The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) awarded TCIL’s Senior Systems Change Advocate/Community Organizer Cindy Calderon the 2019 Region IX Advocate of the Year Award. Region IX includes California, Arizona, Nevada, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands and the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. Only one advocate receives this award for each region each year, so it is a distinguished award which recognizes exemplary achievement and service to the disability community.
In 2003, Cindy began what was to become a passionate career as a Systems Change Advocate at Tri-County Independent Living. An activist at heart, she started to advocate for the IHSS program and has become a statewide-recognized IHSS advocate. She has held various offices in statewide IHSS advocacy organizations. Through the Humboldt County IHSS Advisory.
Committee, she and her team members have improved the program locally by offering a one day conference on energy preparedness, IHSS issues, producing a bulletin that they designed to go out quickly due to time-sensitive information for the recipients.
Cindy was asked to become the President of the California Supportive Services Consumer Alliance (CICA) a non-pofit organization whose mission is to offer education and networking opportunities to the State’s Advisory Committees on IHSS, to help them fulfill their mandate. She has just completed her 3rd term as its President. CICA has provided standing room only trainings in Sacramento for years. TCIL is proud of Cindy Calderon for her award as an exceptional and remarkable advocate for people with disabilities locally and statewide.
