Our Board of Directors:

For thirty-five years Gwen was a Registered Nurse in the Bay area, culminating in the position of Senior Project Manager for the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital at Stanford. Since moving to the Central Coast, Gwen has volunteered with Friends of the Elephant Seal, and as a Certified Yoga Instructor has also taught yoga. In 2016 she was first introduced to the Showers of Blessing mobile shower program in Santa Barbara and knew immediately that this was a program that was needed in San Luis Obispo County. She applied and received a grant from Presbyterian Women USA that supported the formation and launch of Shower the People. Gwen now works with a team of volunteers that keep the program reliable, clean, and dynamic. Gwen says, “People have come to trust the shower program. We work to create a welcoming environment for all involved.”

Aracelli Astorga is the Deputy Director for the County of San Luis Obispo Public Library system. Aracelli learned about Shower the People (STP) in July 2019, while she was serving as the San Luis Obispo branch manager, and contacted Gwen Watkins, STP’s Board President. They shared an interest in creating a new shower site in San Luis Obispo and the library, centrally located, seemed ideal. After getting approval from city and county, STP started offering showers at the SLO library later that summer – and has been there ever since. The library is one of STP’s busiest locations, showering 20–25 guests every Sunday. Aracelli says she “truly appreciates Shower the People and all they do,” and wanted to be a part of their effort to bring hot showers to the unhoused throughout the county. Like her commitment to libraries, her goal is to make services available to everyone. She says she is “honored to be on the board,” and the feeling is mutual.

Jean is the Board Secretary for Shower the People. Before that, she worked in Student Affairs for over 30 years. She helps the board by taking minutes and managing all of our paperwork and records. When asked why she decided to become a part of Shower the People, she answered: “I have a strong heart for social justice issues.” Her husband is an international human rights lawyer, so this area of life is nothing new to her. She wanted to serve the community and when Shower the People reached out to her, she knew this was meant for her. Jean thinks this organization is making a huge impact on the community and is happy to know that the work she does for the board is supporting an organization that helps people with what they need. She loves being able to witness people use the showers to be able to go into work and work towards bettering themselves.

Gary is a San Luis native, and was in the military and worked at Diablo Canyon before retiring. He has been a part of Shower the People since it started in 2018. He is our operations manager where he coordinates volunteer efforts, maintenance, procurement, and day-to-day necessities. He also sits on the board as our treasurer. Gary loves Shower the People because of the visible change it has in people’s lives and their demeanor. He loves seeing the difference before and after they take a shower, and knows that he is contributing to the organization that is helping them out. He recognizes that we can’t fix homelesness but know that we can touch part of it by providing showers. Gary appreciates all of the volunteers that go out each way to assist at the showering sites and knows it couldn’t be done without them.

For many years, Rick has served as a Boy Scout leader, a soccer and baseball coach, a 4-H mentor, a Sierra Service Project leader, and a guitar-playing music leader at his church. Rick now serves as Driver and Maintenance Coordinator for Shower the People. His first task was to help design and order our new shower trailer. Then, in September 2018, he flew to Topeka, Indiana to inspect the unit before it was shipped to California. Since delivery, Rick has made dozens of upgrades and modifications to the trailer. He really enjoys doing the work, but says that what motivates him is providing hot showers to our guests. He says, “They are so appreciative of something most of us take for granted.” Rick always greets guests with “Good to see you!” and a smile.

Dr. Rawlings is a faculty member at the Family Medicine Residency at Marian Regional Medical Center as well as a practicing emergency physician in King City. He helped to start a street medicine team in 2020 with others from Marian and with collaboration among other community health and service organizations locally. He, along with a team of resident physicians in training, social workers, and community health workers try to reach people experiencing homelessness and provide health screenings, food, clothing, basic hygiene, and harm reduction, and make connections to follow-up care. Dr. Rawlings knows how important showering is, not only for physical health but also mental health, and knows that Shower the People helps people work towards their next step, whatever it may be. He says “I feel privileged to be part of an organization that provides this service for people and gives them so much towards their dignity.”