A Farewell Message

It's bittersweet to say farewell and even though I'm stepping down from my current role, I am not stepping away from On Lok completely. The biggest honor of my career was sharing it with all of you.

After a long and rewarding career at On Lok, I have decided to retire from my position of Chief of Government Affairs and Compliance at the end of August. While this decision wasn’t easy, I remain passionate about On Lok’s mission and the difference we make in the lives of the older adults we serve and our communities, but I feel that it is time for me to begin the next phase of my life. After stepping down from my current role, I will continue in a part-time capacity advising Grace and the senior team and supporting this transition.

I am incredibly grateful for my career at On Lok. When I joined On Lok more than 38 years ago, I was hired to work as a project coordinator on a one-year grant to test whether the On Lok model could be replicated in communities outside the Chinatown/North Beach neighborhoods of San Francisco. I was fortunate to have worked with On Lok’s founders, Marie-Louise Ansak and Dr. William Gee, and the On Lok team who created the On Lok model, later known as the Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly (PACE) and was inspired by their vision. I am proud to have been part of the early On Lok team who worked together and replicated the model across the country, formed the National PACE Association (NPA), and advocated for PACE to be a permanent Medicare and Medi-Cal provider. Later achievements include On Lok’s own PACE expansion throughout San Francisco, then the greater Bay Area, and launching CalPACE in partnership with the first four California PACE programs.

It has been wonderful to be part of this special organization and see it grow to serve more older adults. During my tenure, in addition to our PACE expansion, we added 30th Street Senior Center to the On Lok family and launched new services in response to the needs of our communities, including Community Day Services and CalAIM. I’m proud to have advocated for On Lok and promote policies that improve services for older adults.

As On Lok has grown, I am grateful for the opportunity to have established key functions for the organization and proud of the teams I have led over the last several years, including legal/corporate compliance, policy, government and community affairs, and PACEpartners.

I want to thank Grace and my colleagues on the senior team for their support and guidance. Most importantly, I want to thank each of you for your role in making On Lok better and for the care you provide to our participants and the older adults we serve. It has been an honor to work beside all of you over the years.

I look forward to seeing On Lok continue being a leader in services and advocacy for older adults. I will miss you, but I hope to come back to celebrate On Lok’s successes in the future.