2022 Grand Marshals and Honorees
Grand Marshals
Mr. Rod Diridon and Dr. Gloria Duffy joined by their four grandchildren.
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Rod’s ancestor came to our Valley with John Fremont in 1844, returned to Arkansas, and brought his wife and children to California. Rod fell in love with our Valley when attending San Jose State University and, after two combat tours to Vietnam as a naval officer, he returned to start a business and enter public service. Serving as a Saratoga Councilmember at 30 and County Supervisor and Transit Board member by 34 allowed him to focus the following 20 years on building the Valley’s embryonic transit system. He chaired nine rail project boards, led studies that created Caltrain, Capital Corridor, Altamont Commuter Express, begin the BART extension study, and VTA. More recently he chaired the California High Speed Rail Authority and Co-chairs the US High Speed Rail Coalition with Secretaries LaHood, Foxx, and Mineta (bless you, Norm!). Rod has chaired more than 100 local to international programs most focused on sustainable transportation. In 1995 the San Jose Diridon Station, the reconstruction of which
Rod chaired after the Loma Prieta earthquake, was rededicated in his honor. He devotes his life now to fighting climate change. July 4th is a very meaningful holiday for Gloria and her family. Her ancestors came to the Pennsylvania colony in 1750, fighting for American independence in the Revolutionary War. Her teenaged great-grandfather joined the Union Army, fighting in the Civil War for the abolition of slavery and to preserve the American Union. Her father left college after one semester in 1943 to join the fight against Hitler, while her mother entertained for the USO and covered the war as a radio broadcaster. Gloria’s own service has been to strengthen global security by decreasing the danger from nuclear weapons. After two decades working at a think tank, a public interest organization, a research institute she founded, two foundations and Stanford, Gloria served in the Pentagon during the Clinton Administration as Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Cooperative Threat Reduction. She and her colleagues worked with former Soviet countries to dismantle thousands of their nuclear, chemical and biological weapons, providing US assistance. The CTR program continues to work on the safe and secure dismantlement of weapons of mass destruction, worldwide. Since 1996, Gloria has been President and CEO of the Commonwealth Club, the largest and oldest public forum in the US. She and her colleagues have welcomed many new participants to the Club, making it an inclusive civic forum for the Bay Area. She has served on/chaired two dozen non-profit boards, and cares for her 98-year-old mom, who lives with her and Rod. On Tuesday, July 5 th Gloria will attend the first meeting of the Congressional Commission on the US Strategic Posture, to which she is appointed by Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. Gloria and Rod are very proud of their children Rod, Sabra, and Mary and grandchildren Allen, Aaron, Avery, and Rod. |
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Community Artist Grand Marshal
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Community Catalyst Grand Marshals
Presented by the Womanhood Project
Artist - Alexandra LuongAlexandra is a marketing professional by day, and an artist by night. She has lived in many places but was born in and has spent most of her life in San José. She creates works of art centering around her interests, namely food and fashion, as well as to honor her Vietnamese heritage and the cultures around her. She is a predominately digital artist, although she occasionally dabbles in traditional mediums such as inks and acrylics.
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Artist - Dana Harris SeegerDana is a painter, printmaker and educator. She holds an MFA from San Jose State University and has taught at institutions all over the US. She is currently the Program Director of the School of Visual Philosophy in San Jose, California, an organization she co-created in 2014. She was the 2020 Santa Clara County Artist Laureate and is one of the current Creative Ambassadors of San Jose. Dana’s work focuses on navigating through the space of memory.
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Artist - Maylea SaitoMaylea is a 2.5 generation Chinese and Japanese American mixed media artist and cinematographer from San José, CA. Whether behind a camera or in front of a blank wall, Maylea often uses art as a channel for reflection and introspection. Through her work, she explores the celebration of identity, cultural memories, and the intimacy of shared experiences. Outside of her creative practices, she’s an avid solo traveler, live music geek, and a fledgling endurance athlete.
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Artist - Pantea KarimiPantea is a multidisciplinary artist incorporating VR, performative video, sound, traditional and digital print, and drawing. Her installations investigate and highlight personal narratives, political and societal issues, and Iran’s visual culture through the historic illustrated scientific documents. Karimi has exhibited internationally across a range of solo, group, and traveling exhibitions. She is the recipient of many awards including the 2022 Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, and the 2022 Mass MoCA the Studios Residency Award.
