Summit 2024: The Movement to Reframe Aging

Irene Diamond Professor of Productive Aging
Columbia University

John Beard, MBBS PhD, is Irene Diamond Professor and Director of the International Longevity Center- USA at Columbia University, New York. He was previously Director of Ageing and Life Course with WHO in Geneva. He was lead writer for the World report on ageing and health which underpins the current UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, oversaw development of the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) programme, and established the Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities. He has worked extensively with the World Economic Forum and participated in the US National Academy of Medicine Commission on Healthy Longevity.

Partner & Segment Leader, Health
Guidehouse

Alicia Harkness is a certified health care financial professional and certified change management professional. She is a founding partner at Guidehouse, where she serves as the Health segment leader and former diversity leader. She works with government, commercial, and nonprofit organizations to make a positive impact on society while balancing cost efficiency, service, quality, and compliance. In addition to Commercial Payers, Providers and Life Sciences companies, some of her government clients include the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Military Health System, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Harkness has more than 25 years of experience providing information technology consulting and managing teams. She previously was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a vice president at BearingPoint, and partner at KPMG Peat Marwick. In 2018, Harkness received the Women in Leadership Leading for Impact Federal Health IT Award. Harkness has a Bachelor of Science in business management from Lehigh University and attended INSEAD’s executive education program.

Assistant Professor of Sociology
University of California, San Francisco

Dr. Stacy Torres is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing, and an avid public sociologist. She is the author of the forthcoming book, At Home in the City: Growing Old in Urban America (University of California Press). A proud first-generation college graduate, Stacy grew up in New York City.

MACP Professor, Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell
Chief, Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, Northwell Health (Age Friendly Health System)

Dr. Maria Torroella Carney is a board-certified internist, geriatrician, and palliative care physician with clinical, research, administrative, and public health leadership experience. She has been at Northwell Health since 2012 and is currently Medical Director for Continuing Care and Chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine. She is Professor of Medicine at the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra / Northwell.

Dr. Carney trained in Internal Medicine at Georgetown School of Medicine and The New York Hospital - Weill/Cornell Medical Center and completed a research-oriented fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at The Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. She served as commissioner of the Nassau County Department of Health on Long Island, New York serving a population of 1.3 million residents from 2008-2011.

She has dedicated her career to promoting longevity, healthy aging, and high-quality care for older adults and those with serious illness. She was selected as a 2022-2023 Health and Aging Policy Fellow, a national leadership program. In May 2024, The Aging Revolution, a book co-authored with Michael Dowling and Charles Kenney will be published.

Director and Professor of Psychology
Lasell University

Joann M. Montepare, PhD, FGSA, FAGHE, FAPA (Director of the RoseMary B. Fuss Center for Research on Aging and Intergenerational Studies, Professor of Psychology, Lasell University) is the Chair of the GSA-AGHE Age Inclusivity in Higher Education (AIHE) Workgroup and Editor of the AIHE Newsletter. In addition to conducting research exploring social and personal perceptions of age, she is an advocate of intergenerational teaching and learning and has developed innovative educational programs such as “Talk of Ages” to bring older and younger learners together in and beyond the classroom across the curriculum. She is a co-investigator on RRF-funded research that guided the development of the Age Inclusivity Domains of Higher Education (AIDHE) model to promote age inclusivity in higher education and the Age-Friendly Inventory and Campus Climate Survey (ICCS) to assess campus practices and perceptions.

Office Director, Office of Community Health Improvement
Mississippi Department of Health

Kina L. White, DrPH, MHSA, FACHE is the Office of Community Health Improvement Director at the Mississippi State Department of Health (MSDH). Her office includes three Bureaus: Healthy Aging, Injury and Violence Prevention, and Community and School Health. Dr. White is the Principal Investigator for multiple federal grant programs, also serving as the State Lead for the Age-Friendly Public Health Systems Initiative (AFPHS) with Trust for America’s Health. Under Dr. White’s leadership, MSDH achieved Exemplar status as the 3rd U.S.-recognized Age-Friendly Public Health System in May 2023. Strategic efforts are underway for age-friendly communities, universities, and health systems to advance the development of an age-friendly ecosystem.

