The Yolo County Civic Leader of the Month Series was inspired by longtime Yolo County leader Gary Sandy, who passed away in August after a year-long battle with liver cancer.
Sandy served in many leadership roles since 1996, including in the Woodland City Council, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors and the Yuba Community College Board.
The outpouring of reflections and heartfelt comments from local leaders led The Daily Democrat to honor Sandy’s hard work by highlighting others who are making changes with a positive impact on our community.
Now, we take a look back at the civic leaders we’ve covered so far to highlight their work.
If you have any recommendations for future Civic Leaders of the Month, email [email protected] with a proposal leaving the person’s name, contact information and 3-4 sentences explaining why they deserve the title.
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Cecilia Aguiar-Curry dedicates herself to serving rural communities
Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry began her civic work 17 years ago after starting her company, Community Mitigation and Consulting, a firm specialized in public outreach with government agencies through collaboration with communities, elected officials, contractors, environmental groups and private industry.
Twelve years ago, she ran for the Winters City Council because “there weren’t any women” or “people of color” and she was “really frustrated with some of the decisions” after serving on the city’s planning commission.
She eventually became the first female and Latina Mayor to serve Winters and served important leadership roles including as chairwoman of the Yolo Housing Commission, Vice Chairwoman of the Yolo County Water Association and a member of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Area Council of Governments where she championed hundreds of thousands of dollars for her rural community.
Joy Cohan, executive director for Meals on Wheels Yolo County, highlighted a summer 2022 visit the assemblymember made to the nonprofit’s Woodland meal production kitchen, where she showed concern about the challenges and barriers they faced in the wake of the pandemic.
“More than 8,000 Yolo County seniors live in poverty per the 2020 Census, and that number will only grow as the Baby Boom generation continues to age and the cost of living increases simultaneously,” Cohan stressed. “That Assemblymember Aguiar-Curry recognizes this and has delivered swift action speaks to both her foresight and her understanding of government’s role in ensuring senior nutrition and socialization in the community.”
To read more about Aguiar-Curry, visit dailydemocrat.com/2023/12/24/cecilia-aguiar-curry-dedicates-herself-to-serving-rural-communities-yolo-county-civic-leader-of-the-month.
Cindy Norris retires after serving Woodland for nearly two decades
After nearly 20 years of public service in Woodland, Principal Planner Cindy Norris retired leaving behind a trail of significant accomplishments that residents continue to benefit from today.
The Woodland City Council honored Norris during its Tuesday, Jan. 16 meeting with a certificate of appreciation highlighting her 33 years of public service, 18 of which were in Woodland.
City Manager Ken Hiatt applauded her work on the city’s general plan and the guidance she provided to the planning commission.
“Just her dedication and the way she went about her work every day and her very pleasant demeanor,” Hiatt highlighted during the meeting. “She’s extremely talented, very thoughtful and we were very fortunate to have her for so many years here.”
Tania Garcia-Cadena, Woodland’s mayor and executive director of the Woodland Food Closet, noted that although Norris is leaving, she’s excited to have her volunteer at the food closet.
“Cindy was very helpful when I came on the council and I had some questions about different things that I totally was unaware of that the planning department handled,” Garcia-Cadena stressed. “She’s just done an amazing job and she’ll definitely be missed because I think we have relied on her a lot and her knowledge is always so extremely helpful, but I do look forward to having her as a volunteer for the food closet.”
To read more about Norris, visit dailydemocrat.com/2024/01/28/cindy-norris-retires-after-serving-woodland-for-nearly-two-decades-yolo-county-civic-leader-of-the-month.
Dynamic duo address hair salon disparities in county, tackle food insecurity in Davis
Tina Jones and Lasonja Porter are a dynamic duo who, in the last several years, have set out to address two issues they’ve dealt with or witnessed – the need for Yolo County hair salons or barbershops that cater to all hair textures and food insecurity among Davis’ senior and homeless populations.
Jones, Porter’s daughter, said that the two decided to open T & L Exotics Total Beauty in Woodland after her father was killed by an off-duty police officer in the Bay Area.
“Our family was just crushed,” Jones said. “He really wanted me to do hair and wanted to see us make it to a salon.”
Growing up in Davis, Jones said most hair salons in the area didn’t know how to work with her hair texture, so she had to teach herself to do her hair when she was 12 years old.
“I wanted to come out here and help people because I needed help as a child and I had to figure it out myself,” Jones explained.
Jones is both a licensed cosmetologist and barber, meaning that she can work on men’s and women’s hair, making her salon widely accessible to everyone in the community. One of her favorite things to do, however, is provide assistance to foster parents who don’t know how to deal with their kids’ hair.
To read more about Jones and Porter, visit dailydemocrat.com/2024/02/25/dynamic-due-address-hair-salon-disparities-in-county-tackle-food-insecurity-in-davis-civic-leader-of-the-month.
Ana Gonzalez goes above and beyond to reunite family across continents
When Woodland City Clerk Ana Gonzalez received an email from a young man from Switzerland named Yannick Waldeck requesting help to find his grandfather last year, she got to work.
Waldeck explained to her that his grandfather, Raymond, served in the Army in Germany and the last known address his mother had for him from 1974 was in Woodland.
“Immediately after sending the email, something in my gut told me that I needed to help this young man,” Gonzalez emphasized. “From that point forward, I made it my mission to locate his grandfather’s family. The entire time I was hoping and praying his grandfather was still alive since Yannick mentioned he would be 96 years old.”
Gonzalez was able to find an obituary in Arkansas with a photo of a man matching the description of Waldeck’s grandfather. However, the obituary stated he was survived by his wife, two daughters and numerous other relatives.
“I can’t tell you the number of times I kept going back to the obituary and after re-reading it who knows how many times, I noticed that Raymond was survived by a sister-in-law in California,” Gonzalez stressed.
Gonzalez found the sister-in-law, who asked not to be named, was living in Woodland and she went over the information from Waldeck ensuring her that they were not trying to scam her, something Gonzalez said the individual was concerned about.
To read more about Gonzalez, visit dailydemocrat.com/2024/03/31/ana-gonzalez-goes-above-and-beyond-to-reunite-family-across-continents-yolo-county-civic-leader-of-the-month.