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Artist - Sofia ArredondoSofia Arredondo (she/her) is a lifetime resident of San José and a teaching artist. Her mantra is “Life is Short, Make Art First”. Sofia is inspired by her wide interests and passion for crafts, art, history, design, and fashion. Her artwork is heavily influenced by symbols and iconography related to Chicana and Chicano visual arts, family storytelling, cultural, and contemporary influences. For over nine years, she has run Sea Senorita Studios bringing original art, apparel, and one-off accessories to local art events, pop-ups, and Etsy.
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Honoree - Adrienne KeelAdrienne is a proud graduate of Evergreen Valley College and San Jose State University, where she received her BA in Psychology in 2010. Her foray into queer organizing and community building began with participating in queer student organizations during high school and college, and while in college she had the opportunity to facilitate support groups for queer and trans students at Andrew Hill High School. Not long after graduation, she was hired as an Outreach Worker at the LGBTQ Youth Space and she has been with the program since. She now serves as Director of LGBTQ Programs and has spent over a decade with Family & Children Services and Caminar. She was awarded the Santa Clara County Behavioral Health Services Department’s “Mover and Shaker” Community Hero Award in 2018 and the Commission on the Status of Women’s Community Hero Award in 2021. She prides herself on approaching her work through an intersectional and strengths-based lens.
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Honoree - Gabrielle AntolovichGabrielle Antolovich has a 40-year career in Australia, Los Angeles, and San José in treatment and prevention of substance use . Since the 1960s, Antolovich has been an activist in fighting the abuses of capitalism, land rights, women’s liberation, HIV/AIDS issues, and LGBTQ rights. From 2000-2015, she was the executive director of the non-profit Voices United, where she also produced their newspaper, New Times, and a local television show. A photographer and writer, Antolovich has been the Board President of the volunteer-run Billy DeFrank LGBTQ+ Community Center for the last six years, bringing together her non-profit experience and long-term connections in the community.
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Honoree - Kathy CordóvaKathy is a woman of the community and rebirth, Kathy Córdova is a 1985 graduate of San José State University in the Social Science department. While attending SJSU, she was the student body president and was involved with the Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (MeCHA), the LGBTQ+ community and Greek life. As a student, she developed great interpersonal skills working with diverse communities and environments. Her abilities to connect with people have allowed Córdova to be involved in community building for over 30 years. She is the founder of Recovery Café, a healing community for people traumatized by addiction, homelessness, and mental health challenges. As a woman who has experienced the challenges of addiction, Córdova’s metamorphosis has helped those with similar trauma work on transforming their lives.
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Honoree - PJ HirabayashiPatti Jo, known as PJ, is recognized in the North American Taiko community for her artistic performances and teaching style. Hirabayashi is a third-generation Japanese American who grew up in the Bay Area. She was an active child in dance classes like ballet and tap. In 1977, she received her master’s degree in Urban and Regional Planning from San José State University, her master thesis focused on the preservation of San José Japantown. After her graduation she immersed herself in the Japantown community and started working with SJSU students in the Asian American Communities classes. From the 1970s until 2011, Hirabayashi was the San José Taiko artistic director creating the audition process, workshops, school shows, and residences. San José Taiko traveled and performed in Japan and throughout the United States wearing costumes she designed. Today, PJ Hirabayashi is the founder of TaikoPeace and co-founder of Creative Compassionate Communities – a grassroots art-ivist group in San José.
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Honoree - Sera FernandoSera is a proud queer, transgender, Filipinx woman born and raised in San Jose. She is a Senior Management Analyst and the Interim Manager for the Santa Clara Office of LGBTQ Affairs. As a diversity and inclusion practitioner and grassroots activist, she serves as the Chief Diversity Officer for Silicon Valley Pride, Executive Board of Governor for HRC, and California District 28 Assembly Delegate. Sera leverages her platform advocating for social justice, focused on the importance of equity and intentional in lifting up the voice of intersectional storytellers worldwide.
Lifetime Community Contributor Honoree
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