Dr. White serves on the National Rural Age-Friendly Initiative Interest Group. She is a board-certified Fellow in the American College of Healthcare Executives and currently serves as Regent for the American College of Healthcare Executives of Mississippi. With more than 20 years of leadership experience, Dr. White is an equity strategist with an extensive background in healthcare management, policy change, and public health administration. 

Dr. White holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from The University of Southern Mississippi, a Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and a Doctor of Public Health in Health Policy and Management from Jackson State University. In addition, Dr. White has completed a two-year NIH-R25 Clinical and Community-Based HIV/AIDS Research Training (CCRT) Fellowship at Brown University. Dr. White is a graduate of the Mississippi Economic Council’s Leadership Mississippi program. She is an Adjunct Faculty at Belhaven University in Adult, Graduate, and Online Studies. Dr. White is also a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. Dr. White has a sincere passion for working with underrepresented communities and increasing equitable access to improve health outcomes.

Senior Director of Special Initiatives and Partnerships
SAGE

Sherrill Wayland, Senior Director of Special Initiatives and Partnerships, serves as a trusted thought partner to national initiatives team members and SAGE staff across the organization. They lead the National Resource Center on LGBTQ Aging, serves as SAGE lead for the Long-Term Care Equality Index (in partnership with the Human Rights Campaign Foundation) and works in close partnership with SAGECollab, SAGECare, and the Diverse Elders Coalition. Sherrill began work with SAGE at the local level in 2008, founding the SAGE Affiliate in St. Louis, MO (now Missourians Aging with Pride). Sherrill earned a Master of Social Work degree from the Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, and has over 25 years of professional experience in the fields of education, disability, and LGBTQ+ older adult advocacy.

Division Director, Aging and Adult Services
State Department of Utah

Nels Holmgren is the Director of the Division of Aging and Adult Services at the State of Utah, which oversees programs mandated by the Older Americans Act to promote healthy and secure lifestyles for Utah’s growing senior population. Working with local partners, the Area Agencies on Aging, and other interested parties in the Aging network, the Division provides critical services to empower Utah’s seniors to remain independent in their own homes. Additionally, the Division oversees Utah’s Adult Protective Services which investigates cases of abuse neglect and exploitation among Utah’s seniors and vulnerable adults, and works to resolve protective needs, as well as the Utah Office of Public Guardian, which serves as the guardian of last resort for adults across the state.

During his time with the Division, Nels served on a number of related boards and commissioned and is currently the president of the board for ADvancing States, which represents state aging agencies across the nation. Prior to coming to the Division, he was a Senior Business Manager in Convergys Corporation’s healthcare and Pharmaceutical division.

Nels received Bachelor’s degree in English from Brigham Young University and his Masters of Business Administration from the Eccles School of Business at the University of Utah. He and his wife Emily are the parents of five children.

Chief Executive Officer
Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging

Beth Kowalczyk was named Chief Executive Officer for the Ohio Association of Area Agencies on Aging in January 2024 after serving 11 years as the Association’s Chief Policy Officer. Ms. Kowalczyk has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Kent State University and a Juris Doctorate from New York University School of Law. Ms. Kowalczyk has served in state government and was also a legal aid attorney for several years. Ms. Kowalczyk is also now serving her second term as a City Councilmember in Worthington, Ohio, and she is currently President Pro-Tem.

Secretary of Aging
Pennsylvania Department of Aging

In 2023, Jason Kavulich was nominated by Governor Josh Shapiro to serve as Secretary of Aging for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where one in three residents will be age 60+ by 2030. Secretary Kavulich is leading and advocating for an aging network of quality, sustainable programs that support Pennsylvania’s growing older adult population to stay healthy and active, age in their home settings of choice and thrive in their older years with safety and dignity. One of his first actions has been to lead the development of Aging Our Way, PA, a 10-year plan to transform the state’s infrastructure of aging services.

