About tara

Having grown up in Assembly District 26, Tara is a proud graduate of our K-12 local public schools: Cupertino Union School District and Fremont Union High School District. This education is what ultimately inspired her to pursue justice and equality through civic engagement. She still lives in the area and strongly believes in the power of our public school system to transform the lives of our children and build community.

Her inspiration for public service came from her immigrant parents: they taught her the value of education and to give back to her community. She carries on the legacy of her mother, who worked hard in our schools as a librarian and volunteer fundraiser. Tara herself is a former piano teacher at a Cupertino music academy.

Tara graduated from Mills College, the oldest women’s college on the West Coast. After college, she set out to work as a community and political organizer for grassroots campaigns in our community and across the Bay Area. 

She has served on several local nonprofit boards and co-founded the 501(c)(3) nonprofit Silicon Valley Youth Climate Action (SVYCA). SVYCA has empowered hundreds of students across Santa Clara County to combat climate change through impactful education and policy initiatives, including through environmental education efforts in our classrooms. ​​They’ve created leadership development workshops, summits, and career building opportunities for students, producing lifelong civic leaders. SVYCA has launched award-winning student advocacy teams in Cupertino, Sunnyvale, Santa Clara, San Jose and beyond.

Tara’s other community work includes an appointment to the Citizens Advisory Board of our community choice energy provider, Silicon Valley Clean Energy (SVCE), to help oversee low cost and equitable renewable energy and climate programs benefiting residents across the South Bay as well as serving as President of the Board for a Foundation that supports a local educational farm that has served thousands of county students.

She has served as a top aide and advisor to State Senator Dave Cortese in the state legislature and the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, drafting and passing a range of legislation and successfully navigating bureaucracies on behalf of constituents. She has served in the role of Legislative Advisor at the City level, Policy and Outreach Director and Chief of Staff at the County level and as Legislative Director, Communications Director, and Deputy Chief of Staff at the State level.

With professional experience across all levels of local government - school district, city, county, and state - Tara’s written and passed legislation that created housing developments for the homeless, helped modernize our schools, led efforts to stop youth fentanyl overdoses, and pushed for job training and apprenticeship programs.

Tara has served as a member of the Strong Start Coalition, which works to strengthen early care, health, and education for newborns and children up to age 8 across Santa Clara County.