Rita Saenz grew up as the second oldest in a family of nine children. She says it was a perfect learning situation for working with volunteers, although, she admits that she and her brothers and sisters were not always willing volunteers around the house. Since she was 18, Rita has worked with, and served as a volunteer – beginning as a community organizer while living in East Los Angeles.
She says that one of her most rewarding experiences was as the Executive Director of The Holiday Project, which relied completely on volunteers except for herself and the bookkeeper. During those years 20,000 volunteers across the country visited and provided gifts to over 200,000 residents in nursing homes, and other institutions during the holidays. The theme of the program was “You are the Gift”, and Rita says this is where she really learned the value of volunteering.
Rita is a member of the CA Commission on Aging, appointed by Governor Brown in 2013 and reappointed in 2016 for another three-year term. She is on the Executive Committee and chairs the Legislative Committee.
She is also a volunteer member of the CA AARP Executive Council and AARP’s National Policy Council. In this role, her commitment to meeting the needs of seniors from all walks of life and supporting other volunteers gives her the most satisfaction. Their top issues have been the protection of Medicare, Social Security, and the Affordable Care Act. These efforts also include the issues of grandparents responsible for grandchildren, including their upbringing and often their student loans, plus consumer protection issues for older adults.
Rita volunteers on the Advisory Board for the UC California Program on Access to Care, which advises the University and the Legislature and serves on the Coalition on Asset Building California, which focuses on helping low-income families to protect their assets and building their resources. One of their top issues has been the Secure Choice Retirement of California, offering a chance for all workers have a chance to save toward retirement. Finally, representing AARP, Rita sits on the Latino Caregiver Coalition in Los Angeles, a two-year project designed to do outreach and better serve Latino family caregivers.