OLIVIA GUERRERO TO RETIRE AS PGCSC PRESIDENT/CEO
ANA MEDINA TO LEAD THE AGENCY INTO THE FUTURE
Olivia B. Guerrero Ana G. Medina
After an illustrious 40-year career as a recognized leader in aging and senior services, Olivia B. Guerrero, BSW, MS., will be retiring as President/CEO of Pinal-Gila Councill for Senior Citizens (PGCSC) Chairwoman Joan Koczor, Board of Directors announced. During her thirty-one (31) years of service for the organization she represented Pinal and Gila Seniors well. “We thank Olivia for her years of dedicated service to the seniors of Pinal and Gila Counties, and the incredible success of PGCSC under her leadership,” she added. “Olivia’s legacy of unwavering leadership and advocacy will live on, and we wish her all the best in her retirement”. Olivia will be retiring from PGCSC on August 31, 2021 and will spend her time both in Globe and Casa Grande with her beautiful mother Gloria, 94 years and her family. Ana G. Medina, current PGCSC Chief Operating Officer, has been named as Guerrero’s successor and will take on the leadership of PGCSC effective September 1, 2021.
Under Guerrero’s leadership the organization is seen as a reputable and innovative 501 (c) 3 organization. Guerrero added new services as they became available under the Older Americans Act, since 1990 including the Ombudsman, Medicare Counseling, Minor Home Repair, Direct Case-Management Services, Family Caregiver Services, Behavioral Health, Health & Wellness Programs, Substance Abuse Prevention, Mobility Management and many other projects. She will always be recognized for fulfilling the organizations’ long-time goal of having a permanent home, the administration building on 8969 W. McCartney Road and the newly dedicated “Jim Norris Central Kitchen”. She in turn credits the Board of Directors, Advisory Council, Administration and Program Directors and the entire staff and volunteers, and Area Agency - Provider Network who work tirelessly on each of the programs. “They are the ones who molded and developed their programs to fit the needs of our seniors. They are the real heart and soul of the agency’s success. Ms. Guerrero states that she has “always felt the agency was blessed because the common goal is to care for our seniors as if they are our own parents”.
A longtime colleague, Ms. Mary Lynn Kasunic President/CEO Area Agency on Aging, Region I – Maricopa County states, “I have always admired her innovations, in serving minority and rural elders; her retirement will leave a gap in the aging field and State of AZ”. Among her many affiliations, Ms. Guerrero served on the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging Board of Directors in Washington D.C. and chaired their first Diversity ad-hock aging committee. She is also a co-founder of the Latino Familia Initiative in Pinal County.
Through the succession planning process, the Administration has been working over the last few years on a plan to assure a smooth transition for the leadership of PGCSC when the time came. The PGCSC Board of Directors selected Ana G. Medina to be the next President and CEO of PGCSC reporting directly to the Board of Directors. She has been a long time resident of Eloy/Casa Grande, has an A.A. in Management from CAC, BS in Public Administration, and is a Certified Public Manager with over 30 years of experience in local government and non-profit operations. She is also a graduate from the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging Leadership Institute and the Hispanic Leadership Institute-Pinal.
Ms. Medina has successfully held the Chief Operating Officer position for the last 13 years. While overseeing 10 Senior Centers in Pinal and Gila she was able to solidify the Aging Provider Network while instituting the new Meals on Wheels of Central Arizona Operations. Her hard work will now enable Meals on Wheels and Senior Center Congregate meals to be extended to unincorporated areas and reach new communities. Besides running the corporation, she will provide oversight in fulfilling the designation requirements and mandates as the designated Area Agency on Aging, for Region V. The Area Agency on Aging is the focal point for regional aging services and is responsible for the planning, advocacy and administering of senior services and funding under the OAA and State DES, Aging & Adult Services (DAAS).
Mary Lou Rosales, Pinal-Gila Foundation Board, and CAHRA Executive Director is “confident Ana Medina is the right person to lead PGCSC into the future with her experience in governmental, non-profit and aging programs. Her keen sense of senior and community needs, and the value she places on the people/organizations who serve them, is the right combination for future success”.