My name is La Toya Thomas a Bay Area native. I was born in Richmond, Ca., graduated from WCCUSD De Anza High School in 1997.

At the age of 10 years old I began my customer service journey working at my grandmother’s restaurant Emma’s Cajun Seafood & Poultry in West Oakland, Ca., taking phone orders on the weekends. My passion for the food industry began and I started my career as Hostess/Alley Coordinator at the Olive Garden in Richmond, Ca., from 1995-1997. In latter part of 1997, I held the position as a Hostess Trainer for Applebee’s in Pinole, Ca. until 1999.  Later that year I decided to return to a position which entailed more administrative duties and began working as a Credit & Collections Representative for Pacific Bell/SBC/AT&T Call Center in San Francisco, Ca. until 2004. The San Francisco office closed, and I decided to relocate to Commerce, Ca in 2001. In late 2005 I returned to the Bay Area and accepted a position as a Customer Service Agent for Southwest Airlines in Oakland, Ca., taking on the essential role of the Safety Coordinator from 2006-2011.  In 2012 I decided to utilize my Business Administration AA Degree and my Healthcare Administration AA Degree and obtained an on-call position as a Housekeeper in the Environmental Services Department for Kaiser Permanente, Richmond, Ca. After 6 months I was awarded a benefited position as a Teleservice Representative for the Appointment & Advice Call Center Vallejo, Ca. In 2017 I was elected by my team to become the Unit Based Team Co-lead/Union Steward for SEIU-UHW. In March 2020, I was promoted to my current role as a Teleservice Representative Manager for the Appointment and Advice Call Center in Vallejo Ca.