The Cupertino Courier

Cover Story

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Honorees: Lauralee Sorensen (left) and Mahesh Nihalani were recently named Cupertino's 'Citizens of the Year.' They'll be honored at an awards banquet March 31 at the Cypress Hotel.

Twin Stars

Community volunteers get their due

By Erin Hussey

Muhammad Ali once described service to others as the "rent you pay for your room here on Earth."

If that's true, then Lauralee Sorensen and Mahesh Nihalani's landlord would be extremely wealthy.

"They are both well rounded in the community--they don't just do charity for one organization. It's spread over multiple areas," says Christine Giusiana, chief executive officer for the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce.

Sorensen and Nihalani were recently named by the Chamber as Cupertino's 2006 Citizens of the Year. The criteria for selection are based on significant service to the community, teamwork and achievements of the nominee.

"Mahesh has only lived here for only seven years and got totally involved in the community. He really hit the ground running, and we are very impressed by his leadership skills," says Giusiana.

"Then with Lauralee, how could we not? The amount of work she has done in the community is unbelievable."

Lauralee Sorensen

Sorensen, a retired nurse and former city council member, is known as a compassionate, organized and knowledgeable individual who truly cares about people.

"It's hard to describe her, but she's a real woman in the best sense and a true role model for people," says Donna Austin. Austin, who has known Sorensen for close to 20 years, was one of many who sent in a nomination for Sorensen. She volunteers with Sorensen for Quota International of Cupertino, a group that helps serve deaf, hard-of-hearing and speech-impaired individuals, as well as disadvantaged women and children.

"To me she is a mentor," Austin says. "She's the person you feel good about and comfortable with and trust. She's honest and interested in people but she's quiet about it and doesn't blow her own horn."

In addition to Quota, Sorensen'shares her energy with0 Cupertino Community Services, the Cupertino Historical Society and teaching first aid and CPR classes to teachers and city employees. Before Sorensen retired, she strove to make a difference in the working world as both a nurse and a city council member.

"My love is public heath nursing," Sorensen says.

After graduating from Stanford University School of Nursing, Sorensen worked as a public heath nurse in San Mateo County and then later for the city of Berkeley.

"It was with the health department, but we also did visiting nursing, which means bedside care for people who are at home, and then school nursing," she says.

Sorensen was a junior high school nurse for two years until she had her first son and retired. Or so she thought.

Once her small family moved to Cupertino and she had her second son, the world of school nursing came knocking at her door.

"There was an opportunity in the Cupertino district for a nurse, and so I split that position with another woman," Sorensen says. "It was ideal because we both had little kids."

The following year, the Cupertino Union School District hired her full-time. She stayed for 23 years.

"I had certain things I really liked to do," says Sorensen. "School nurses can't do this now, but I could still go into to the classrooms and do health teachings."

She remembers doing lung and heart dissections with the students as part of a project dealing with smoking, as well as teaching human growth and development.

"Frequently there wasn't a male teacher, so I would always get the boys," she says. "But that was fine because I had two boys, so it was easy."

Sorensen was also asked by the district to become the go-to person when it came to dealing with at-risk children and families.

"That's public health nursing," she says. "I worked with families throughout the school district to get them aimed in the right direction."

Sorensen was also at the forefront of creating the School Attendance Review Board, a formal committee that steps in when students are either continually truant or absent from school. It is still used today by CUSD.

Katy Waugh, currently a school nurse in the district, says Sorensen is not only an inspiration to her but to school nurses throughout Santa Clara County.

"She challenges everyone to look at the big picture," says Waugh. "She tries to find how things work and find answers for her families and for the people she is working with. I just think of all the families she has touched--she believed in them when not a lot of people would."

Sorensen's out-of-the-box yet compassionate way of solving problems was perhaps the reason for her success on the city council from 1989 to 1997.

"She is a very kind and gentle person who is a caregiver and she approaches things that way," says Sandy James, former Cupertino mayor. "But that's not to say she isn't tough. She stands by her convictions and has very strong morals and values."

