By Titus Toyama, Board Member
ACC Senior Services is pleased to announce the appointment of Lora Connolly and Paula Mishima to the ACC Board of Directors. Lora and Paula bring a wealth of experiences and knowledge to the Board. Let’s meet them!
When Lora Connolly was getting ready to retire and people asked her what she was going to do, she replied “learn Tai Chi.” Lora found that ACC was offering Tai Chi at ACC Greenhaven Terrace. So she enrolled, and soon Tai Chi at GT became Lora’s Wednesday morning destination!
Lora’s involvement with ACC led her to consider serving on the Board of Directors, which she joined in July 2020. We’re very fortunate to have Lora as a Board member, as she’s been working on aging and long-term care issues for over 30 years. After earning her Master’s in Gerontology at USC, Lora came to Sacramento and worked in positions with the Legislature and various state departments. Lora’s career with the State included many years with the Department of Aging, where she served as the Department’s director under the Brown Administration. ACC will surely benefit from Lora’s first-hand knowledge of many aging issues and strategies to better address California’s increasingly diverse aging population.
For the last two years, Lora has participated in the ACC strategic planning process and, as a Board member, she will also be serving on the Program and Care Center committees. “It is an honor and privilege to have been asked to serve on the Board and focus on direct services and programs right here in this area of Sacramento.”
Lora also shares that “ACC was a very caring home to my mother-in-law, and I have many cherished memories of those visits over those last three years of her life.” And being a life-long learner, Lora surely misses ACC’s class offerings due to COVID-19, but she’s excited about ACC’s move to offer more classes and events on-line. Her latest idea – a hybrid Zoom/outdoor Pocket area birding group!
Paula Mishima was appointed to the ACC Board in September. Paula shares that serving on the Board brings her time in Sacramento full circle. Being new to Sacramento back in the early 1980s, she began volunteering with her Auntie Chiz and Uncle Buro at ACC’s Bingo operation. Then, as a Mom with three daughters, Paula’s volunteer work pivoted to their activities, including Jan Ken Po Gakko, Asian league basketball, and Kennedy High School. Now, with her third daughter finishing college, Paula says, “I’m ready to re-engage in community work. I was drawn back to ACC because I’m often at Greenhaven Terrace (GT) where my Auntie Chiz’s two youngest siblings now live. They have found GT a supportive and caring place to live. I’ve become more aware of the other valued services ACC provides as I listened to the stories of my middle daughter, who volunteered for the ACC Legacy Corps program until she started medical school this past July.”
A native of Berkeley, Paula brings a wealth of public sector expertise and experience to ACC. She earned her undergraduate degree from Stanford and a master’s degree in public affairs from the University of Washington. Paula came to Sacramento to pursue a career in public service, first working for the Legislative Analyst’s Office, then moving on to positions in the Legislature and with the California Department of Education (CDE). Paula served as Deputy Superintendent for then-State Superintendent Delaine Eastin and continues to work at the CDE as a special projects administrator for data systems.
Although serving on the Board for just a few months, Paula has been impressed by the dedication and talent of her fellow board members and ACC management and staff. She is currently on the Finance and GT committees, where the skills honed over many years working in the public sector will be of great value!
Please join the ACC Board in welcoming Lora and Paula. We appreciate their dedication to ACC, and look forward to their contributions in helping us achieve our mission and vision!
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