Jayden Sangha
Young Professionals 2022 by Rachel Leibrock
ayden Sangha felt a calling . The 32-year-old Turlock native was living in San Francisco working in wealth management for a major bank , but he felt confined , inhibited by the scope of the private sector .
“ It felt like being a small piece of the big machine that ’ s being run ,” says Sangha , now the City of Stockton ’ s assistant chief financial officer .
Sangha wanted more : a leadership role with an organization that recognized and served community needs . In 2016 when a position as the portfolio manager of treasury and debt with the City of Stockton opened up , he decided to apply .
Sangha , who has a master ’ s degree in analytical finance and international business from San Francisco State University , says that the idea of working in Stockton appealed to him on different levels . It brought him closer to family , but it also promised new professional challenges . In 2012 , Stockton filed for bankruptcy , making national headlines as the largest United States municipality to do so at the time . In 2015 , a judge approved Stockton ’ s plan to exit bankruptcy and by 2016 the city had achieved fiscal solvency .
The job was “ about giving back and making a difference in the community I grew up in ,” he says . “ It was also about getting a feel of what local government operations are like — a great kind of opening your eyes to this new world , because private sector is very different from the public sector .”
Sangha worked in Stockton for a few years before deciding to take a new opportunity in 2018 as a financial analyst manager for Prince William County in Virginia . That job , he says , proved to be another eye-opening experience .
“ I went from a city that was fighting for bankruptcy and struggling with a lot of operational issues , to one of the top 10 richest counties in the U . S . in terms of its fiscal position ,” he says .
Still , Sangha missed California , and in 2019 he returned , this time as the interim treasury director for the San Mateo Transit District . In 2021 he rejoined the City of Stockton . In his current role , Sangha says he ’ s able to take everything he ’ s learned in his previous positions to approach his work from a community perspective .
“ We ’ re conservative in terms of the way we need to proceed ( financially ) going forward ; we ’ re also making great strides in areas that are going to be affecting the community ,” he says . “ We have a strong process that we follow in terms of managing our funds , revenues , expenditures and budgeting . All of those things are in place because we ’ ve gone through that difficult time as a city .”
That difficult time , he says , added another layer of work . “ We have something of an image issue and we ’ re working on that ,” he says . “ We want to be the stewards of the community and the city that we ’ re part of .”
One ongoing endeavor is to improve employee retention and recruit interns from the University of the Pacific . Sangha likes working with college students — he taught finance at Sacramento State for nearly four years before the commute became too much .
Sangha , who enjoys wine tasting when he ’ s not working , says he hopes to one day return to teaching . Until then , he ’ s focused on continuing to advocate for the city he loves , in a job that holds true to his calling . Stockton , he says , faces continued financial challenges brought upon by the pandemic , but he ’ s confident the city can weather any hardships .
“ There are ongoing things we have to work on ,” he says . “ But I feel strongly that we ’ re in really good shape as a city .”
July 2022 | comstocksmag . com 45