Sep. 1—A change of leadership atop B3K Prosperity has put a local public relations professional at least temporarily in charge of the Kern County-focused economic development collaboration.

B3K's leadership council on Friday announced the appointment of Justin Salters, founder and president of Bakersfield strategic communications firm Hey Salty Inc. Salters has served as a consultant to B3K since 2021.

He succeeds J.P. Lake, who recently took over as CEO of Bakersfield-based Cornerstone Engineering. Lake was named B3K's executive director in early March as part of a change of governing structure at the organization.

Salters indicated Lake stepped down because of his limited time availability owing to his obligations at Cornerstone. Lake also stepped down earlier this year as a trustee of the Panama-Buena Vista Union School District.

"We thank J.P. for his service over the past 18 months and look forward to his continued engagement with B3K Prosperity," a member of the B3K Prosperity Leadership Council, President and CEO Greg Bielli of Tejon Ranch Co., said in a news release. "At the same time, we're pleased to expand Justin's role.

"He brings a deep familiarity with B3K Prosperity and an understanding of both the content and context of our work. We look forward to his leadership as B3K Prosperity navigates an evolution to meet our region's critical need for economic development leadership."

In the same release, Salters said he is honored to have the council's trust and leadership, and that he looks forward to leading B3K until a permanent CEO can be hired.

"B3K Prosperity has an incredible foundation, and I'm excited to devote more of my time and energy to help this initiative succeed by growing quality jobs and building pipelines that connect workers from disadvantaged and disinvested communities with those jobs," he stated. "There's a lot of work to be done, but I'm confident we can come together to expand opportunity, address disparities and build a more inclusive and equitable future for everyone in our community."

B3K formed in 2020 to help guide investment in the county. Focused on entrepreneurship, energy, manufacturing, aerospace and business services, its goal is the creation of 100,000 good jobs in the community within 10 years.