Kris Tiner is finishing a two year term as chair of the Department of Performing Arts at Bakersfield College, where he also serves as professor of music and director of Jazz Studies. He was recently announced as the 2023 Outstanding Educator of the Year by the Kern County Music Educators Association, and he is the 2023 recipient of the California Music Educators Association Paul A. Shaghoian Jazz Educator Award honoring excellence in jazz education and performance.