While Sorensen does say she is "cutting back" on her community service hours in order to travel and enjoy her retirement, it appears as though her datebook will always be filled with ways to help others.

"You should be giving," she says. "You shouldn't be taking all the time. I think that it's really important to pass on knowledge and to give to people, which I don't mind doing."

Mahesh Nihalani

It's not an exaggeration when people say Nihalani is one of the most active Indo-Americans in the city of Cupertino.

He is the man who made the Dewali festival an annual event, is on the board of Cupertino's Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber's Asian American Council, chaired the city's Housing Commission, helped raise funds for the new library and helped plan the 25th anniversary celebration for the Cupertino Senior Center.

What might come as a surprise to some is that he's done it all in seven years.

"As soon as I landed in Cupertino in 2000, I saw within the first six months that there were a lot of events and festivals happening in the city," Nihalani remembers. "Which told me, one, that this was a very diverse city and, second, that I didn't see any Indian festivals happening. So, I said, 'It's time that we share our culture.' "

Nihalani, who was born and raised in Mumbai (formerly Bombay), India, immigrated to the United States in 1994 with his wife, Kamal, and their two young sons.

Nihalani was offered the management of a jewelry store in St. Thomas in the U.S. Virgin Islands by an old friend who was impressed with Nihalani's communication skills. Although his background was in engineering and project management consulting, Nihalani accepted the position.

Five years later, Nihalani got another job offer. A tourist from the Bay Area invited him to manage a jewelry store in downtown Los Gatos.

"In my earlier life I had nothing to do with jewelry," Nihalani says. "It was only when I stepped into the U.S. that I got involved. Now it's a passion with me.''

Nihalani and his business partner, David Stickles, now have their own jewelry store called Jewels in Style in Sunnyvale.

In addition to running his jewelry business, Nihalani dove directly into community organizing, particularly within the Indian community.

"The diversity of the city encouraged me to [do] outreach in the community and share our culture," he says.

In 2003, Nihalani went to the city and proposed a celebration of Dewali, which marks the beginning of the new business year in India.

"Mahesh was one of the first members of the Indian community to really reach out," says former Mayor James. "I like the way he put it, that he 'wanted to bring us into his world and show us what it was all about.' "

The first Dewali Festival lasted three hours, and approximately 4,000 people attended. Last October the festival ran for seven hours and was enjoyed by more than 15,000 people.

"He brings life to the festival," says Ram Gopal, who co-chairs the festival with Nihalani. "He brings all the people and gets all the parts of the community working together to make it a success."

Nihalani was also largely responsible for the formation of the California Cricket Academy in 2003.

When Hemant and Kinjal Buch started working on forming the club, they knew exactly who to call for help: Nihalani.

"He has a tremendous amount of social contacts in the area," says Kinjal Buch. "Even now, whenever we need any kind of help, we can always turn to him. He is a true social worker at heart."

The Organization of Special Needs Families is yet another organization that has benefited from Nihalani's activism.

"We have been very close for many years," says Chiua Wei, OSF's chief executive officer.

Wei, who started the Special Festival in Cupertino, says he has learned many things from working with Nihalani.

"He has a couple of characteristics that I really love," says Wei. "One is dedication, and the other is the way he gets things done. He doesn't fight with people, but finds their strengths and works with them to complete the goal."

Presently, Nihalani is strongly considering running for the city council. "It's in the cards," he says.

Wei, James, Gopal and Buch agree that he would make an excellent council member.

"Mahesh is part of the overall community," says James. "He would make an absolutely amazing council person, and I will be very disappointed if he doesn't run."

Nihalani says he will make his decision by the end of the month. Either way, he will continue his work within the Cupertino community.

"I think if we share and understand each other's cultures, it makes us live more in harmony," he says. "You enjoy life and people better that way."

The STAR awards will be presented March 31 at the Cypress Hotel, starting at 6 p.m.

Allotta's Delicatessen and Catering (Small Business of the Year), Stevens Creek Quarry Inc. (Large Business of the Year) and Diane Renna (Chamber Ambassador Volunteer of the Year) will also be honored.

For more information, call 408.252.7054.