Member Spotlights

Each month in our eNews, we spotlight a member of SDA. We love to celebrate our wonderful members and give them a chance to introduce themselves to the community. See below for an archive of our spotlights thus far!

David Harlan

Tell us a little bit about yourself! How long have you been involved with SDA and what have you been working on? What drew you to organizing with SDA? 

I am a new member of SDA, having joined at the end of 2024. I am a retired  chef (retired during Covid) and a Unite Here L2 member for over 29 years. I was a shop steward for 25 years and worked at the Stanford Court Hotel for 28 years (one of the Big 4 hotels on Nob Hill). I was a core  leader of my union, sitting on our leadership committee, master contract committees, and working on many political campaigns  in San Francisco (including SF Board of Supervisors races). 

Since being laid off  in 2020 due to Covid, I have been on five national electoral  political campaigns with Unite Here, beginning with a Las Vegas,  NV County Commissioner race in 2020,  the Virginia Gubernatorial campaign for Terry McAuliffe in 2021, US Senate and Gubernatorial campaign in Reno, NV in 2022, the US  Senate and House of Delegates campaign in Richmond,  VA in 2023, and the US President and US Senate campaign in Reno,  NV in 2024.

I am a member of the District 3 Democratic Club and worked on the supervisorial  campaign for Moe Jamil last year. In addition to working as a chef,  over the years I have completed a certificate in Labor Studies at CCSF and try to stay active in labor  and social justice issues.  I met Ocean Blue Coast in one of my labor studies  classes several  years ago and have sort of stayed in  touch via Facebook. The last political campaign, in particular, underscored the importance  of community organizing and  talking one-on-one with people about issues that affect them. I spoke  to over 1,000 voters door-to-door about the importance  of their health insurance, social security,  and medicare. SDA is an opportunity to have  a direct impact on issues that directly affect me and  my community.

What kinds of campaigns would you like to work on in the future at SDA? What do you want us to win in the next few years?

I am open to anything. Senior rights, housing rights, SF Muni. They all impact my daily life in SF. I am a 28-year resident of a rent-controlled building, and last year my landlord wanted to evict everyone in the building (we believe so that it would have a higher resale value). We organized each other in the building and so far nothing has happened. Long story short, because of strong tenants rights, a great D3 Supervisor who assisted us, and support services through the city of SF. We have to fight for those rights over, and over, and over. And the fight gets harder as political and economic policies change. That is why SF is so special, because of our community engagement

What do you like to do for fun? What do you wish more people knew about you?

Even though I have lived in SF for almost 34 years, I have mostly worked etc. Now that I have retired and have time, I like exploring The City and playing tourist.

Emily Posk

Tell us a little bit about yourself! How long have you been involved with SDA and what have you been working on? What drew you to organizing with SDA? 

I was following SDA from about 2023. I was unable to join due to my work schedule at the time. I began attending Masked Meetups in June 2024 as it was nice to be in community with other people who were trying to be cautious about COVID. I have been advocating about the need for masks in health care as my 92 year old mother is very high risk. I feel we should protect high risk patients. I also am fighting against mask bans as people have a right to protect their health. I was following SDA from about 2023. I was unable to join due to my work schedule at the time. I began attending Masked Meetups in June 2024 as it was nice to be in community with other people who were trying to be cautious about COVID. I have been advocating about the need for masks in health care as my 92 year old mother is very high risk. I feel we should protect high risk patients. I also am fighting against mask bans as people have a right to protect their health.

What kinds of campaigns would you like to work on in the future at SDA? What do you want us to win in the next few years?

Healthcare related issues and accessibility.

What do you like to do for fun? What do you wish more people knew about you?

I enjoy photography and crafts. I really enjoy being in nature.

Ana Malinow

Tell us a little bit about yourself! How long have you been involved with SDA and what have you been working on? What drew you to organizing with SDA? 

I am a retired pediatrician and help lead the organization The Movement to End Privatization of Medicare. One of our members invited Ligia Montano to attend our early meetings and we've been collaborating on projects to educate seniors and people with disabilities on the privatization of Medicare, and efforts to stop this, ever since.

What kinds of campaigns would you like to work on in the future at SDA? What do you want us to win in the next few years?    

I love the educational outreach that SDA has with senior centers in San Francisco. I would love to become more involved with disability action groups in the future. 

What do you like to do for fun? What do you wish more people knew about you?  

I love to spend time with my granddaughter who just turned one. I love to cook for my family, to swim, bike, read, travel, and go on long walks with my husband. 

Luis Castillo

Tell us a little bit about yourself! How long have you been involved with SDA and what have you been working on? What drew you to organizing with SDA? 

More than 2 years. I've been working on the Hallidie Plaza Elevator fixed. It's for all the people who are disabled. The main thing for me is that it's so inconvenient. Most of the time I can't use the elevators. The Hallidie Plaza one has been broken for years. The one on fourth and Market is really old. You got to transfer between two elevators. It breaks down all the time. It was broken for a whole week recently. People trying to fare evade are using the elevator, waiting for someone to use the Clipper Card and then they crowd on behind you. I helped lead two actions about the Hallidie Plaza elevator and turned up week after week to the Capital Planning Committees. Dean Preston was interested in helping us out and now he's out. Aaron Peskin said, "I remember you, you wanted the elevator fixed. I'm still working on it."

It would be nice to talk with Scott Weiner, to find out if we could do something with the state and the city. For Prop L we did some publicity. I was on one of the brochures. I went to 24th and Mission and also Market 5th to pass out flyers. There was a lot of enthusiasm with the people I talked to.

What kinds of campaigns would you like to work on in the future at SDA? What do you want us to win in the next few years?

I want to work with SDA on getting the Hallidie Plaza elevator getting repaired. It's been so many years. A lot of people have children and seniors need the elevator.

What do you like to do for fun? What do you wish more people knew about you?

I like working in the community. It makes me happy working with Safe Passage. I work with the families bringing children and they say hi to me. I like going to the Bay and watch the ships go by. Every once a while I like to take a ferry.