We are thrilled to introduce to you Dr. Jei Africa, one of our keynote speakers for this year’s TCOM 2020 Cloud Gathering Conference.
Dr. Jei Africa is an innovative thought-leader, strategist and clinician who is passionate about integrating effective culturally responsive practices into the core functioning of County health services.
For over a decade, Dr. Africa served as the Director of the Office of Diversity and Equity with the San Mateo County Health System where he led agency-wide efforts addressing health equity that received State recognition. He spearheaded the development of the first-ever multi-disciplinary behavioral health LGBTQ+ community center, led the health system’s change efforts to enable the collection of SOGI data for all patients, and was instrumental in the opening of a transgender health clinic. Prior to that, he was Clinical Director at Community Overcoming Relationship Abuse and Manager of Youth Treatment Services at Asian American Recovery Services. In addition to his professional work, Dr. Africa was appointed to serve as a founding member of the San Mateo County LGBTQ Commission (2014-2017), and currently volunteers with Alliance for Community Empowerment (ALLICE), an all-Filipino organization that provides free education on healthy relationships (2007-present).
Jei Africa holds a Post-doctoral Master of Science degree in Clinical Psychopharmacology, a Doctorate of Psychology in Clinical Psychology and a Master of Arts degree in Clinical Psychology from Alliant International University/California School of Professional Psychology. Dr. Africa received a Bachelor of Social Science degree from the University of the Philippines (Manila), in Behavioral Science.
He currently serves as an adjunct faculty member at the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy and at the Mabuhay Health Clinic, a free student-run clinic affiliated with the University of California-San Francisco (UCSF). He was a member of the National Partnership for Action to End Health Disparities Regional Health Equity Council (RHEC) IX, previously served as a Senior Research faculty member at the California School of Professional Psychology at Alliant International University and a fellow with the California Health Care Foundation (CHCF) Leadership Institute.
Jei was recognized as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipinos in the United States (2009), and received the California Statewide Cultural Competence Professional Award (2009) for his leadership, professional contributions, and service promoting health equity and cultural competence. He was celebrated as one of the 2012 LGBT Local Heroes by KQED and Union Bank at the Castro Theater. In 2015, the California Psychological Association awarded him with the Distinguished Humanitarian Contribution Award for his exemplary work in promoting equity and social justice. He received both the Health Equity Changemaker Award from the New Leaders Council of Silicon Valley and the Bay Area Municipal Election Committee (BAYMEC) Service Award in 2017.
Dr. Africa is the first openly transgender county behavioral health director in the state and in the US.
Attendees who tune into Dr. Jei Africa’s presentation will leave with the following knowledge:
- The psychological framework of radical hope as a tool to respond to current global crises
- Narratives of social movements founded on love and justice
- Understand the purpose and significance of storytelling and self-reflection as an essential leadership skill
Be sure to join us virtually to hear Dr. Jei Africa discuss “Emerging from the Crisis: Radical Hope, Justice and Love” on Thursday, November 12th, 2020 from 11:00 – 11:45AM EST during our TCOM 2020 Cloud Gathering Conference.
