A person of varied interests, Abby holds bachelors degrees from Utah State University in Applied Mathematics and Spanish and recently earned a masters degree in Public Policy from the Pepperdine University School of Public Policy. She first became interested in politics and policy while interning in the Embassy of Peru in Washington, DC. Before joining the California Policy Center, she interned at the Center for Growth and Opportunity, where she published research on wildfire and solar energy policy. Abby grew up in an active duty Air Force family and is now happily making California her home. She and her husband, Bryan, live in Bakersfield, California.
Bakersfield’s first charter school opened its doors to hundreds of students last week in a victory for students and parents. The local teachers union brought in the big guns to fight against the charter — 94-year-old Dolores Huerta herself. Thankfully, Huerta lost. There are nine charter schools spread throughout the most remote parts of Kern...
By Abby Lehnig
The diverse student population of Kern County deserves a public school system with equally diverse educational options and opportunities to meet their needs. Unfortunately, Kern County ranks in the bottom 10 percent of all California counties by public school performance – number 54 of 58 – and the vast majority of K-12 students are trapped...
By Abby Lehnig
Bakersfield’s City Council Meeting took an unexpected turn recently when Bakersfield resident Riddhi Patel threatened the mayor and council members and was subsequently arrested. Patel attended the meeting to support the ratification of the United Liberation Front’s proposed resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza, but her remarks quickly devolved into an expletive-filled diatribe about the...
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