Fil-Am named new San Mateo County human services deputy director 

REDWOOD CITY, California – “Inequity” is a bad word for Dr. Jei Africa, a Filipino American who has served in the public arena for nearly 20 years, closing the gap between those able and unable to obtain resources.

This month Africa, 52, a licensed clinical psychologist with a master’s in psychopharmacology, assumed the post of Assistant Director of the County of San Mateo Human Services Agency.  He is among the highest ranking Fil-Ams employed in the county and the first Fil-Am in the position with the San Mateo County HSA.

Dr. Jei Africa is back in San Mateo County to focus on ensuring equity for recipients of federal and state-mandated social services programs. (San Mateo County)

As second in command of the authority that administers funds for federal and state mandated social services programs for residents — especially those in need or in crisis — Africa will direct day-to-day operations of four major divisions of the agency and assist the director in administration, management and evaluation of activities.

He will do the same for setting agency budget and priorities, special projects and strategic plans.  He will act as liaison between the director, leadership and staff on internal and external issues including legislative and policy matters.

“I am grateful to be back in San Mateo County,” Africa told INQUIRER.net.  “There are lots of opportunities here to collaborate to solve our toughest problems.  Our goal is to ensure that every resident thrives. We need to be creative and innovative in our approach, like partnering with many other sectors; I believe we have that here.”

Behavioral health champion

The job is a promotion that seems tailored for Africa, erstwhile director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services for the County of Marin.  His four-and-half-year stint north of San Francisco tested his mettle for expanding outreach to underserved communities and broadening the continuum of care.  He led efforts to acquire critical residential facility projects for people dealing with mental health and substance use in an area with diverse populations.

Africa’s new post marks a homecoming in his consistently vertical career.  Africa began his public service as director of the Office of Diversity and Equity with the Behavioral Health and Recovery Services of the San Mateo County Health System.

For 10 years, he led the creation, implementation and sustenance of programs addressing racial, ethnic and cultural barriers in the delivery of services for mental health and substance use.  On his watch BHRS forged multicultural initiatives in partnership with those specific communities’ leaders to instill a sense of their ownership and accountability.

Africa first joined San Mateo BHRS at a crucial moment.  California voters had just passed the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) in 2004, authorizing 1% income tax on personal income in excess of $1 million per year.

The Filipino Mental Health Initiative is among the programs funded by the MHSA.  The group grew organically from a series of discussions with county Filipino providers.  Africa steered FMHI to grow in scope and focus and became a BHRS-led equity-focused initiative.

Word of mouth drew the participation of mental health professionals and advocates alike to fulfill its mission: to “improve the well-being of Filipinos in San Mateo County by reducing the stigma of mental health and substance use, increasing access to services, and further empowering the community through outreach and engagement.”

“We strive to connect individuals to appropriate services, and ensure culturally appropriate services through provider collaboration,” FMHI founding member and former co-chair Jennifer Jimenez Wong told INQUIRER.net.

“Jei guided us to reach out to the Filipino community through local community events to increase awareness about the importance of mental health, and to decrease the stigma associated with accessing mental health services,” added Jimenez Wong, now a clinical supervisor at Fred Finch Youth & Family Services.

As a BHRS program lead, Africa introduced the innovative Mental Health First Aid workshops to teach practitioners and private individuals how to recognize signs for mental health issues and prevent suicide.

Lifelong advocacy

Under Africa’s leadership, San Mateo County established the first Pride Center outside San Francisco, one of the first county-funded multidisciplinary centers in the state that provide welcoming and safe spaces for individuals who identify as LGBTQ+.

The 5-year-old establishment on El Camino Real in the city of San Mateo provides case management, crisis intervention, peer counseling, and mental health services for youths and older adults and their families.

The Pride Center enshrines a lifelong advocacy for Africa, the first known openly transgender director of BHRS in the United States when he transitioned in his forties.

Africa’s ascension comes at a time of extreme vigilance for the community often targeted by hatemongers but underreported in either mainstream or ethnic media.  This year 26 fatalities to date were reported by the Human Rights Campaign, a 40-year-old national movement promoting equality for the community.

His high visibility shines the light on transgender and non-gender conforming individuals and inspires appropriate responses to their needs.

When Africa first disclosed his transition, for instance, San Mateo Health Systems leadership worked with him to develop supports for transgender staff and policies.  The County also ended binary assignments of restrooms, replacing male-female symbols with gender-neutral signs.

Africa (third row, ninth from left) volunteers with ALLICE Kumares & Kumpares as their clinical director.  VOLTAIRE YAP

Africa calls the period a “pivotal moment in my life.”  He admits harboring trepidation, “but I knew that Health System leadership would ensure he would receive what he needed, noting “not many are as fortunate as I was.”

Mindful about Filipinos

Though the University of the Philippines alum sought higher education in the United States, he is always mindful of Filipinos.  He reaches out to people who identify as Filipino who, like him, have embraced the responsibility to safeguard Filipino inclusion and advance the Filipino agenda of parity and empowerment.  Collaboration is always in his sights.

At the 2005 Pistahan Parade in San Francisco, Africa stood on the back of a pickup truck urging the observers to “honk if you want to end domestic violence” with the Kumares & Kumpares and Filipina Women’s Network.

In 2007, Africa joined ALLICE Alliance for Community Empowerment Kumares & Kumpares. Named clinical director, he sets guidelines for cultural competence and chairs the training committee for the nonprofit organization that aims to prevent intimate partner and family abuse through free education events and tools.

Last year he facilitated the first-ever Intimate Partner and Family Abuse training of Philippine foreign service personnel in five states by a Fil-Am organization, a collaboration of ALLICE and the Philippine Consulate General in San Francisco.

Africa sat on the San Mateo County Commission on Status of Women till his term ended; he joined the LGBTQ+ Commission as a founding member.

“Jei Africa brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and intelligence to his new position.  He is a proven leaders who cares deeply about equity, the mission of our agency, and the general welfare of those in need,” HSA Director Ken Cole welcomed his new co-worker, reiterating what many County workers already know.