Bay Area

Steven Torrence Hired to Lead County of Marin’s Office of Emergency Management

Steven Torrence, who has coordinated emergency response services in the Los Angeles area for the past 10 years, has been selected as the new Director of Emergency Management within the Marin County Fire Department.  Fire Chief Jason Weber said Torrence was the choice among 67 applicants following a nationwide recruitment. His first day leading the County of Marin’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was February 22.

Published

3 years ago

March 6, 2023

Oakland Post

Steven Torrence began duties in Marin County on Febrary 22. Photo courtesy of Marin County.

Fire Chief Jason Weber said Torrence was the choice among 67 applicants following a nationwide recruitment. His first day leading the County of Marin’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM) was February 22.

“Steven joins us with a commitment to building more resilient communities,” Weber said. “His experience and passion for emergency management is contagious. He showed his passion as he talked about building critical relationships that ensure success during an emergency response. We are thrilled to have him in this critical leadership role.”

Torrence most recently served as the Emergency Services Administrator for the City of Santa Monica. He oversaw the city’s Office of Emergency Management (OEM), its Emergency Operations Center, alert and warning systems, community preparedness, and emergency planning.

Simultaneously, he served as regional coordinator for Area A of Los Angeles County and helped coordinate trainings, responses, and communications for the cities of Culver City, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood, and Santa Monica plus private-sector partners and hospitals.

His array of emergency experience includes responses to wildfires, tsunamis, the COVID-19 pandemic, heat events, civil unrest incidents, infrastructure failures, aircraft incidents, and large-scale planned events such as presidential visits and the Super Bowl.

He has led regional emergency management committees such as the Orange County CERT Mutual Aid Committee, for which he served as committee chair.

Torrence routinely speaks at conferences and seminars throughout California on emergency preparedness and mitigation in relation to the diversity of the state’s population.

Most notably, he has spoken at the California Emergency Services Association conference on the topic of diversity, equity, and inclusion in emergency management.

“Building a resistant and resilient community is core to the Marin County Office of Emergency Management,” Torrence said. “To achieve this vision, we must ensure that we are effectively planning and preparing each person for the hazards of today and tomorrow.”

Torrence began to focus on firefighting and emergency management while obtaining an associate’s degree at Chaffey College in Rancho Cucamonga, near Los Angeles, then continued with a public administration degree from the University of La Verne.

He has a master’s degree in emergency and disaster management from Georgetown University, for which he serves as a guest lecturer for the graduate program.

He began his professional career with the Rancho Cucamonga Fire District and later became emergency services coordinator for the City of Placentia.

The Marin County Public Information Office provided this report.

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Oakland Post: Week of February 25 – March 3, 2026

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of – February 25 – March 3, 2026

Published

3 days ago

March 1, 2026

Oakland Post

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Chase Oakland Community Center Hosts Alley-Oop Accelerator Building Community and Opportunity for Bay Area Entrepreneurs

Over the past three years, the Alley-Oop Accelerator has helped more than 20 Bay Area businesses grow, connect, and gain meaningful exposure. The program combines hands-on training, mentorship, and community-building to help participants navigate the legal, financial, and marketing challenges of small business ownership.

Published

2 weeks ago

February 21, 2026

Oakland Post

Bay Area entrepreneurs attend the Alley-Oop Accelerator, a small business incubation program at Chase Oakland Community Center. Photo by Carla Thomas.

By Carla Thomas

The Golden State Warriors and Chase bank hosted the third annual Alley-Oop Accelerator this month, an empowering eight-week program designed to help Bay Area entrepreneurs bring their visions for business to life.

The initiative kicked off on Feb. 12 at Chase’s Oakland Community Center on Broadway Street, welcoming 15 small business owners who joined a growing network of local innovators working to strengthen the region’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.

At its core, the accelerator is designed to create an ecosystem of collaboration, where local entrepreneurs can learn from one another while accessing the resources of a global financial institution.

“This is our third year in a row working with the Golden State Warriors on the Alley-Oop Accelerator,” said Jaime Garcia, executive director of Chase’s Coaching for Impact team for the West Division. “We’ve already had 20-plus businesses graduate from the program, and we have 15 enrolled this year. The biggest thing about the program is really the community that’s built amongst the business owners — plus the exposure they’re able to get through Chase and the Golden State Warriors.”

According to Garcia, several graduates have gone on to receive vendor contracts with the Warriors and have gained broader recognition through collaborations with JPMorgan Chase.

“A lot of what Chase is trying to do,” Garcia added, “is bring businesses together because what they’ve asked for is an ecosystem, a network where they can connect, grow, and thrive organically.”

This year’s Alley-Oop Accelerator reflects that vision through its comprehensive curriculum and emphasis on practical learning. Participants explore the full spectrum of business essentials including financial management, marketing strategy, and legal compliance, while also preparing for real-world experiences such as pop-up market events.

Each entrepreneur benefits from one-on-one mentoring sessions through Chase’s Coaching for Impact program, which provides complimentary, personalized business consulting.

Garcia described the impact this hands-on approach has had on local small business owners. He recalled one candlemaker, who, after participating in the program, was invited to provide candles as gifts at Chase events.

“We were able to help give that business exposure,” he explained. “But then our team also worked with them on how to access capital to buy inventory and manage operations once those orders started coming in. It’s about preparation. When a hiccup happens, are you ready to handle it?”

The Coaching for Impact initiative, which launched in 2020 in just four cities, has since expanded to 46 nationwide.

“Every business is different,” Garcia said. “That’s why personal coaching matters so much. It’s life-changing.”

Participants in the 2026 program will each receive a $2,500 stipend, funding that Garcia said can make an outsized difference. “It’s amazing what some people can do with just $2,500,” he noted. “It sounds small, but it goes a long way when you have a plan for how to use it.”

For Chase and the Warriors, the Alley-Oop Accelerator represents more than an educational initiative, it’s a pathway to empowerment and economic inclusion. The program continues to foster lasting relationships among the entrepreneurs who, as Garcia put it, “build each other up” through shared growth and opportunity.

“Starting a business is never easy, but with the right support, it becomes possible, and even exhilarating,” said Oscar Lopez, the senior business consultant for Chase in Oakland.