Meet The Connect Team: Tre Braquet

Get To Know Connect’s Senior Marketing Manager

My name is Tre Braquet and I am the Senior Marketing Manager here at Connect. I have always found a sense of belonging within a community where something bigger than myself was the mission. I grew up in Northern California among the quiet redwoods of the Santa Cruz Mountains. After earning a degree in 2015 from San Diego State in Business Management with a minor in American Politics, I found myself returning home. I was compelled to take care of my family and wanted to help them out as much as I could. As a multiracial, first-generation college graduate, I felt that I needed to share my successes with the people that helped me out along my journey.

The first part of my journey was back to the original love of my life, football. I spent my time volunteering with the local Pop Warner youth program coaching kids on the fundamentals of the game. There was a wholesome feeling to standing on the same field I spent most of my childhood and it allowed me to get to know the people in my town. It wasn’t too long before I got employed, but trust me when I say good things do come from Craigslist. I found my start working as a part-time assistant doing mostly graphic design for a national non-profit called SACNAS. The world of diversity within STEM was exciting and I fully immersed myself into learning. During my time with the organization I worked my way up the Marketing Department (and a few other little nooks) from designing marketing materials, building websites, mobile apps, registration for conferences, producing data analysis reports, operational IT, and whatever the team needed.

Right down the street from the SACNAS office was Santa Cruz High School, a former rival to my own alma mater. I eventually picked up my second and third jobs at the school, so after I got off work each day I would take a short walk over to the school from the office. Once I was at the school, I’d put on my hat and was the head coach of the varsity co-ed lacrosse program and a defensive assistant on the varsity football team. I loved being out on the field and having meaningful conversations with young athletes as they prepared for life after the sport. It was a great feeling being so integrated into my community and especially doing it within a shared passion. 

2020 Varsity Lacrosse Team –  Before The Season Was Shutdown

Everything was going great, I felt like I was really doing a lot of the things that I wanted to accomplish for my hometown. Then it was the outbreak of the COVID-19, I remember getting a call from my athletic director after a week of daily escalations on what was happening. It was halftime of the first lacrosse game of the season and I picked up the phone to hear, “Get off the field. Get the kids home. Don’t shake hands with the other team. Wave and say good game from afar. Get home… Click”. I look across the field to what appeared to be a similar call that the other head coach had received, we wave, have the teams give one last chant, and go our separate ways. 

We soon found ourselves in the midst of the pandemic. Pouring salt on the wound, Northern California experienced fires that forever changed the landscape around my community. I felt compelled to help and seized the opportunity to take the position of Operations Manager at The Community Foundation of Santa Cruz County. I built upon my experiences with more work in operational IT, while adding facility management and administrative duties to my toolbox. I loved the new challenges that it brought and knowing that it was going towards supporting the work of our team that was able to accomplish so much.

Outside of work during this time, I found myself reconnecting on video calls with friends that were from college and still in Southern California. Before long, I started getting a building feeling that I would be heading back down to San Diego. Finding Connect was the stars aligning and I could quickly tell that it was the right place for me to be. In my role as Senior Marketing Manager, I bring a data based approach to marketing with a love for creativity. I aim to increase the visibility of Connect across the megaregion and amplify it’s reach to the members of our wonderful community.

In my spare time, you can find me visiting breweries with friends and trying to find good places to eat. Having grown up in the Bay Area, I’ll catch Raiders or Warriors game whenever they’re on. I love playing pickup basketball around the parks and recreation centers throughout San Diego. Hiking, camping, yard games, and gardening are probably what round out the top of my list. Thanks for reading a bit about me and you can find me on Twitter and LinkedIn. I’m looking forward to meeting many of you and working together in the future.