Events

“At the Very Beginning of Life, I Escaped Death Twice”

As a second girl born to a family in China in the 1980’s, my Life was mandated to be terminated, my illegal birth evidence of a crime, and my survival a statistical improbability.

To immigrate to the United States as a young Girl

To have good fortune to pursue an Education

To have opportunity for a Career in Silicon Valley

To have a voice to write my Story now

These too, are great Statistical Improbabilities

What’s wrong with this picture?

Why are basic human rights a statistical improbability simply because I was born female?

I wrote this book to spark purposeful dialogue and ignite action for positive change.

To bring light to Real Stories, to illuminate Real People Who need Us to care.

Help me hold the torch. Use Our Collective Power to extend our good fortune for All Others.

Let’s beat the statistics.

Husband and Wife, Professional Pianists, from New York City, helped Saratoga Rotary raise funds for their 2014 Rotaplast trip to Guatemala. I asked them to give me a call if they were ever performing on the West Coast. Having finished a concert in Paris, France, they are on a west coast tour now, and will be passing though Silicon Valley in mid-July. Because Saar was given a Rotary Scholarship during his university time in Israel, I invited them to attend a Saratoga Rotary Club meeting. They graciously accepted, and the next day, they contacted me and said, “If you have a piano at your meeting place, we would be happy to perform a short concert you’re your club.” So I got us a piano and they will be our guest presenters at our July 19^th Meeting. Invite your spouses and friends. Extra Chairs will be provided.

Tami Mulcahy considers the ocean her “go to” happy place. Deeply concerned about the impact of plastic on marine ecosystems, she joined ESRAG (Environmental Sustainability Rotary Action Group) and now serves as Chair of the Plastic Solutions Task Force. As a prior physical therapist, she finds the health ramifications of rampant plastic particularly deserving of a bullhorn. Tami is also a singer songwriter whose song Part of the Solution is call to everyone to “be...part of the solution”.

Chemicals you wouldn’t touch, let alone eat, breathe, drink, put your babies on, and yet we do! The fallout of plastic consumption goes beyond the environment. It’s the out of sight insidious creep on our health and the out of mind realities of global waste. We CAN right the wrong. We HAVE to!! 

Raised in San Jose, Lissa was fortunate to begin and end a 40 year morning radio career in her hometown. The first ten years at KLOK-1170 and then 30 years at KBAY-FM. In 2015, she was honored to be inducted into the Bay Area Radio Hall of Fame.For the last 7 years she has had a show on KCAT-TV in Los Gatos called Community Storytelling. Always a lover of the community and Non-Profits, Lissa remains active as an Emcee/Fundraiser and volunteer. But her favorite title is that of Grandma to four fabulous children, ages 2 to 9 years.

Award-winning Professional Photographer

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President of West Valley College

Dr. Jennifer Taylor-Mendoza serves as the 13th president of West Valley College. President Taylor-Mendoza is the first African American educator to lead the College. She is a longtime leader in the Bay Area with twelve years of service in the San Mateo County Community College District, having recently served as the President of the College of San Mateo, Vice President of Instruction at Skyline College in San Bruno, founding Dean of Academic Support and Learning Technologies at College of San Mateo (CSM), and as the Director of the Learning Center at CSM.

President Taylor-Mendoza has over twenty-three years of higher education experience in both instruction and student services, mainly in the California community college system. In her various roles as a classified professional, tenured faculty leader, director, dean, vice president, and now president, President Taylor-Mendoza has found inspiration in the brilliance, power, and endless potential of community college students. She leads for social justice and liberation, recognizing our shared responsibility to address the historical legacy of racism to create a more just system of access, reward, and long-term equitable outcomes to inspire individual achievement and generational impact. The “obligation gap,” a term she coined, speaks to institutional responsibility. She is co-author of Minding the Obligation Gap in Community Colleges: Theory and Practice in Achieving Educational Equity. President Taylor-Mendoza is also an Aspen Institute Presidential Fellow and American Leadership Forum, Silicon Valley Senior Fellow.

President Taylor-Mendoza’s areas of expertise include accreditation, dual enrollment, educational policy, enrollment management, global learning, guided pathways, online learning, organizational development, professional development, and workforce partnerships. As Chief Instructional Officer, President Taylor-Mendoza served on the State Chancellor’s Office’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statewide Implementation Workgroup in developing, implementing, and assessing DEI strategies to improve systemwide equitable outcomes for California’s 116 colleges. In addition, she was an adviser to the State Chancellor’s Office on the Trustee Fellowship and provided strategies to support trustees in their role as district leaders identifying regional workforce gaps and measuring student equity goals.ty.

