Claudia Gracia
My story begins in El Salvador, a country full of beauty but also challenges. I am a mother of two children, and like many others, I came to this country fleeing from the gangs that plagued my homeland. I left my father and all my family behind in search of a safer and more promising future for my children and myself.
The journey to the United States was difficult and full of uncertainty, but it was also filled with hope. Once here, I faced a new reality, but I also found opportunities that I had never imagined. I began my educational journey at City College, where I obtained my GED, an achievement of which I am very proud.
I worked as a housing promoter for MEDA, where I was able to help my community find affordable and safe housing, a task that filled me with gratification and brought me closer to my people.
When the COVID-19 pandemic struck, my sense of responsibility and solidarity led me to a new role in the fight against this disease. I began working for CCC Community Against COVID, performing vital functions as a Case Investigator (CI) and Contact Tracer (CT). My work involved supporting people who had tested positive for COVID-19, providing them with resources such as food, cleaning products, and COVID-19 tests, as well as tracing and alerting those who had been in contact with confirmed cases.
This work allowed me to be close to my immigrant community, to be a support in difficult times, and to contribute to the well-being of those who needed it most. I love helping and supporting my immigrant community, and I will continue to be an advocate for vulnerable communities in any way I can.
Demetria Gigante
Born and raised in San Francisco, Demetria Gigante is proud to call the City home. She has been involved in the Hep C eradication movement for more than 7 years.
She is someone who gained an unexpected sense of empowerment by taking the initiative to seek out Hepatitis C treatment information and has now taken the opportunity to be an educator and educate others.
As a survivor of Hep C, her outreach is very important. Hep C, HIV and syphilis are rampant among People who use drugs in our underserved Black and brown communities. Demetria is passionate about the movement to end infectious diseases and believes harm reduction is the way to do that.
Demetria has had the great opportunity to taken part in clinic-based Hepatitis C support and education groups and now interns for San Francisco Community Health. She is a San Francisco City College certified community health worker.
She has gained experience in reaching out to people in remote enclaves who have minimal healthcare access, providing them with health education, guidance, and encouragement to take their health in a new direction.
Demetria is wholeheartedly a people-person and possesses an inspiring energy. Her ability to connect with individuals across micro-communities is key to her outreach in senior homes, and service to those who remain isolated. She believes that it’s important to advocate for herself and her own community. Health is your wealth.
Shauneke Roberson
Shauneke Roberson has worked in construction for over six years. Before she found her passion, she was often hanging around the wrong crowd and running into trouble. That trouble changed her life drastically, and she is now the owner of her own small business, Fitness Butt by Neke, LLC.
Shauneke is a hard worker, trainer, and hair stylist. Her professional goal is to improve as a leader. In her personal life, she has volunteered with The Child Abuse Prevention Center, now known as Safe & Sound, for over five years.
Shauneke wants to make the world a better place for children and people experiencing homelessness.
Margaret Wilson
Margaret Wilson is a legally blind mother of five beautiful children. She is bilingual in English and Spanish. She is a human GPS, able to navigate around the world and in her own city.
Margaret is a strong, dependable, and passion advocate for the causes she invests her time in. Her goal through the Justice Academy is to learn more about advocacy and political systems so that she can become a more effective change maker.
She has 20 years of advocacy in total, including meetings with legislators.
Ezellia Johnson
Ezellia Johnson is a non-profit worker with Five Keys Schools and Programs. When she first came to San Francisco, she experienced homelessness. She was able to use different resources, including GLIDE, to find housing and exit homelessness.
She now helps others to do the same. Ezellia’s long-term goal is to open her own non-profit to bring more resources to her home state of Texas.
Tammy Alpers
Tammy Alpers is a passionate community organizer who has studied as a community health worker. She has three grown children, four grandchildren, and three dogs.
Shirley Leiva
Shirley Leiva is a Lead Case Manager on the Client Services team at Homeless Prenatal Program in San Francisco.
She has been working for over 6 years on supporting high-risk pregnant people and families to obtain linkages with needed resources and to enter the shelter system.
Her professional goals include continuing to advocate for the community by speaking up for more affordable housing and shelter options.
She has seen first hand the difficulties families face trying to make it in the bay area
Cheryl Mullins
Cheryl resides in San Francisco, California and holds a bachelor’s degree in social psychology and business administration from San Francisco State University. She also obtained several awards from the Mental Health Association of San Francisco’s UCSF ARISE program and currently holds a culinary degree from Episcopal Community Services’ CHEFS program.
Cheryl advocates in the Tenderloin, providing homelessness referrals, providing overdose prevention awareness, preparing accessible food, and spending time with seniors who have mobility issues.
She has served in several election campaigns and as a poll worker three times.
“Without a struggle, there can be no progress.” – Fredrick Douglass.
Rachelle Rhodes
I am Raya Rhodes; preferred pronouns are she/her. I am a proud volunteer and community advocate with the GLIDE Social Justice Academy. My goal is to start a non-profit that addresses the lack of safety, and social emotional wellness resources for black families who have suffered domestic abuse.
My focus is on black women because of my lived experience, and the data that shows black women in domestic abuse cases are often victimized when asking for help. They are often unprotected by the justice system and disregarded by the health care system when expressing concerns for safety and protection.
I received my Associates degree in Sociology from Chabot College, and a certificate of completion in early childhood education.
As a survivor of domestic abuse and housing instability. I would like to use what I’ve learned, seen, felt, and overcome to help others make their way out. I am an advocate of mental, spiritual, and physical wellness practices as a form of healing and recovery from the lifelong effects of trauma caused by mental, physical, and financial domestic abuse.
I believe that having these basic needs such as housing, mental wellness, and safety planning fulfilled is what is needed to support more victims in their desire to escape domestic abuse. To me, these tools are the difference between being a victim or being victorious after escaping domestic abuse.