As CEO of Golden Bridge Strategies, Jennifer Saha focuses on business development, association management and lobbying services. She says starting her own company is her biggest professional achievement.
The Sacramento Business Journal every year recognizes business leaders under the age of 40 from every industry and profession who are making a difference, blazing a trail for the rest of us and are leaving a mark in the Sacramento region.
See Jen’s award profile HERE.
“It’s not so much that I started a company (people do that every day) but that I had a 6-month-old baby and a couple days after giving notice at my job, I found out I was pregnant again… meaning I would be launching this company and having a second baby all within a couple months. Add in a pandemic that started the day my second baby was born, and I was definitely questioning my decisions,” she wrote in her 40 Under 40 application.
Age: 37
Education: Bachelor’s degree in managerial economics, University of California Davis; master’s in public administration from University of Southern California
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made during your career?
I’ve been fortunate to not have too many major missteps in my career and I look at each mistake as a chance to learn and grow. That being said, everyone makes mistakes and the one that stands out to me shifted the focus of my career. I once had a job that I absolutely adored. I loved the policies I was working on, it allowed for some spectacular travel, and my colleagues were amazing. However, I did not get along well with my direct supervisor. We had conflicting ways of handling projects, didn’t align on our organization’s priorities, and butted heads daily. This supervisor drove me to loathe going to the office every day because I dreaded interacting with them. What I should have done is seek help, work through problems, engage our organization’s leadership and my colleagues to turn this into a coaching moment for me and potentially for my supervisor. Instead, I took another job.
What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced during your career and how did you respond to it?
I was fortunate to achieve high-ranking positions within government fairly early in my career. The downside of this is that I ran into ageism where I was thought to be ‘too young’ to have achieved so much. … I overcame the ageism by working closely with some of my biggest skeptics. Once these people got to know me and saw my capabilities, I was able to earn the respect and support of those that might have initially doubted me.
What motivates you?
I started working for the government practically immediately out of college. I had public servants for parents (my mom retired last year after 25 years with the state and my dad was a police officer). My entire career has been working for or with government and I consistently continue to be motivated by improving government. There is no wider impact that one can have on the daily lives of so many citizens than when government works more efficiently and effectively.
What are some of your qualifications?
- Director, Public Sector, CompTIA
- Deputy Director, Strategic Planning & Policy, CA Department of General Services
- Director, California Recovery Task Force, CA Department of Finance
- Assistant Secretary for Economic Development, CA Business, Transportation & Housing Agency
- Assistant Cabinet Secretary, CA Governor’s Office
What is the team size?
I started working for the government practically immediately out of college. I had public servants for parents (my mom retired last year after 25 years with the state and my dad was a police officer). My entire career has been working for or with government and I consistently continue to be motivated by improving government. There is no wider impact that one can have on the daily lives of so many citizens than when government works more efficiently and effectively.