After an illustrious career, Valorie Villela, Director of WELL Programs at On Lok, will retire this month. Valorie has been an integral part of On Lok's 30th Street Senior Center since its inception in the Mission neighborhood, where she has passionately supported seniors under the guidance of founder Hadley Hall. Inspired by Hadley's dedication, Valorie has championed the creation of a nurturing environment for seniors to thrive.

Valorie's journey began in 1981 as a bilingual Spanish-speaking nutritionist at the 30th Street Senior Center and as the only part-time bilingual Spanish-speaking instructor for City College’s Community Health Education Department. Driven by her commitment to meaningful work and empowering seniors regardless of income, she pioneered a food service program providing meals both in dining rooms and through home delivery. After six years managing the Nutrition Program and gaining operational insights, Valorie was promoted to oversee all center programs.

From 2020 onward, Valorie focused on strategic initiatives for active older adults, leading On Lok to launch innovative programs such as the Aging Mastery Program (AMP) in 2021. Developed in collaboration with the National Council on Aging, AMP has successfully completed 26 workshop cohorts by the end of June 2024, with 380 seniors benefiting from its ten-week curriculum. Due to its success, the program is now set to launch in Chinese on August 7th after being authorized to translate all the curriculum by the National Council on Aging.

Valorie's contributions extend beyond On Lok's walls, notably through the "Mission Nutrition" program, which has delivered meals to nearly 3,000 low-income San Francisco seniors. Her advocacy on food insecurity among older adults, particularly amplified during the COVID-19 pandemic, has been invaluable. She also played a pivotal role in developing the Always Active program, a comprehensive, evidence informed exercise program to hundreds of seniors both in-person and through virtual platforms.

Join us in celebrating Valorie's 43 years of dedicated service to seniors and her embodiment of our core values of Compassion, Excellence, Resourcefulness, and Inclusivity during her 37 years with On Lok. Her impact has been profound, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors.