Earlier this month, on October 1, Milpitas resident Jennifer Torai received the ATHENA Emerging Professional Leadership Award from the Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce.
Each year, the Athena Award is given to exceptional women leaders who are making a deep impact on the community while demonstrating professional excellence.
“It was really humbling. It made me feel validated to have my work recognized by the community,” said Torai in an interview with The Beat.
Torai currently works as the Director of Government Affairs for Stanford Health Care.
As far back as she can remember, Jennifer Torai has always been compelled to serve.
“I feel like it’s been second nature to me,” Torai told The Beat. “When I was young, I was already the type that always wanted to help other people.”
On the Right Path
Torai attended Milpitas schools Curtner Elementary, Weller Elementary, and Russell; then for high school, she attended Archbishop Mitty High School, a private Catholic School. There, she was required to put in a certain amount of volunteer work hours.
Torai remembers working side-by-side with her aunt, who was a nurse for the Alviso Family Health Center, now known as Gardner Health Services.
“I would accompany her to group homes, battered women shelters, homeless shelters, community health fairs…” shared Torai. “I was her assistant. I loved going with her. I did it for three years.”
Torai’s aunt would tell her to sit with the patients and do what she could to make them feel calm and relaxed.
That work left an imprint on Torai. She knew she was on the right path…
During the course of her career, Torai went on to serve in such roles as social worker, case manager, adjunct professor, nonprofit co-founder, and all-around changemaker.
“I’ve always felt like I have the ability to help people and speak up for folks,” said Torai. “Because if I don’t, who will? I take that on as my responsibility, if I have the position or power to do that.”
A Passion for Policy
Along her journey, Torai became deeply interested in the ways in which she could influence policy.
The first time she got to experience the power of advocacy and policy, she was in the process of pursuing her first Master’s degree in Urban Planning at San José State University. At that time, she and her classmates had a neighborhood improvement plan project. Their group was gathering data and getting input from the community to explain to the City why they should invest money into improving the community.
“That was when I first met policy makers and realized they would listen if presented with the right info,” said Torai.
After getting her first Master’s degree in 2004, Torai decided to pursue a second Master’s in Social Work, also at San José State University. During that time, she became involved with the National Association of Social Workers.
“I would volunteer on lobby days and go out to Sacramento to advocate for different pieces of legislation,” said Torai. “My first year, I went as a student, learning how to lobby. Four years after that, I went as a volunteer to teach students how to lobby.”
During those trips to Sacramento, Torai felt as if she was truly making an impact.
When she started working at the Regional Center of the East Bay in 2008 – first as a Case Manager, then as an Autism Spectrum Disorders Coordinator – the inclination to do all she could to elevate the voices of others took hold once again.
She would meet with families who had kids ages 3-12 with developmental disabilities. And she was always sure to consistently share the families’ stories with the organization’s leadership.
“I knew if I didn’t tell their stories, no one would know what they were going through,” stated Torai.
Torai was at the Regional Center of the East Bay from 2008 to 2015. It was in 2013 when she began her work there as the Autism Spectrum Disorders Coordinator, overseeing autism services and monitoring the current programming. She was also in charge of developing new programs for Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
“As an autism coordinator, I kept getting told ‘no’ when I was trying to develop programs for young adults,” said Torai. “There were all these rules with the funding. And so these young people with autism weren’t able to find all the programs they needed. There was a huge gap in services for this population.”
When Torai left the Regional Center in 2015, she was determined to learn exactly how to deeply influence policy. So she went to work at Stanford Health Care and also started serving on the Regional Advisory Committee, which is part of the State Council on Developmental Disabilities.
“There, I learned that policy makers are human,” said Torai. “And I learned that if you build relationships with those policy makers, they are more likely to listen to you.”
In her current Director of Government Affairs role at Stanford Health Care, Torai loves working on community issues and being part of a team that truly cares about others.
“I think it’s pretty amazing because we have medical experts who are working on these really complex issues and looking for these cures and treatments for really obscure things. They do such amazing work, whether it’s in our day-to-day operations or long-term health research,” said Torai.
For the past two decades, Torai has dedicated her energy toward advocacy and service, toward uplifting and empowering the community around her. She is very honored to now be among the lineup of exceptional women who have been named ATHENA Award recipients over the years.
“I just love being able to help people realize their own potential as leaders and advocates, to help them stand up for what they believe in,” said Torai.