In my career in technology, a lot has changed. Y2K and 9/11 transformed the way companies thought about business continuity. Machine learning, digital data centers, and the rise of cyber threats changed the way we think about business security and the role of effective IT management. And all sizes and types of businesses have now become digital businesses.

Over that time, I've drawn on my career experience to help each of my customers navigate these massive transformations. Today, that experience allows me to work with my customers in a wide variety of industries to help them overcome the challenges they have as an organization and reach the goals they want to achieve.

One thing hasn’t changed: change. It will always be with us. And the team I’ve built at Sagacent Technologies is committed to making it work for you.

Songwriter, singer and pianist Vienna Teng has released five studio albums, toured across North America, Europe and Asia, and appeared on NPR Weekend Edition and The Late Show with David Letterman among others. Her songs have been covered by vocal and instrumental ensembles around the world, and drawn praise from the likes of music innovator David Byrne and choral composer Eric Whitacre. From an unlikely start as a computer science major at Stanford, playing in coffeehouses after work as a software programmer, she has built a loyal audience touring in intimate listening-room venues and cultivating community online. In the 2010s, Vienna pursued a second career in environmental sustainability at the University of Michigan’s Erb Institute, McKinsey & Company’s Sustainability practice, and global nonprofit Delterra  - themes reflected in her 2013 album Aims, which made her the first artist to win four Independent Music Awards in one year. She currently makes her home in Washington DC, and divides her time between creating new music and organizing her fanbase to take action on climate change.

Pacific Links Foundation

Tessa Reynolds (she/they) works for the county of Santa Clara as a Rehabilitation Counselor where they lead the Harm ReduQion Project, which focuses trauma-centered harm reduction support and services for people who use substances in the 2SLGBTQIA+ community. Tessa is a certified substance use counselor, and brings a client centered, trauma sensitive, and harm reduction approach to their work. They have worked for over 10 years with individuals involved in the criminal justice system, the 2SLGBTQIA+ community and those who are unhoused, with a focus on substance use care. Tessa is an active member of DUHAC the Drug User Health Advisory Committee, of Santa Clara County and is passionate about making sure marginalized communities have a say in the care they receive.

The Harm ReduQion Project offers 2SLGBTQIA+-affirming, trauma-centered substance use and overdose prevention, education, and resources. We provide NARCAN trainings, access to NARCAN, Fentanyl Testing Strips, and Safer Sex supplies. The best way to connect to our HRQ team is the email address harmreduqion@hhs.sccgov.org

Dr. Emily Roben is a pediatric emergency medicine physician at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in Oakland and San Francisco. Emily's academic work focuses on improving and maintaining all aspects of care quality in the emergency department, ranging from daily department operations to patient care from arrival to discharge. She is also actively involved in education and mentoring for trainees and students. 

Emily earned her medical degree at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. She completed a residency in pediatrics and a fellowship in pediatric emergency medicine at the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, part of the McGaw Medical Center of Northwestern University. She received a master's degree in healthcare quality and patient safety from The Graduate School of Northwestern University.

Emily is passionate about teaching, community service, and outreach. She can be reached for questions or future speaking engagements via DACdb. 

Kenya Moses is a hybrid expert, championing in business for over 20 years; serving the non-profit, small business to corporate sectors. From her work as a Certified Executive Leadership Coach, to her work as a Marketing Strategist and Speaker, she takes a holistic approach to creating meaningful impact on the individuals and businesses she serves.

Kenya is the founder & CEO of the marketing and leadership development firm, ConsciousMark, in addition to being a professional vocalist, published author, former professional dancer, and mother of two teens. Her work has been featured in publications including, Essence Magazine, Thrive Global, and LiveStrong. Most recently, she received the 100 Women of Influence 2024 Award by the Silicon Valley Business Journal. 

The City Council is pleased to announce the appointment of Matt Morley as the new City Manager. Matt will begin his role on Monday, June 10, 2024, and a transition plan has been established to ensure a smooth handover of responsibilities. During this transition, the current City Manager, James Lindsay, will continue to serve through July. Morley will officially assume the full powers and duties of the City Manager on Monday, August 5, 2024. 

Matt Morley brings a wealth of experience to our city. He joins us from his recent position as Assistant City Manager with the City of Cupertino where he provided direction to five of the seven city departments and was instrumental in addressing Cupertino budget challenges while enhancing services to the community. Prior to Cupertino, Matt served as the Parks and Public Works Director for the Town of Los Gatos, and before that, he worked for the City of San Jose as Deputy Director of Public Works. 

