Joaquin is a retired County of San Diego employee with over 30 years of experience. He was instrumental in the creation of the local Area Agency on Aging, now known as Aging and Independence Services. In addition to his work in gerontology, Joaquin taught courses at San Diego State University for many years.

Joaquin is a member of the California Commission on Aging and has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. He holds a Bachelor’s degree in Philosophy, a Master’s in Religion, and a Ph.D. in Human Behavior with an emphasis in Gerontology. He is passionate about helping older adults and is excited to continue working with EL&A to address the challenges they face.

In his retirement, Joaquin enjoys gardening and cooking—particularly paella.

During my early years of work, I was involved in the creation of the EL&A, and later I monitored the contract between the county and EL&A. They are meeting a great need, and the funding EL&A receives is never sufficient to address all their challenges. Unfortunately, older persons are quite often taken advantage of and being abused.