{"id":457731,"date":"2026-09-09T01:04:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-09T01:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/457731\/"},"modified":"2026-09-09T01:04:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-09T01:04:13","slug":"2026-change-maker-honoree-german-ayon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/457731\/","title":{"rendered":"2026 Change Maker honoree: Germ\u00e1n Ayon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

The Sacramento Bee and Nehemiah Leaders Programs are celebrating this year’s 60 Change Makers. Join them at our gala at 5:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 13 at the Grand Sheraton in downtown Sacramento. Buy tickets at sacramentochangemakers.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n

When Germ\u00e1n Ayon was 7 years old, he was already challenging doctors.<\/p>\n

His grandmother, Paula Casillas, noticed something was wrong with her pacemaker. Her doctor, however, didn\u2019t immediately recognize how badly it troubled her. The young boy, who translated his grandmother\u2019s Spanish to English, refused to let the issue go until doctors took another look. They discovered his grandmother was right. She needed surgery.<\/p>\n

That early lesson \u2014 that people are too often unheard until someone advocates for them \u2014 became the foundation of Ayon\u2019s career.<\/p>\n

Now 29, the first-generation Mexican American and first in his family to graduate from college oversees case management and program development for Agency on Aging Area 4. He helps older adults, people with disabilities and caregivers across a seven-county region remain safely in their homes. Rather than simply leaving people to connect a web of services on their own, he has helped build systems that make those services more responsive and easier to find.<\/p>\n

His philosophy is deceptively simple: People seeking help should help define the solution.<\/p>\n

That person-centered approach influences everything from housing and transportation assistance to Medi-Cal and CalFresh enrollment to disaster preparedness and long-term case management. Under Ayon\u2019s leadership, staff don\u2019t simply hand callers a phone number. They stay on the line during three-way calls, continue to follow up weeks later and adjust plans when circumstances change.<\/p>\n

After learning about an innovative caregiver support platform from another agency, the Sacramento State graduate brought it to the region. The new Care for Caregivers program delivers personalized coaching, educational resources and one-on-one support through a combination of text messaging and case management. As someone who helps care for both his mother and an aunt with dementia, Ayon understands the emotional and financial strain caregivers shoulder.<\/p>\n

His influence extends well beyond his agency. He led development of the Yuba-Sutter Local Aging and Disability Action Plan, strengthening collaboration among public agencies and community organizations. As accessibility lead for Sacramento Pride, he helped add wheelchair ramps, mobility equipment, accessible seating and American Sign Language interpreters, ensuring the celebration welcomed everyone.<\/p>\n

\"German Germ\u00e1n Ayon, program manager and disaster response coordinator at Agency on Aging Area 4, poses for a portrait after being recognized as one of this year’s Change Makers on Thursday, July 9, 2026. JOS\u00c9 LUIS VILLEGAS jvillegas@sacbee.com <\/p>\n

Despite his growing resume, Ayon measures success differently than many leaders.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe greatest impact,\u201d he said, \u201cis helping people feel seen and supported.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s a philosophy rooted in a childhood spent advocating for one grandmother. Today, it shapes programs that help thousands of Californians age with greater dignity, independence and hope.<\/p>\n

Related Stories from Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n


\n \"Profile
\n <\/a><\/p>\n

Cathie Anderson<\/a><\/p>\n

The Sacramento Bee<\/p>\n

Cathie Anderson covers economic mobility for The Sacramento Bee. She joined The Bee in 2002, with roles including business columnist and features editor. She previously worked at papers including the Dallas Morning News, Detroit News and Austin American-Statesman.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Sacramento Bee and Nehemiah Leaders Programs are celebrating this year’s 60 Change Makers. Join them at our…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":457732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":["post-457731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sacramento","tag-sacramento","tag-sacramento-headlines","tag-sacramento-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=457731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/457731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/457732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=457731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=457731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=457731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}