A native of the South Bay Area, Matt holds a bachelor’s degree from UC Davis in Political Science and German, and an MBA from the University of Phoenix in Business Administration.

Matt Morley shared his excitement about the new role, stating, “I am honored to join the City of Saratoga and look forward to working with the community, City Council, and staff to continue making Saratoga a wonderful place to live and work.”

Please join us in welcoming Matt Morley to the City of Saratoga!

Doug Brent is a technology leader and strategist focused on the digitization of industrial business such as agriculture, construction and transportation. Doug served in a chief technology officer role at Trimble, a $3B+ revenue industrial technology leader. Doug is a Silicon Valley veteran – from start-ups to Apple and IBM. Doug is a Board member at industrial technology company Anova, and an advisor to Piaggio Fast Forward, a personal robotics company.

Doug is the 2024-2025 President of the Rotary Club of Los Gatos, where he also served as secretary for three years. Doug is a three year appointee to the Rotary International committee on technology.

Doug Brent is a Silicon Valley veteran, expert in the connection between the physical and digital worlds in a range of industrial settings--today’s digital transformation. In 2011, Doug became the first VP Technology Innovation (CTO) at Trimble, a leader in digitization for construction, transportation, agriculture and other industrial markets. At Trimble, Doug championed modern software platforms, cutting-edge technology and culture change that supported growth from $1.7B to $3B of revenue and a transition from a hardware-centric model to a deep software and solutions model.



 

Dr. Caicai Wu grew up in China in an intellectual family, with both parents obtained master’s
degrees from US. As she was about to finish junior high school, the cultural revolution started.
Like millions of millions of teenagers of that time in China, she was sent to the countryside,
1,200 miles away from her home town, Beijing, to be “Re-educated”. She worked in the field and
later worked as a “barefoot doctor” in a village for four and half years. After returning to Beijing,
she worked as a chemist in the waste treatment plant in a coking factory for five years. During
those five years, she self-studied high school curriculum and some college level chemistry
books. When the cultural revolution ended, she passed the competitive entrance exam to
college. Her mother, a senior translator in the largest news agency in China who held a Master’s
degree in Teaching English from Columbia University in US, trained her in English for over 15
years. In 1988, she passed the TOFEL and GRE exam and was accepted in the graduate
program at the University of Washington in Seattle. She received her PhD in Analytical
Chemistry in 1993 and completed two post-doctoral fellowships from the Departments of Lab
Medicine and Bioengineering at the University of Washington. Dr. Wu is a diplomate of the
American Board of Clinical Chemistry emeritus and was a fellow in the National Academy of
Clinical Biochemistry. From 1999 to 1981, Dr. Wu worked for Pacific Biometrics, Inc. (PBI), a
Seattle based clinical reference laboratory. Dr. Wu performed a number of duties with increasing
responsibility. She was the Associate / Technical Director for six years. Since 2011, Dr. Wu
worked as the Laboratory Supervisor in the Science Department at Northwest University in
Kirkland, Washington. Dr. Wu also teaches the laboratory courses for Survey of Chemistry in the
same school. She has published over 20 articles / abstracts in peer reviewed scientific journals
and held 7 patents. After retirement in 2021, Dr. Wu continued to teach online science courses
at Northwest University for 2 years. Now, Dr. Wu is the science instructor for College of Adaptive
Arts.

From 2010, Dr. Wu started taking voice lessons with an opera singer Pamela La Salle
Casella. The voice training has been strict and challenging. Dr. Wu loves to share such
gifts with others, especially for seniors in retirement homes. She was one of the
founding members of Gospel Choir at the University Presbyterian Church since 2005.
From 2011 to 2013, she participated in several chorus singing of opera productions by
Lyric Opera Northwest, such as La Boheme, La Traviata, Tosca. At school she sang
solo for her students and for visitors from China. She also sang at the wedding of the
chairman of the Science Department, Dr. Steinkamp. In 2014, she started to lead sing
along or singing solo for seniors at Merrill Garden, Columbia, Hearthstone and Crista
retirement facilities. In addition, she sang solos in the masses at Sacred Heart Church
in downtown Seattle and in talent shows for international students at University
Presbyterian in Seattle. After moving to CA, Dr. Wu continues to use the gift of singing
to serve senior communities.

In her spare time, other than singing, Dr. Wu enjoys writing and cooking.

It's a lovely program hearing the perspectives and history of all the past presidents of the Saratoga Rotary Club. 

Wrapping gifts for local schoolchildren in the community.