First Fil-Am woman South SF mayor to lead abuse prevention team

Ignacio “Iggy” Nicolas swears in his grandmother as her predecessor Mark Nagales and the Nicolas family members watch. REY GUARIN

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO –  For the first time in its 114 years as an incorporated city, South San Francisco has a Filipino American woman for Mayor. Buenaflor “Flor” Nicolas on Dec. 13 took the gavel from her predecessor Mark Nagales, her fellow Fil-Am and the town’s first leader of Filipino descent.

Her official biography on the South San Francisco website lists her role as 2022 Vice President of ALLICE Alliance for Community Empowerment among her current engagements.  In fact, she is set to take her oath as 2023 president of the all-volunteer nonprofit whose mission is to prevent intimate partner and family abuse through education at free public presentations.  He predecessor now-Vice Mayor Nagales was one of the first men to join the organization in its early years.

ALLICE’s mission includes learning about and modeling healthy behaviors, making behavioral changes as needed, empathizing with and offering appropriate guidance to those who abuse who seek to change their behavior.

“Abuse is a learned behavior that can be changed with the help of trained peer counselors and clinical therapists like our Kumares and Kumpares or ALLICE members,” says Nicolas, wife to Nenar, mother to Genevieve Marie Nielson and Elijah-Giuseppe and grandmother to their children Ignatius Deltavio and Arielle Florina.  Grandson Iggy had the honor of swearing in his grandmother in her historic new office,

“I want to ensure that South City will be better than how we found it for the sake of future South San Franciscans,” Nicolas explained her choice of officiant to Inquirer.net.

Mayor Flor Nicolas celebrates with ALLICE Kumpares and Kumares and allies, from left: Eric Capalla, Noel Mulato, Allen Capallas, 2022 president Junior Flores, Elsa Agasid and 2022 secretary Jennifer Jimenez Wong. Photo by REY GUARIN

Nicolas is vice president and head of pharmacovigilance at Rain Therapeutics, marking her two decades in leadership roles in major biotech firms.  She and husband Nenar Nicolas settled down in South San Francisco as newcomers from the Philippines in 1988.

Challenges marked their earliest days when a fire razed to their new home.  The tragedy brought out the kindness of their neighbors, fellow parishioners and the families of their children’s friends, who rushed to their support as they rebuilt their lives.

That community spirit inspired Nicolas to dedicate herself to public service.  For 30 years today, she has taken time to head or assist endeavors to improve quality of life in her city.

From All Souls Church volunteer in her first year as a resident, she became a member of the SSF Housing Commission, Day in the Park Commission, Housing Authority Board Commission, and secretary of the Police Activities League or PAL boosters, all the while volunteering with Mater Dolorosa Church in her first decade.  From there she joined the Historic Preservation Commission and the Conference Center Authority Board Commission, where she served as Chair in 2014-15.

As Mayor, she aims to escalate her efforts to “improve our diverse city and make it more racially and socially inclusive and equitable,” she told Inquirer.net.

“We will continue our work on making our city age, youth, and all ability-friendly,” she promised.

Her successful professional and political career fueled rather than dampened Nicolas’ passion for volunteerism.

In 2019, the wife, mother and now grandmother of two added ALLICE Alliance for Community Empowerment, all-volunteer team of abuse prevention educators among her affiliations.  Nicolas co-sponsored the organization’s last major event before the pandemic abruptly brought all public activities to a full stop.

Recently she initiated steps for ALLICE to give a presentation at a City Council meeting to rekindle South San Francisco leadership’s involvement in the group’s education movement.

In February she is poised to officially preside over the team at its first in-person get-together after almost three years.

“I envision a return to our successful in-person events reuniting the public with family resource providers,” said outgoing ALLICE president Junior Flores, who led a delegation of Kumares or ALLICE female members in cheering the achievement of one of their own.