MY SISTER'S HOUSE: BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Board of Directors has monthly meetings on the third Wednesday of each month. If you are interested in becoming a Board Member, please contact (916) 396-4992, or email us.

OFFICERS
President
Tam M. Ma
Office of Senator Sheila J. Kuehl

Tam Ma is a Legislative Consultant for California State Senator Sheila J. Kuehl. She advises the Senator on state policy issues relating to violence against women, including domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, among other subjects. Tam represented the Senator on the Attorney General's Task Force on the Criminal Justice Response to Domestic Violence and subsequently worked on legislation to implement the Task Force's recommendations for statutory change. She is a founding member of the National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum-Sacramento Chapter and volunteers with the Friends of the Sacramento Public Library.

President-Elect
Gaurav Kalra, JD

Gaurav Kalra is an attorney and founder of Veda Counsel, a business litigation law firm located in Sacramento, California. Gaurav is a state-certified domestic violence advocate and has previously volunteered for two domestic violence agencies.

Vice President
Darrel “H” Woo, JD
CA Department of Insurance

Darrel Woo is a Senior Attorney at the California Department of Insurance. An active member in the Sacramento community, Darrel serves as a member of the Sacramento City Planning Commission, President of the Asian Bar Association of Sacramento, and General Counsel of the Organization of Chinese Americans. Darrel is also an Adjunct Professor at Lincoln Law School of Sacramento and is an avid runner and rower.

Vice President
Monica Hart

Secretary
Angela Lai, JD

Treasurer
Al Lee
Al Lee is a retired State Government executive with over 30 years experience in governmental finance and operations management. He is a senior consultant with CPS Human Resource Services providing services to state and local governmental agencies. He is a volunteer with the American Red Cross as an instructor and disaster services responder deploying on many local and national disasters and also assists other non-profit agencies serving the needs of the Asian/Pacific-Islander community. Recently he was the recipient of the prestigious Henri Dunant Award for meritorious service and personal commitment from the Sacramento-Sierra Chapter of the American Red Cross.

MEMBERS
Elaine T. Chiao
Cooperative Personnel Services

Elaine Chiao has been involved with My Sister's House since its inception in 1999. She is a current Board Member whose term will expire in 2007. She is retired from State government, but is currently a consultant with Cooperative Personnel Services, providing human resoures services to State agencies, local governments and non-profits.

Ligaya Hattari, Ph.D.
California Indian Manpower Consortium, Inc.

Dr. Ligaya Hattari promotes social justice for Native American and Asian/Pacific Islander community members through her work at California Indian Manpower Consortium and volunteer activities at My Sister’s House. As adjunct faculty in the Anthropology Department at California State University, Sacramento, she encourages students to reflect on their own internalized oppressions regarding US cultural diversity. She is a proud single mother to a 15-year-old boy who recently gave a presentation on domestic violence at his school.

Ditas Katague
Countrywide Financial Corporation

Ditas Katague has over 20 years of experience in the private, public and non-profit sectors. After directing California's most successful Census outreach campaign in 2000, Ditas was appointed by the Governor to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Transportation and Project Management at the Business, Transportation & Housing Agency. Currently, she is Vice President of Government Affairs for Countrywide Financial Corporation, a Fortune 150 company and one of the nation's largest mortgage lenders. Ditas is also an accomplished artist with her last show, "Portals" at the Barton Gallery in Sacramento.

Jennifer Kendall
Sacramento Asian Chamber of Commerce

Gloria M. Ochoa, JD
Past President
Senate Judiciary Committee

Gloria Megino Ochoa is the Deputy Chief Counsel to the California Senate Judiciary Committee. She has been involved in the drafting of legislation on domestic violence prevention and shelter funding since the 1970’s, when she graduated from UC Davis Law School. She has served in various capacities in local, state and federal government, and has maintained a private law practice over the years. Gloria has also served on the governing boards of many nonprofit community organizations. Gloria has three sons and two granddaughters.

Mona Pasquil
MSHC Partners

Moira Sharma, Psy.D
Kaiser Permanente

Dr. Moira Sharma is a psychologist with an experitse in domestic violence, and currently works for Kaiser Permanente at the Outpatient Psychiatry Department in South Sacramento. She was the assistant clinical director of a batterer intervention program in the midwest, and has worked with victims of domestic violence throughout her professional career. Moira also serves on the Healthcare Domestic Violence Network for Sacramento County.

Paula Winn
LiveNation

Paula Winn has been involved in diversity efforts for many years. She has served on many committees and boards supporting equal opportunity in housing, employment and social services for all.

Advisory Director
Captain Brian Louie
Sacramento Police Department & Asian Peace Officers Association

Captain Brian Louie is a 24-year veteran of the Sacramento Police Department. He is currently assigned to the Metro Division, which is responsible for providing public safety at large events that occur in the city. Brian is one of the founding members of the Asian Peace Officers Association and is currently serving on its Board of Directors.

Nilda Valmores has had the honor of operating My Sister's House, the Central Valley's only shelter for battered Asian/Pacific Islander women and children since September 2004. Prior to joining My Sister's House, Nilda served as the Community Development Director for Mercy Housing California for 5 years. For more than 15 years, Nilda has worked with non-profit organizations on a statewide level addressing issues affecting children and the poor in the education, social services, and housing arenas.

Other staff:

My Sister's House staff also includes a Shelter Manager, a Program Manager for the Women-to-Work program, and a bookkeeper.