Longtime Auburn senior center director Radine Lozier to retire after nearly 40 years

Radine Lozier, the director who has overseen the Auburn Senior Activity Center for nearly four decades, will retire on June 15, she and Mayor Nancy Backus said in a recorded interview. Lozier told Backus she began work with the city in June 1986 after graduating from Central Washington University with a degree in gerontology and took what she called a "life's calling" in serving older adults.

Lozier said she started at about age 21 and that an internship at the Renton Senior Center helped launch her career. "It was baptism by fire," she said of early staffing gaps and the need to create programming on the fly. Over the years, Lozier said, the center expanded its offerings from traditional social gatherings to hikes, sports, trips and other activities designed to attract baby boomers and new generations of participants.

Why it matters: Backus and Lozier emphasized that city support and regular budget approval from the Auburn City Council allowed the senior center to focus on participant services rather than constant fundraising. Lozier contrasted Auburn’s model with nonprofit-run centers where staff may lack livable wages or insurance and must spend time keeping doors open.

The center’s day-to-day work included both social programming and practical supports. Lozier said the center opens at 8 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m., and that volunteers form a substantial part of operations — "we have about 180" volunteers who staff tasks such as answering phones and running lunch shifts. Programs and services also evolved so that participants who first came for hikes or outings could later rely on the center for transportation, meals and other supports as they aged.

Lozier and Backus recalled the strain of the COVID-19 pandemic, when the center pivoted to drive-through events and prepared meals for hundreds of isolated seniors. "It was awful," Backus said of the quieted center; Lozier described organizing parades and delivering meals so participants would not feel forgotten.

Lozier described the center’s culture as intentionally nonjudgmental and community-focused. "The easiest thing would be to kick somebody who's a pain in the butt out," she said, but added that staff work to set boundaries while providing support to those who need it. She also credited volunteers and longtime participants — including a decades-long volunteer, Tommy Swanson — with sustaining the center’s daily life.

On legacy and next steps: Asked what she wants to be remembered for, Lozier said, "I want to be remembered most for providing for every senior," and for being a source of honest advice and practical solutions for other centers across the state. Backus closed the interview by thanking Lozier for 40 years of service: "You have been a true gift to this community," she said. Lozier told Backus she plans to continue volunteering for events such as the center’s Santa breakfast after her retirement.

The recorded conversation does not include any formal council actions or budget figures; Lozier and Backus repeatedly credited council budget support in general terms but did not specify dollar amounts. The center’s retirement date is set for June 15; Lozier said she expects to remain active in community events thereafter.