In recognition of her tireless work to improve the circumstances of families and children with low-income backgrounds, Rose Padilla Johnson, the former president of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, received the prestigious Global Citizen Award from the United Nations. For nearly three decades, Rose Padilla Johnson has overseen operations for Davis Street Community Center, serving residents from San Leandro and the surrounding county. Davis Street’s McCammon Health Center delivers high-quality primary and preventative medical care, including breast cancer screenings. A low-cost or free breast cancer screening is one of the most effective ways to address the disparity in breast cancer survival rates between women with high incomes and women with low incomes. Women who are wealthier are also more likely to have access to regular screenings and follow-up care. Conversely, women from disadvantaged socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to be diagnosed at later stages and delay treatment, which results in higher breast cancer morbidity rates. To reverse this, clinics serving women from low-income backgrounds must increase access to routine breast cancer screenings and educate the women on their treatment options.
The CEO of the Davis Street Community Center, Rose Padilla Johnson has been a highly visible presence in the San Leandro community for many years. Under the direction of Rose Padilla Johnson, Davis Street tackles the issue of food insecurity by providing food and nutritional assistance to more than 6,000 San Leandro and Alameda County residents every year.In Alameda County, about 13 percent of residents were food insecure in 2016. The Alameda County food bank estimates that one-fifth of the county’s population has accessed food assistance services. Poverty and food insecurity are interrelated. In Alameda County, households must earn more than $92,000 dollars a year to afford housing, food, medical care, and other basic necessities. However, thousands of local families make less than half of this amount. Families facing financial issues may have difficulty purchasing enough food for their household and must turn to food pantries and other community services.
Since 1991 Rose Padilla Johnson has led Davis Street Community Center, Inc., in San Leandro, California, as chief executive officer. In this position, Rose Padilla Johnson oversees an array of community services, including nutritional cooking classes, directed at the most underserved populations of San Leandro and its surrounding areas. The cooking classes offered by Davis Street Community Center are broken into two key segments. Families begin by learning how to budget for, shop for, and prepare healthy meals, including foods with cultural significance. Cooking classes are led by professional nutritionists in the ultramodern Demonstration Kitchen and may be delivered in Spanish, Cantonese, or English.Following cooking lessons, participants are immediately paired with a wellness coach who emphasizes the importance of a balanced diet and identifies life strategies that can help families maintain healthy eating habits. These personalized consultations can address specific living situations, such as preparing meals for adults or children living with diabetes. Nutritional cooking classes are open to all Davis Street clients, particularly those coming from low-income communities of color and people who have recently immigrated.
Rose Padilla Johnson has led Davis Street Community Center, Inc., in San Leandro, California, as chief executive officer since 1991. Under the guidance of Rose Padilla Johnson, the Alameda County community services sector hosts a variety of programs, including nutritional cooking classes for residents of San Leandro and the surrounding areas.Held in a state-of-the-art demonstration kitchen, Davis Street cooking classes are led by a professional nutritionist who teaches individuals and families not just about cooking techniques and food preparation, but also how to establish and maintain a healthy, well-rounded diet. Perhaps most importantly, nutritional cooking classes are conducted with affordability and cultural relevance in mind.Instances of hands-on training are paired with tips on how to find quality ingredients and healthy alternatives at the local grocery store. Davis Street also provides information regarding relevant services maintained by nearby food pantries, several of which donate grocery bags and food to the program. Finally, lessons offered by the nutritionist are later emphasized by a wellness coach. The wellness coach helps participants identify and follow through on lifestyle changes that can reduce the health risks associated with obesity and elevate a person’s overall level of health.
Having begun her career working with families of low income, Rose Padilla Johnson now serves as chief executive officer of Davis Street Community Center in San Leandro, California. Rose Padilla Johnson also belongs to the San Leandro Rotary Club, through which she has worked with the Faces of Hope project in Guatemala.Established in 2005, Faces of Hope helps Guatemalan children to receive medical care. The nonprofit program annually sends medical professionals and nonmedical volunteers to the country in order to perform surgeries on cleft lips and palates. Prior to the surgery, many of these children have not left their homes or attended school due to their conditions. In addition, they may not know how to speak clearly.In 2018, Faces of Hope sent more than two dozen medical professionals and volunteers to fulfill its mission. The group worked in the hospital affiliated with Obras Sociales del Santo Hermano Pedro and collaborated closely with the Guatemalan nonprofit Asociación Compañero Para Cirugía (Partners for Surgery). Before the participants headed home, they completed 59 surgeries.
As the CEO of Davis Street (DS), Rose Padilla Johnson has endeavored to pursue her passion to help the low-income families living in San Leandro and the surrounding towns of Alameda County. Since Rose Padilla Johnson assumed office, DS has grown from a $380,000 agency to a $10.5-million agency. The growth was attributed to DS programs that proved to be helpful in achieving the goals of the organization. One of the unique programs at DS is the nutritional cooking classes.DS boasts of an innovative demonstration kitchen. A DS nutritionist shows participants the ways to prepare healthy and culturally relevant meals at the least possible cost. All the ingredients in the cooking classes come from donations to the DS pantry. Participants are also trained how to shop for nutritious ingredients with limited resources. DS also provides its clients with printed materials, available in different languages, to educate them about the risks associated with obesity.After all the hands-on training, DS assigns a wellness coach to each participant for one-on-one coaching for improved health, eating habits, and reduced incidence of obesity. The program has proven to make an impact. For instance, diabetic participants have experienced tremendous weight reduction, losing as much as 10 pounds in one month. More importantly, diabetics are able to maintain blood sugar levels without taking medications.
As the CEO of the Davis Street Community Center, Inc., Rose Padilla Johnson is intricately involved in organizing and leading the center’s numerous community outreach programs for the greater San Leandro area. Founded in 1991, Davis Street serves more than 15,000 people per year by providing access to comprehensive resources that address families’ financial, mental, and physical well-being. Rose Padilla Johnson is also a longtime member of the San Leandro Rotary Club and has spearheaded the organization’s involvement with Faces of Hope.When a baby is born with a cleft lip or palate, an opening exists between its mouth and nose, prohibiting the roof of the mouth from closing completely. Aside from external deformities, the condition can make eating and swallowing extremely difficult. The cleft lip or palate can also cause speech impairments and social stigma. Faces of Hope provides surgeries for children suffering from these conditions, in the hope that it will help kids lead confident, self-sufficient lives.Since 2005, Faces of Hope has sent teams of medical and non-medical volunteers to Guatemala to provide life-giving surgeries to patients with cleft lips and palates. Volunteer teams consist of surgeons and dentists, people who care for the families of those receiving surgery, individuals who cement current partnerships, and medical professionals who provide additional training to local medical personnel.
