Yellow Roof Foundation’s Lori Sanson Selected as “Woman of the Year”

Yellow Roof Foundation is proud to announce that Co-Founder Lori Sanson has been named a “Woman of the Year” at the California Legislative Women’s Caucus (LWC).

During a recent special ceremony, LWC acknowledged March as Women’s History Month, and celebrated California women from every legislative district for their contributions to the state. LWC branded its floor ceremony, “California Women Making Herstory,” giving every member of the Legislature the opportunity to honor a ‘herstory’ maker from their District.

Lori was selected by Assemblymember Timothy Grayson as Woman of the Year for the 15^th Assembly District.

“I am completely humbled and incredibly honored by this recognition,” said Lori. “Yellow Roof is guided by a dedicated and passionate Board of Directors that work with me side-by-side every day to realize our mission of building affordable rental housing opportunities for families and individuals at risk of homelessness. I share this honor with our board, our partners and most importantly, the Yellow Roof residents!”

The mission of Yellow Roof, a 501(c)(3) public charity founded by Lori and her husband Dave, owners of Concord, Calif.-based DeNova Homes, is to assist those who are hardworking, contributing members of their community but are experiencing hard times due to circumstances beyond their control and are at risk of becoming unhoused. As the serious housing crisis continues to grow in California, especially in the affordable housing arena, so has the population who may be on the verge of homelessness.

For its efforts, Yellow Roof was selected last year as a California Nonprofit of the Year by Assemblymember Grayson.

Since its inception, Yellow Roof Foundation has been hard at work raising money through fundraisers and private donations to bring its mission to life. On April 30, 2023, it will hold its third annual “Raise the Roof” event at The CIA at Copia (Culinary Institute of America) in Napa with country music sensation and 2023 Grammy Award-winner Carly Pearce providing the entertainment. With sponsorships sold out, Raise the Roof will raise hundreds of thousands of dollars for Yellow Roof and the development of affordable homes.

To purchase for the Carly Pearce performance at Raise the Roof, please visit https://yellowrooffoundation.networkforgood.com/events/50711-raise-the-roof-2023. For more information on Yellow Roof Foundation, visit YellowRoofFoundation.org.

A list of all the honorees by district follows:

LWC Sonya Christian, Ph.D.
SD 1 Marjeanne Stone
SD 2 Abby Abinanti
SD 3 Linda Cantey
SD 4 Anamika S. Chand
SD 5 Mana Shooshtari
SD 6 Anne Marie Schubert
SD 7 Janet Frazier — see story
SD 8 La Shelle Dozier
SD 9 Lateefah Simon
SD 10 Rona Popal
SD 11 Mary Y. Jung
SD 12 Lisa A. Smittcamp
SD 13 Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, Ed.D., LCSW
SD 14 Tamara Cobb
SD 15 DeAnna Pursai
SD 16 Lola G. Lerma
SD 17 Celia Moses
SD 18 Martha Zapata
SD 19 Graciela Casillas
SD 20 Maribel Garcia
SD 21 N/A
SD 22 Lizette Salas
SD 23 Barbara Riordan
SD 24 Maryam S. Zar
SD 25 Mary J. Alvord
SD 26 Evelina Fernández
SD 27 Iliana Tavera
SD 28 Karen Bass*
SD 29 Kelly Vlahakis-Hanks
SD 30 Mary Su
SD 31 Yolanda Esquivel
SD 32 Bridgette Moore
SD 33 Lucia Veloz
SD 34 Samantha Maria Soto
SD 35 Karen Bass*
SD 36 Mai Huynh
SD 37 Kate Wheeler
SD 38 Jennifer Ianoale
SD 39 Toluwalaṣé (Laṣé) A. Ajayi, MD
SD 40 Bari Landry Vaz
Lieutenant Governor: Ebony Ava Harper

AD 1 Heather Hadwick
AD 2 Jacque Williams
AD 3 N/A
AD 4 Quirina Orozco
AD 5 Laura Didier
AD 6 Dr. Olivia Kasirye
AD 7 Tanya Kravchuk
AD 8 Naomi Tobias
AD 9 Kathryn Siddle
AD 10 Josefina “Josie” Patria
AD 11 Regina Yin
AD 12 Joanna Paun
AD 13 Karen Rickman
AD 14 Michelle Milam
AD 15 Lori Sanson
AD 16 Deanne Pearn
AD 17 Jian Qing Zhang, DNP, MS, FNP-BC, NEA-BC, FAAN
AD 18 Elaine Brown
AD 19 Alicia Boccellari
AD 20 Aisha Knowles
AD 21 Gloria Rhodes Brown
AD 22 Rosalinda Vierra
AD 23 Dr. Belinda Hernandez Arriaga, EdD, LCSW
AD 24 Connie De Grange
AD 25 Tamara Mozahuani Alvarado
AD 26 Anne Kepner
AD 27 Stephanie Dietz
AD 28 Rosemary Chalmers
AD 29 Jennifer Laine
AD 30 Francisca Arroyo Rosales
AD 31 Genoveva Islas
AD 32 Kelly Habroun
AD 33 Honorable Connie Conway
AD 34 Penny Shubnell
AD 35 Esther Manzano
AD 36 Janette Angulo
AD 37 Terri Maus-Nisich
AD 38 Lynn Edmonds
AD 39 Dr. Aleka Jackson-Jarrell
AD 40 Mary MacAdam
AD 41 Dr. Devorah Lieberman
AD 42 Amy Bernstein
AD 43 Sonia Smith Kang
AD 44 Jane Viar
AD 45 Aisha Little
AD 46 Nina Tassler
AD 47 Dr. Andis Almasi
AD 48 Jenica Morin-Pascual
AD 49 Gay Q. Yuen, Ph.D.
AD 50 Annette Chavez
AD 51 Abbe Land
AD 52 María Brenes
AD 53 Diane Smyers
AD 54 Connie Chung Joe, JD
AD 55 Lillian Wilson
AD 56 Grace Wang Caltabiano
AD 57 Sade Elhawary
AD 58 Priscilla Grijalva
AD 59 Lina Tullberg
AD 60 Lizbeth Magallanes
AD 61 Ahmanise Sanati
AD 62 Maria Mendoza
AD 63 Gale Webb
AD 64 Priscila Coronado
AD 65 Supervisor Janice Hahn
AD 66 Colonel Mia Walsh
AD 67 JoAnna Schilling
AD 68 Martha Rivera
AD 69 Zoe Nicholson
AD 70 Dr. Bhikkhuni Elizabeth Vo
AD 71 Janette Chun
AD 72 Noella Passarelli
AD 73 Dr. Shaista Malik
AD 74 Robbie Calderon Hass
AD 75 Cynthia Elizondo
AD 76 Arcela Nuñez-Alvarez
AD 77 Carol Kim
AD 78 Dr. Wilma J. Wooten
AD 79 California Secretary of State Shirley N. Weber, Ph.D.*
AD 80 Josephine S. Talamantez

* Also a 2023 LWC Herstory Recordbreaker