San Mateo County health official’s usual quiet work shifted quickly as COVID-19 raged in the region

Having served in her current role for five years, Srinivasan, 52, said preparing for a crisis differs from actually responding. Early on, most, including Srinivasan, thought a short shutdown would allow society to reopen within a month. Nearly 10 months later, health officials still are imploring residents to wear a face covering, wash their hands and social distance as cases spike higher than ever before. 

Tasked with making public health policy, Srinivasan has been steeped in the realities of COVID-19, including its disproportionate effect on underserved communities. The county has long focused on ensuring all residents get access to health coverage but 2020 has revealed deep inequities Srinivasan believes can no longer be ignored. 

“I really empathize with how many sacrifices we’ve all had to make. … Being so close to people who’ve put so much aside, whether that’s nurses or personnel at Second Harvest, we don’t have the luxury of thinking of these actions as our own,” said Srinivasan. “My hope for how challenging this has been is that we really learn how to prevent the impacts from being so disproportionately felt from happening again.” 

Optimistic about a recovery fueled by the development of multiple vaccines, Srinivasan expressed appreciation for those she’s leaned on as the county pivoted toward a pandemic response. In return, many used similar words to describe Srinivasan and her work, calling her a brilliant leader, an exceptional person and equal parts smart and warm. 

Someone to lean on

Lizelle Lirio de Luna, the director of Family Health Services who worked closely with Srinivasan setting up the Emergency Operations Center in March, said the health leader has been an important mentor to her. Memories of the first weeks responding to the pandemic are a blur for de Luna but she remembers Srinivasan always taking time to check in at the end of the day. 

“It’s one of those things where it’s adrenaline at the time and all you want to do is just help the [Department Operations Center] and support the people doing hard hard work,” said de Luna. “It was a struggle as it was but, because it was her, in some ways I felt peace of mind and confidence.”  

Marmi Bermudez, the director of the county Health Coverage Unit, has known Srinivasan for nearly two decades and praised her constant communication style, getting emotional when speaking about the type of leader she has been. 

“This is probably the hardest she’s worked and she works pretty damn hard. She’s an incredible, phenomenal human being,” said Bermudez. “Not everyone is like that. I wish every county employee had a leader and mentor like her who inspires you because she is the change you want to see in the world, she’s that change.”  

Chief of Health Louise Rogers recruited Srnivasan to be her deputy after knowing her for nearly 20 years, impressed by both her intellectual and emotional range. Calling her an extraordinary person, whose thank you notes are “true works of art,” Rogers said her unwavering commitment to improving people’s lives has made her a strong asset to the county. 

“Srija’s thought partnership has always been a gift to me personally and I can see over the years how her leadership roles have led many others to enjoy the gifts of working with her,” Rogers said in an email. “We have had to really lean on each other each day for the last 300 days.” 

Work-life balance 

At home, Srinivasan was tired but giddy during the start of the pandemic, said her husband Bradley Joondeph. Instead of becoming irritable when exhausted, she giggles, he said, acknowledging the long hours she was putting in at work and pressure she’s under. 

“She was, more than anything else, just tired because you start to fray when you’re on that long, consecutively,” said Joondeph, a law professor at Santa Clara University. 

But Srinivasan had always been a hard worker, said Joondeph, who met the health official when she was just an undergrad at Stanford University where they both studied. While the emotions may not have been love at first sight, Joondeph said he was attracted to Srinivasan right away, admiring her for her strong interest in public service. 

Over their 32-yearlong relationship and 25 years of marriage, that aspect of her hasn’t changed, said Joondeph, who described Srnivasan as someone with a sense of obligation, devotion to others, hard-working and happily energetic. 

Also apparent to Joondeph was the closeness his wife felt toward her family. Srinivasan and her two siblings, Srinija, an entrepreneur who serves as vice chair of Stanford University’s Board of Trustees and Sri, the chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals, were raised in Lawrence, Kansas, where their family immigrated to from India in the early 1970s. 

Reflecting on her time in Kansas, Srinivasan said attending Kansas Jayhawks basketball games were a highlight for her family. Her father worked as a professor in the mathematics department at the University of Kansas which gave the family access to the “golden tickets,” she said. 

Resettled 

As adults, most of the Srinivasans have resettled in California with both Srinija and their mother Saroja living only a few blocks away. While Srinivasan and Joondeph have always been thankful for their proximity to her parents, including after her father died nearly seven years ago, the pandemic has reaffirmed their appreciation after Saroja at 80 years old fell ill. 

“The single emotion that comes out is fear. At the very beginning, mortality rates were much higher and we had no idea what the course of the disease might be,” said Joondeph. “From my perspective, I feared the worse.”

Now recovered and nearly 10 months into the pandemic, the family continues to grocery shop for Saroja, allowing her to remain safely at home, a privilege they know many don’t have. Striking a work-life balance has been easier for the parents of a 16-year-old high school student, who both share admiration for parents of younger children. 

Their home has space for their son to study while Joondeph teaches from home and Srinivasan has maintained access to her office at the San Mateo-based County Health Department. And Joondeph said he has happily taken on more responsibilities at home as Srinivasan has done in the past when his career was the demanding one. She also makes sure to get outside at least once a day, typically to go for a run while listening to a playlist made by her son which features Bollywood remixes of Beyonce music. 

“I’m really lucky to get to laugh a lot with family and friends,” said Srinivasan. “We all have to find the ways to stay hopeful and my family gives me a lot of reasons to stay hopeful.” 

sierra@smdailyjournal.com 

(650) 344-5200 ext. 106