Tara Al-Rehani (she/her)
Education
Relevant Expertise Highlights
- Previous Vice President of Systemwide Affairs, Cal State Students Association This link will take you to an external website in a new tab.
- CSSA Liaison to the CSU Alumni Council
- CSSA Liaison to the Academic Senate CSU
- CSSA Student Representative to the Chancellor’s General Education Advisory Committee
- Vice President of The SWANA Institute
Profile
Tara Al-Rehani (she/her) is the Cal State Student Association (CSSA) 2025-2026 President, the official voice of nearly half a million students in the California State University (CSU) system—the largest and most diverse four-year public higher education system in the nation.
Having lived in San Jose, California her whole life, Tara understood the importance of education as a tool for success, but also the very real lack of accessibility to affordable and quality higher education. Her upbringing sparked a passion for advocacy and civil rights. This pushed her to pursue a Bachelor of Political Science at San Jose State University, with a minor in Economics, and join student government at the campus and CSU level. Tara started her advocacy career as a student representative with SJSU's Lobby Corps and an intern for the California State Assembly. After reaffirming her commitment to higher education and her student peers, she advanced her own organization (The SWANA Initiative) on campus, which was dedicated to uplifting and formally recognizing Southwest Asian and North African students. Inevitably, Tara found her way to CSSA to serve as the 2024-2025 Vice President of Systemwide Affairs, and now finally, the 2025-2026 President.
Every role Tara has taken on has been to promote the well-being, security, and safety of students. Her work has earned her SJSU's 2025 A.S. 55 award and a spot with both the National Society of Leadership and Success and the National Political Science Honors Society (Pi Sigma Alpha - Iota Chapter).
As the former CSSA VP of Systemwide Affairs and current President of the Cal State Student Association, Tara has represented CSU students to the CSU Board of Trustees, CSU Chancellor, CSU Academic Senate, CSU Alumni Council, and the State of California. She has always approached issues while holding shared governance in high regard and is committed to partnering with all stakeholders to support initiatives that uplift student voices and positively impact the CSU student body as a whole.