Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal – March 19, 2010. Tammy Gaw – President and CEO, Omnis Risk Insurance Solutions and Omnis Tools Inc.
Omnis Risk Insurance is a commercial insurance brokerage firm, and Omnis Tools is a software- as-a-service company, providing online efficiency software that supports labor intensive and highly regulated industries such as environmental and cleantech companies.
Residence: Los Altos
Education: B.A. in political science with emphasis in chemistry, University of Southern California; litigation and corporate law certification from University of Southern California Law School; California Fire and Casualty Brokers License; Certified Insurance Counselor designation
Boards/volunteer work: Board member for Silicon Valley Charity Ball Foundation; board member for After School All Stars Bay Area Chapter, which supports after-school programs throughout the Bay Area; Rotary, Sunnyvale chapter; St. Vincent Dc Paul and Catholic Charities supporter
First job: I was the first female shoe salesperson for Kenny Shoes Store in 1972.
Business hero: Ronald Reagan
Proudest achievement: I was the first person in my family (seven generations) to go to college.
Biggest workplace challenge: Raising financing for my startup software company
Something that would surprise others: When I was in junior high school, I was the student representative that went with Simi Valley school board members to Sacramento to meet Gov. Ronald Reagan about a bill that would change how state funds were distributed among school districts When we arrived to Sacramento, we were informed by an aide that Reagan had canceled his meeting with our group and planned to vote no on the bill. We had fundraised for a year to pay for the trip. I was not about to let all the hard work and hard-earned money go away. I went straight to the Governor’s office and went inside. I interrupted Reagan’s meeting and explained the reason why I was. He cancelled his meetings for that day and agreed to meet with our group. That day he had informed me that if he was preventing a young girl like me from an equal opportunity/education, then he was making a wrong decision. He changed his decision and supported the bill that changed how California distributed state funds to school districts and allowed a more equitable distribution of state funds. From the time of our original meeting, he became part of my teenage life. He wrote numerous letters to me as a father figure and mentor in my life. Later, he put Simi Valley on the map by building his Ronald Reagan Library in Simi Valley.
