrolled at Bakersfield College,” she says.
Education became a promise she made to herself. “Maybe if I go to school, if I commit to a couple of years of hard work, it will pay off,” she says.
As confidence grew, something ignited.“Once I started passing classes and gaining confidence that I could actually do it, a fire was lit,” she says.
Learning Leadership And Listening For Direction
Courtesy of Amy Travis | Photo taken at the grand opening of the CASA clubhouse
Travis’ path into nonprofit leadership began at Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children (CASA), where she applied for a position.
“Even though they didn’t hire me, I started going through the process to be a volunteer,” she says. “I just wanted to be in there.”
Not long after, the internal candidate initially chosen for the role moved on, and Travis was offered a position as community outreach coordinator. She stepped into the role and spent the next six months learning about CASA from the inside.
When a development position later became available, she says, “I didn’t think I was qualified for it.” Instead of campaigning for the role, she went into prayer. “I said, ‘If this is something I’m supposed to pursue, lay it on my boss’s heart.’”
Around that same time, she noticed what felt like confirmation. “I was using a study Bible at that time, and there was this whole side paragraph about ethical fundraising,” she says. “It just felt like all these signs were coming together.”
Six months later, she was promoted into the development manager role. At the same time, Travis was pursuing her bachelor’s degree in leadership theory at Fresno Pacific, applying what she was learning in real time.
“I was able to help the organization grow through my degree,” she says. “Implementing HR practices and systems we were studying in school.”
From Casa to First 5 Kern
Over the years, her responsibilities at CASA continued to expand. “A few years down the road, my boss was so confident in my skills that she let me design a new role as director of fundraising,” she says.
Travis held that position for six years. When she eventually stepped away, it was with clarity about what she wanted long term.
“I knew I would always want to come back,” Travis says. “I had always known that.”
At the time, though, her life required balance. “I had my son, and I was also running my valet business,” she says. “I was looking for a little more margin.”
Six months after she left, her former boss retired. “I applied,” she says. And the rest is history.
Travis returned as executive director, leading the organization for three and a half years—including through the uncertainty of the pandemic—before another opportunity surfaced.
“When the position at First 5 Kern became available, it made sense,” she says. “They were a funding partner, and it aligned with the trajectory of my career.”
The Valet Business And An Answered Prayer
Courtesy of Amy Travis
Before her role at First 5 Kern, and during her years at CASA working in development and event planning, Travis found herself stepping into an unexpected chapter.
A valet company regularly supported the organization’s fundraisers, and when she called to book the next event, the owner shared something unexpected.
“He told me he was trying to sell the business,” Travis says. “He would do one last event, but he couldn’t keep going.”
She paused, then asked a question. “Would you be willing to sell it to me?”
Before making a decision, Travis says “my prayer was really simple. If I’m supposed to buy this company, I need to meet a valet driver by the end of the week. I need someone to help me navigate this because I didn’t know anything about valet parking.”
Days later, she attended a museum event where she was volunteering. “This guy in a white shirt comes running up to me [and asked] ‘are you with CASA?’”
The man told Travis he was a former foster youth and that his CASA advocate had made a lasting impact in his life.
“I just wanted to start crying,” she says.
They exchanged numbers. The following week, they met for coffee.
“I asked him, ‘Can you help me start this company?’” And that’s how her entrepreneurial valet journey began.
Courtesy of Amy Travis
Travis became the owner soon after. She built the business intentionally, recruiting and hiring former foster youth whenever possible and creating opportunities rooted in stability and trust.
“That was really meaningful for several years,” she says.
When her leadership responsibilities grew and she became a mother, she made another decision. “I sold it. Full stop.”
The business continued serving events across Kern County long after she stepped away.
A Season That Changed Everything
Some of the most defining moments of Travis’ life arrived all at once.
“I transitioned my career. My family dynamics changed. And I lost my mom.”
The timing was unforgiving. “My family dynamic changed the week before I started at First 5,” she says. “Two weeks later, my mom moved in with us on hospice. And she passed away three weeks after that.”
