Tenaya Wallace
Tenaya Wallace
Tenaya Wallace is a public relations consultant, a civic engagement strategist, and an activist. She is the founder and Tenaya Speaks, an entity that specializes in public education campaigns for business and non-profits.
She is currently a special election candidate seeking election to the U.S.
House of Representatives to represent California's 34th congressional district. The seat is currently vacant, as it was previously held by new California Attorney General Xavier Becerra in Congress.
Career
Tenaya Speaks (2016-Present)
One of Tenaya Wallace's main campaign messages during her campaign is to ENGAGE with vision
In January 2016, Tenaya Wallace founded Tenaya Speaks.
She consults companies on employee engagement strategies and delivers a program that ties employees to their sense of purpose and passion through "Find the Why."
"Find the Why," similar to Simon Sinek's notable TED Talk"Start with Why", Tenaya Wallace attempts to inspire and engage people where they can find the meaning and purpose of their work. She also leads teams to complete team building exercises to improve employee satisfaction, increase profit, and elevate company culture.
Other Strategist Positions
Tenaya Wallace served as the Campaign Chair for the Donate Life America 20 Million in 2012 Campaign.
Before starting her own business, Tenaya worked with Raytheon. There, she provided strategic communication consultation for senior leadership of their Space and Airborne (SAS) division. She worked directly with the Vice Presidents, crafting communication plans for engagement of 14,000 employees at seven different sites.
Precedently, Tenaya was the Global Communications Director for the Starlight Children's Foundation, a non-profit that seeks to improve hospital experiences for children and chronically ill teenagers. Working there for 2 1/2 years, she revamped their communication strategy by showing people real-life examples of children who overcome vast medical challenges.
The longest tenure of Tenaya's career, however, was with OneLegacy, particularly with Donate Life America. For over 10 years, she served as Campaign Director for Donate Life Hollywood. She oversaw a grant program that focused on presenting research and debunking myths about organ donation to several crime-related and medical television shows (including ER and Three Rivers ). She also served as a board member and Campaign Chair for the Donate Life America 20 Million in 2012 campaign. Her goal was to register 20 million organ and tissue donors between 2011 and 2012.
Politics
Tenaya Wallace is a "born and raised Democrat" and identifies as a Progressive. She voted for Xavier Becerra in 1992.
Tenaya Wallace is currently one of the 23 candidates running for the vacant U.S.
House of Representatives seat in a special election to represent California's 34th congressional district.
Her political campaign in 2017 focuses on 3 main priorities:
- A Green Economy
Tenaya Wallace talks about her vision and why she's running for Congress
Rather than focusing on rhetoric focusing on whether climate change is real, Tenaya Wallace believes people should shift towards stimulating a green economy. In one of her campaign videos, she discusses how she wants to lead people to quicker and easier transition to the latter because it can create jobs, sustain infrastructure, and produce renewable energy.
Her website states:
"Climate Change is science, not Santa.
We don’t get to choose whether or not to believe, because it’s here: warming climate, extreme weather, acidification of the oceans, sea level rise, animals and forests dying off at alarming rates, air, land and water pollution at unsustainable levels."
- A Vibrant Democracy
Wallace is an advocate for holding people accountable.
She wants to get money out of politics and protect voter rights. In her campaign video, she states that Donald Trump and his administration need to be held accountable for corruption and treason.
To prove her point, Wallace vows to raise no more than $5,000 and asks supporters to donate time and talent instead of money.
She states the following on her website (in the Campaign Finance Reform section):
" Right now, people want to get civically engaged, not raise money for politicians. I am running my campaign like I do other civic engagement campaigns, by offering ENGAGE workshops where people get involved in the issues they care about most. In this way I can introduce myself to constituents and leave behind something other than a war chest and mailers that end up in the recycling bin."
- Expanding Justice
In Tenaya's campaign, she mentions issues like "healthcare as a right," creating a better pathway to citizenship, and cannabis decriminalization.
"The concept of “social justice” feels overly broad but I present it as one of my three core campaign priorities because it incorporates a range of policies that advance the democratic values of equality, justice and respect for marginalized populations."
Radical Transparency
If elected, Wallace promises “radical transparency” and will record all meetings with lobbyists, She plans to do this by bringing a film crew to Washington and uploading them online so constituents can see exactly what she is being asked to support.
Public Service
Before running for Congress, Wallace served 4 years on the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council and as Outreach Chair for the Venice Neighborhood Council formation committee.
Education
Tenaya Wallace has a Master of Public Policy from UCLA and a Bachelor's degree in Political Science from Tulane University (Louisiana).
Before that, she graduated from John Marshall High School in L.A.
Personal Life
Tenaya Wallace was born in Los Angeles, California.
Tenaya is married to her husband Jonathan; they have been together since they were 24 years old.
She is a mother of two; she has a son and a daughter.
Together, they live in Silver Lake.
In her spare time, Wallace loves planning and throwing parties.
Halloween is her family’s favorite time of year since they love to dress up in costumes.
She is a survivor of Stage IV Non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Prior to being diagnosed, she shaved her hair to raise over $5,000 for childhood cancer research through the St. Baldrick's Foundation.
Tenaya is a beneficiary of Planned Parenthood. In her early 20's, she underwent a PAP Smear exam ever year.
She is a supporter of unions, as both her parents were union members.
See Also:
California's 34th Congressional District special election list of Candidates, 2017