The San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame, established in 1984, is an important and lasting way to recognize the incredible work of women of all ages and walks of life in our community. Every two years a new slate of *women, including outstanding high school students, join the ranks of some of San Mateo County’s greatest contributors, an honor roll that today reaches over 300 individuals. This year we are celebrating our 36th Women's Hall of Fame and are proud to hold our ceremony during International Women's Day weekend in March.
36th San Mateo County Women's Hall of Fame Inductees Announced
Tickets Available on Eventbrite at https://bit.ly/WHOF2026
Download the Women's Hall of Fame Sponsorship Information.
Past Sponsors include Skyline College, California Commission on the Status of Women & Girls, Stanford University's Office of Government Affairs, the Lucille Packard Children's Hospital, Silicon Valley Community Foundation, Kaiser Permanente, and Gilead Sciences.
We are excited to announce the Honorees for the 2026 Women's Hall of Fame and Young Women of Excellence!
Andrea Jones is a Bay Area born leader whose career has been dedicated to advancing the well-being of children and families. From her early work as a community arts instructor, to leading nonprofits, and eight years in local philanthropy, Andrea has focused on helping communities design systems that better support families. She currently serves as the consulting Director of the Children’s Collective and the countywide Child Care Blueprint, guiding a process that brings together parents, providers, business leaders, advocates, funders, and public agencies to advance equitable, sustainable child care solutions. She is known for her ability to translate community voice into actionable strategy, align diverse stakeholders, and move ambitious plans from vision to implementation.
Andrea’s deep Bay Area roots have shaped her enduring commitment to strengthening the communities she calls home. Guided by the belief that meaningful change happens when people are empowered and connected, she focuses on building solutions that reflect the real challenges families face in balancing care, work, and home. Her work is grounded in collaboration, dignity, and equity, and in bringing people together to create systems that truly work for families. Andrea lives in Redwood City with her husband, daughter, and two very energetic (and slightly chaotic) pets.
Terry Nagel has been an active community leader since 1985, organizing local residents for grassroots causes, volunteering for schools and serving on the Burlingame City Council for 12 years, including three terms as mayor. Working with various organizations, she has consistently been committed to civic engagement, transparency in government, emergency preparedness, equity and justice.
Terry helped bring computers, music and art to Lincoln Elementary School in Burlingame as PTA co-president in 1985 and later led the school district’s PTA Council. She is best known for winning better electrical service from PG&E for Burlingame after many months of unexplained power outages. She organized residents in a group called Burlingamers Unwilling to Live with Blackouts (BULB), which sent 250 complaints to the California Public Utilities Commission and convinced PG&E to spend $5 million on infrastructure improvements. Power outages in the city decreased 85 percent from 2002 to 2003.
While serving on the City Council, she emphasized civic engagement, transparency and equity, and launched initiatives that focused on sustainable growth and disaster preparedness. She won approval for the city’s first campaign finance reform measure, started a community recognition program to honor outstanding volunteers and advocated strongly for renters’ rights, brokering agreements with property owners that delayed evictions and refunded renters’ deposits. Just for fun, she started the Burlingame Pet Parade in 2004.
As Chair of Sustainable San Mateo County’s Board of Directors since 2019, she developed the county’s first Sustainability Dashboard and Sustainability Ideas Bank, arming decision-makers with city performance data and proven strategies for a greener future. Under her stewardship, SSMC’s budget stabilized and expanded. The nonprofit formed new community alliances and began teaching students how to research sustainability solutions and advocate for sustainable policies in local government. Some of those interns have gone on to impactful public service roles.
Terry also serves on the boards of the Burlingame Neighborhood Network (BNN), which she founded in 2006, and the Citizens Environmental Council (CEC), which she helped start in 2008 after leading a Green Ribbon Task Force that created the city’s first Climate Action Plan. BNN has led emergency drills involving hundreds of residents each year since 2012, and CEC offers an annual student film festival, funds scholarships and presents environmental programs on cutting-edge topics.
Throughout her career, Terry has advocated tirelessly for environmental reforms and safer, more equitable communities, building consensus across the county and uniting communities to implement progressive, lasting solutions.
Alyson (Lee) Suzuki is a first-generation Chinese American systems builder and champion whose work has reshaped equity, access, and opportunity for families across San Mateo County and the Bay Area. Raised in a low-income household in New York City by her mother, who immigrated to the United States in search of stability and a better future, Alyson developed an early understanding of how language barriers and systemic gaps can determine a family’s future. That lived experience continues to inform her approach to leadership and change.
With more than 30 years of leadership across education, social services, and nonprofit work, Alyson has built durable, community-rooted solutions that address inequities at their source. She is known for taking on complex systems, navigating them with precision, and creating pathways that did not previously exist. As the Founder and CEO of Unitedly, she established a nonprofit dedicated to advancing language access, early childhood education, family support systems, and youth leadership for Asian families and other underserved communities.
