Board Member Spotlights
Juthaporn Chaloeicheep
What inspired you to join the board of SDA? What does SDA’s mission mean to you personally?
I was inspired to join the board of Senior and Disability Action by the older, low-income Chinese women I met during my years of homelessness in San Francisco. Watching their strength, resilience, and quiet perseverance, often while carrying heavy loads of recyclables, gave me hope and motivation to keep going. Now that I am housed and rebuilding my life, I want to ensure their voices are heard. As an older Asian woman myself, SDA’s mission is deeply personal and reflects my commitment to advocating for a more secure and dignified future for all seniors.
What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
People are often surprised to learn that I’m the mother of six boys, ranging in age from 10 to 28, a role that continues to shape everything I do.
Pi Ra, Board President
What inspired you to join the board of SDA? What does SDA’s mission mean to you personally?
"Two things inspired me to return to Senior and Disability Action (SDA): 1. SDA's long history of fulfilling its mission through "Good Trouble" activism and street theater. 2. The current (3rd) generation of dedicated staff members at SDA."
What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
My family has owned a 142-acre farm in upstate New York since 1961. Originally it was a hops planation. In the '40's it was converted to a dairy farm. We rented out 60 acres of cropland, to a local dairy farmer receiving a calf, a pig, and all the hay we needed as payment. We raised, hunted and fished our own meat and grew our own produce. We even have a 1.5 acre frog pond with bass, pan fishes and a troublesome beaver. I left New York in 1976. My sister and her husband runs the farm now. In 1978, I assisted a friend in Sturgeon Bay Wisconsin, in setting up a 100 acre organic dairy farm.
Sonia Rio-Glick
What inspired you to join the board of SDA? What does SDA’s mission mean to you personally?
I was inspired to join SDA in remembering the phrase “all politics are local” following moving to the Bay Area this time last year. SDA’s mission spoke to me as a disabled person invested in advocacy, COVID consciousness, and intergenerational relationships. Personally, SDA’s investment in both individual support and collective action resonates as a strong way to mobilize and sustain the communities I value most.
What’s one thing people might be surprised to learn about you?
You might be surprised to learn I used to both dance and act professionally!