What remained was stillness. “I didn’t turn to drugs or alcohol to numb my emotional state. I didn’t turn to anything else,” she says. “I turned to an open journal and a Bible. Morning and night. That’s all I had for a long time.”
Looking back, she sees purpose even there. “I’m so thankful I learned how to sit with myself.”
Today, Travis’ leadership is shaped by that season. Her work with First 5 Kern centers on partnerships, early childhood development, and strengthening families across the county.
“Our existence relies on partnerships,” she says. “So it’s really important for me to stay involved in the community.” She also serves on boards focused on children and local history, including the Kern County Museum Foundation.
“I didn’t grow up with stories being passed down around the table,” she says. “So preserving local history and creating spaces where children thrive really matter to me.”
Leadership, Paying It Forward
“The community has always been there for me,” Travis says. She’s felt it in difficult moments and in the seasons that asked her to step forward.
“When I put myself out there, the community shows up,” she says. “Whether it was the valet business or leadership training, people say, ‘Let me know the dates. I’ll be there.’”
For Travis, Kern County isn’t something to outgrow. “It’s home,” she says.
When Travis looks back, she sees a clear pattern—people who noticed her before she fully noticed herself.
“That’s one thing I think about a lot,” she says. “I was under the leadership of Colleen McGauley for many years at CASA, and she was formative to my leadership today. She was a very authentic leader. I really appreciated that about her.”
Travis remembers moments of being encouraged to keep going and keep learning. “She would say, ‘If you want my job, you need to get your degree,’” Travis says. “And I think she knew she was helping shape me.”
Ask Travis how she got here, and she’ll tell you it wasn’t something she did alone. “They took a chance on me,” she says. “They really did.”
The mentorship she received early on has become a standard she now carries forward. “I do that with my staff today,” she says. “If you’re pursuing personal development in any way, you’re an asset to a company.”
Growth, she believes, is nonnegotiable. “If you’re not growing, you’re dying,” she says. That belief is shaping what comes next.
“Now it’s really just making sure that whatever I pursue, what I’m doing aligns with my values,” Travis says. “I have to revisit those values a lot.”
Lead With Vision
Photo credit: April McGill with April and Co. photography
Later this month, Travis will take her philosophy beyond her own work and into the community, facilitating a leadership class focused on vision.
“This class I’m hosting with the Great Bakersfield Chamber is leading with vision,” she says. “It’s about people taking time to practice stillness in their own minds and determine what their values are, what their purpose is, and then create their vision from them.”
For Travis, the throughline has always been the same. “Going back to all these different things that I’ve pursued, it started first with an inner desire and came to fruition with a vision,” she says.
As her roles continue to evolve, one practice remains constant. “As I juggle everything,” she says, “staying grounded for me means inner work.”
There is a common thread running through everything Travis shares, one she returns to without softening it.
Photo credit: April McGill with April and Co. photography
“My story has been one with a lot of odds,” she says. “I’m not going to sugarcoat that, especially my childhood.”
What matters most now, she explains, is not the titles or the trajectory, but the work beneath it all.
“It’s really about the inner work,” she says. “That personal development is so important.” And she knows the next chapter depends on it. “I don’t think I’ll get to what’s next without that.”
Kern Magazine’s Signature Questions: On Local Cuisine and the Open Road
Favorite Local Food: Rancho Grande Mexican Grill and Jin Sushi.
Favorite Road Trip: Avila Beach in her camper.
Background on First 5 Kern
First 5 Kern, formally known as the Kern County Children and Families Commission, invests tobacco tax revenue into programs serving children from prenatal stages through age five. Created nearly three decades ago through a statewide initiative championed by the late Rob Reiner and other advocates, the program was designed to ensure young children arrive at school healthy, supported, and ready to learn.
In Kern County, that funding supports a wide range of efforts, from early education and parenting programs to health and wellness initiatives and family resource centers, with a focus on equipping parents and strengthening communities from the very beginning.
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