Toral Patel is a proud second generation Indian American born and raised in New Jersey. Toral’s civic engagement and involvement in local, state and federal politics goes back almost 20 years. As the Deputy Director of Ethnic & Minority Affairs under Governor James E. McGreevey, Toral built this newly created office dedicated to harnessing the strengths, needs and ideas of the diverse communities across the Garden State. She developed lasting relationships with members of the community who previously had been less recognized, less aware of services, resources and policies that impacted them. Since leaving the Governor’s office, Toral has built a career in public affairs and healthcare communications, working for a number of communication strategy firms before joining the Global Corporate Affairs team at Johnson & Johnson. Over the years, Toral has leveraged her grassroots advocacy and political skills to add value to the political system by running campaigns, educating underserved and new communities on the critical issues that are relevant to them, promoting civic involvement, and mentoring the next generation of civic leaders. Toral has served as an advisory member to South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), currently sits on the steering committee for the Rutgers Center for American Women in Politics Ready to Run Program, is a founding member of Inspiring South Asian American Women (ISAAW), serves on the NJ 11th for Change Board, serves as a Committeewoman on the Verona Democratic Committee, and has been on the steering committee for the NJDSC’s South Asian American Caucus since the Caucus began in 2013 until her election as co-chair in 2019. Toral lives in Verona (CD11 & LD26) with her husband and three sons.