In partnership with community organizations and San Mateo County leadership, Unitedly created the first Child Development Associate credential pathway for Chinese-speaking educators in the county, a milestone that expanded professional mobility while strengthening culturally responsive care for children and families. Under Alyson’s leadership, Unitedly also launched the Game Changers Youth Leadership Program, which redefined opportunity for AANHPI student basketball athletes by investing in their leadership, civic engagement, and long-term growth on and off the court.
In addition, Alyson also serves as Co-Chair of the Chinese Health Initiative of San Mateo County, a cross-sector partnership uniting county agencies, healthcare providers, community organizations, and residents to expand culturally and linguistically responsive health and mental health services. She has also served on the boards of Pets Are Wonderful Support and the YWCA. Her leadership training includes graduation from the Asian Pacific American Leadership Institute and Parents for Change, an initiative of Parents Helping Parents.
A proud basketball mom of two sons, Alyson is a devoted advocate for children with disabilities and special needs. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master’s degree in Strategic Human Resources Management. Her honors include the California Governor’s Scholarship for Women in Public Service.
Alyson is honored to be inducted into the San Mateo County Women’s Hall of Fame and to stand alongside the extraordinary women whose leadership has shaped the region. She does so with deep respect for the women who paved the way before her and in solidarity with the many leaders advancing equity alongside her. Her work reflects a lasting commitment to building more just and inclusive systems for all.
Danika Gonzalez Johnston is a senior at Half Moon Bay High School and is from Pescadero. After recovering from severe anorexia, she has grown to become an artist, a leader, a teacher, and an advocate for her rural community, other Latinx youth, and others with eating disorders.
As an artist, she served as a 2024-2025 San Mateo County Youth Arts Fellow representing District 3 in the Performing Arts. During her term, she created a bilingual, CCSS-compliant theater curriculum that guided students at Pescadero Elementary School through writing and performing their own play that uses both Spanish and English. She is passionate about addressing the underrepresentation of Latinx and rural students as well as the lack of multicultural celebration on stage. Additionally, she volunteers year-round at Coastal Repertory Kids Theater’s K-8 education program as an assistant teacher. She is also a dedicated actor herself, having performed in several shows.
As a health and wellness advocate, she currently serves as a second-year member of UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospital Youth Advisory Council, sharing her experiences on panels for new residents and nurses and helping to plan hospital proms. She is also a weekly volunteer at San Mateo Medical Center, helping patrons navigate the hospital in Spanish and English and observing hand hygiene protocol adherence in patient care areas. Moreover, she volunteers with the Eating Recovery Center as an alumni panelist, speaking to virtual groups who support loved ones with eating disorders. With ERC, she has provided interviews with FOX 2 News and KPDO radio to bring awareness to the barriers faced by Latinx and rural populations in accessing eating disorder resources. As an intern under the Office of Supervisor Ray Mueller, she helped work on a wide variety of projects ranging from South Coast resources to human trafficking. Most notably, this year, she is helping to plan San Mateo County’s Eating Disorder Awareness Week.
Danika is proud to come from a bilingual, bicultural home with her Guatemalan father, Californian mother, equally ambitious sister, and seven pets.
Amani Shroff is a senior at Carlmont High School in Redwood City, California. She has served on the San Mateo County Youth Commission, a group that represents 90k+ youth, for the past three years and currently holds the role of Chair. During her tenure, Amani has led and contributed to numerous initiatives focused on civic engagement and youth empowerment, including organizing events to connect young people with local volunteer organizations and civic leaders.
Amani has also worked to develop youth voter educational materials aimed at encouraging civic participation from an early age. Passionate about women’s issues, she serves as a Youth Commission Liaison to the San Mateo County Commission on the Status of Women, where she elevates youth voice and collaborates on initiatives such as creating youth-friendly materials for the OYE Conference. At school, she leads the Policy in Action Club, facilitating discussions and projects that promote empathy and understanding across differences, including a mental health mural art initiative. Beyond her civic work, Amani is a Sunday School teacher to more than 40 young girls, teaching language and cultural traditions through storytelling, discussion, and interactive activities. Amani is also a published poet and enjoys writing pieces centered on social justice. In the coming year, she looks forward to attending Stanford University and continuing her commitment to fostering positive change and expanding opportunities for young people in her community.
* “Women / Girls” refers to gender expansive adults & youth (cis, trans, non-binary, gender non-conforming, and gender queer).
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Women's Hall of Fame & Young Woman of Excellence Celebration!
Save the Date: March 6, 2026, 4:30-6:30pm