Community Advisory Board | Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center | UC Davis Health

Silvia Molina works with faculty directors, staff, community organizations, and people across the lifespan to collaborate on projects including community focus groups and advisory boards, research training workshops, and public events to increase awareness of UC Davis research studies. Her experience includes palliative care and hospice, supportive oncology, non-profit program development, and grants administration. She holds a B.S. in gerontology from California State University, Sacramento and is pursuing a master’s in public health with an emphasis on health promotion, policy, and leadership. Molina served in leadership roles as a commissioner for the Sacramento County Adult and Aging Commission for six years. Passionate about connecting resources to professionals and families caring for the elderly, she enjoys fostering community support for aging populations.

Jonathan Sakakibara has been a long-time resident of Sacramento and is entering his 11th year in retirement. He lived in Japan for 5 years while working there as a high school teacher. Since 1981 to his retirement in 2012, he worked in the pharmaceutical industry with varied responsibilities. He has always enjoyed being involved in medical science; as a health science associate with Merck and Company, he interacted with research scientists in the fields of gastroenterology, cardiovascular health and infectious diseases. He also served as a district manager for AstraZeneca where he was involved in hospital and integrated health care organization sales. He is looks forward to exploring more about Alzheimer’s Disease and its impact on our society.

Ingrid Villeda is the program and community engagement specialist at the Greater Sacramento Alzheimer’s Association, Northern California-Northern Nevada chapter. She has over eight years of programmatic experience serving older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers. Much of her work focuses on reaching diverse and underserved communities and building collaborative partnerships between organizations that serve the Latino community. She assists in providing information and referral services and delivers education classes in both English and Spanish. Villeda received her B.A. in Psychology from Sacramento State University in 2016.

William Parklim Yee retired as principal research attorney and mental health hearing officer for the Sacramento County Superior Court. Mr. Yee is currently a board member of Meals on Wheels of Sacramento by ACC Senior Services (formerly known as The Asian Community Center of Sacramento Valley) and an elder of the Parkview Presbyterian Church. He is a past board president and active community member of ACC Senior Services, a nonprofit dedicated to enriching the lives of seniors and caregivers through its programs, skilled nursing care center, independent and assisted living apartments, and its new memory care apartments at Maple Tree Village.

Janeen Thorpe has spent almost two decades dedicating herself to working with and studying the aging population, public policy, and administration. Her experiences have expanded from hands on experience -- as a certified nursing assistant, training others in Alzheimer’s and dementia care, and staff development -- to lobbying in our State’s Capitol for the Alzheimer’s Association, Meals-on-Wheels, and Senior Affordable Housing. Janeen graduated from California State University, Sacramento with a Bachelor of Science in Gerontology and later obtained a Master’s in Public Administration from the University of Pacific McGeorge School of Law. As Director of the Hart Senior Center, Thorpe continues to enrich and enhance the aging experience in every way possible.

Troy M. Williams is a community-based researcher and evaluator with over ten years of experience in entrepreneurship, community engagement and public health. He has worked with multiple agencies across the United States interested in addressing systemic challenges, co-creating responses with community members, and conducting in-depth program evaluations. He currently serves as the chief impact officer at the Greater Sacramento Urban League. He provides strategic leadership, management, and guidance on initiatives and impact efforts through program evaluation, community engagement and grant-making.

Rejie Marie Baloyos serves as the Executive Director of Asian Resources, Inc. (ARI), a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing essential social services and empowering individuals to become integral members of our diverse society. Prior to her role at ARI, Baloyos worked at My Sister’s House, a local nonprofit dedicated to supporting survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking. As a community advocate and immigrant leader, Baloyos deeply understands the barriers faced by people of color, low-income individuals, trauma survivors, and underserved communities. She is a recipient of Advocate of the Year from the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence and is a CORO Fellow through the Human Trafficking Leadership Academy. Baloyos serves on the board of the OCA-Sacramento Chapter and is a member of the Sacramento County Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission. She holds a Master of Arts in International and Multicultural Education with a focus on human rights from the University of San Francisco.

Karif Lawrence is the lead pastor of Southside Community Church, where he passionately serves the Sacramento community where he was born and raised. With experience serving on various boards, including the Sacramento Black Chamber Foundation and the Elk Grove Democratic Club, Lawrence is dedicated to expressing his faith through service to all, irrespective of socioeconomic status, ethnicity, language, or country of origin. He finds involvement with this CAB particularly fulfilling as it enriches enriching his understanding of diverse community needs. Above all, his family remains his priority, motivating his commitment to help others thrive, as he believes that supporting the community also strengthens his own family’s foundation.

Debra Bonner is currently Program Manager at El Hogar Community Services, Inc., SeniorLink. Debra joined SeniorLink in 2013, as an advocate and behavioral health advocate. Prior to joining SeniorLink, Bonner has worked for over 10 years providing direct services to the aging population, as well as volunteering in hospice care. Debra currently holds the position of secretary with Sacramento County Adult & Aging Commission and is co-chair of Aging Resources Exchange. Before working with the aging population, Bonner held management level positions in healthcare, education, workers’ compensation claims investigations and litigation. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Human Services from the University of Phoenix.

Lupita Rodriguez is Program Director at the Health Education Council. She holds a Master of Science degree in Community Development from the UC Davis. She has held researcher positions at UC Davis and at Wake Forest School of Medicine in various studies focused on the occupational health of migrant agricultural workers, of domestic workers, and food processing plant workers. In her current position, her focus is to help create healthy communities, with special attention to reducing mental health disparities in the Latino community of Northern California.

Mary Schleeter received her Master’s degree in Gerontology from San Francisco State University. She is a gerontologist and has worked for many years within the aging services network as a consultant, care manager, program manager, educator, and advocate. Schleeter formerly worked as an Adjunct Professor of Gerontology at American River College. She owned and operated her own care management company providing services to older adults and their family caregivers. Previously, she served as a commissioner for Sacramento County Adult & Aging Commission and as a board member for Case Management Society of America. Schleeter’s education and previous work focused on persons with Alzheimer’s and dementia. She is passionate about working with older adults and continues to be an advocate for this population.

Juliette Sanchez was born in Sacramento, as was her mom and three siblings. She graduated from UC Irvine with a degree in Social Ecology and was a Peace Corps volunteer for two years in Honduras. She is now a retired Sacramento sheriff’s deputy where her assignments included patrol, the academy, and detectives. She volunteered for Make A Wish for 10 years and at a local food bank for three years before she needed more time to care for her mom. Her mom passed away from Alzheimer's Disease in January 2023. Juliette tries to make time to run most days and she loves to travel.

Soojin Yoo has a Master’s in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and has been serving older adults and their caregiving families at ACC Senior Services (formerly known as the Asian Community Center of Sacramento Valley) since 2012. Currently she serves there as program manager for Bridge to Healthy Families, which provides supportive services for the caregiving families in the Sacramento County, including care assessment and management, benefit checkup, information and referrals for long term care services, in-home respite, support groups, educational programs, and online senior resource guide.