A lifelong resident of Scranton, PA, Jason has brought 24 years of experience within the human services field to the mission, most recently as director of the award-winning Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging.

Executive Director
Maine Council on Aging

Jess Maurer is the Executive Director of the Maine Council on Aging (MCOA), a multidisciplinary network of 140 businesses and community members working to ensure we can all live healthy, engaged, and secure lives as we age. She leads data-informed policy change efforts on issues related to ageism, equity, poverty, housing, transportation, workforces, and care. With the goal of ending ageism in Maine, Jess co-designed the Leadership Exchange on Ageism, an innovative program that has inspired over 200 leaders to take meaningful action on ageism. An attorney, Jess worked for 17 years in the Maine Office of the Attorney General.

Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging
Administration for Community Living

Kari Benson is the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging at the U.S. Administration for Community Living. In this role, Kari leads the Administration on Aging in advocating on behalf of older Americans. She guides and promotes the development of home and community-based services policy designed to afford older people and their caregivers the ability to age with dignity and independence and to have a broad array of options available for an enhanced quality of life. This includes the promotion and implementation of evidence-based prevention interventions proven effective in avoiding or delaying the onset of chronic disease and illness.

Healthy Aging Lead
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

Yen Lin leads Healthy Aging for the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in the US Department of Health and Human Services. She has led a series of national Symposia and action planning workshops to strengthen collaboration among public health and aging and adult services leaders to support the health and well-being of older adults. She leads strategic data visualization for the Healthy People 2030 initiative and advises several federal Healthy People workgroups, including Older Adults and Dementias Including Alzheimer’s. She represents ODPHP on interagency workgroups focused on health equity and environmental justice. She holds a Master of Public Health from Case Western Reserve University.

Director, AmeriCorps Seniors
AmeriCorps

Atalaya Sergi leads AmeriCorps Seniors, the federal grant-making office focused on engaging people aged 55+ in national service and volunteerism. She has spent her career as a leader in national service, community engagement, and education, working in the public and nonprofit sectors. Atalaya launched her former organization’s only AmeriCorps Seniors Foster Grandparent program and co-founded Los Angeles Generation to Generation, to engage older persons in supporting young children. At AmeriCorps Seniors she has led the development of new funding opportunities to support pandemic recovery, partnerships with Tribal nations, and workforce development - a service to work opportunity for older persons.

Chief Advocacy and Engagement Officer/Executive Vice President
AARP

As AARP's chief advocacy and engagement officer, Nancy LeaMond leads government relations and campaigns for AARP, widely seen as one of the most powerful advocacy organizations in the country. She also oversees AARP’s public education and outreach initiatives, including work to support America’s 48 million family caregivers.

Nancy has led many landmark advocacy campaigns for AARP, including the Fair Rx Prices Now campaign focused on convincing federal and state lawmakers to take action to lower the prices of prescription drugs. Her leadership in this arena positively influenced the historic signing of 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act to include helping millions of Medicare enrollees better afford their life-saving medications.

Nancy has been named by The Hill as a “Top Lobbyist” every year since 2011 and as one of Washington, D.C.’s Most Influential People Shaping Policy in the healthcare category by Washingtonian Magazine four years in a row.

Prior to coming to AARP, Nancy served as the chief of staff and assistant U.S. trade representative for congressional affairs at the Office of the United States Trade Representative. She also served in the Office of Management and Budget, the Department of Education and as chief of staff to a senior member of Congress.

Nancy holds a bachelor's degree from Smith College and a master's degree in public policy and city planning from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Senior Vice President of Research Interpretation
Frameworks Institute

Moira O’Neil serves as Senior Vice President of Research Interpretation at the FrameWorks Institute. In this role, she leads FrameWorks’ efforts to interpret and share communications science with the nonprofit sector so it can more effectively drive social change. Moira manages a team of communications professionals and social scientists who help fields of practice frame social issues in ways that have the proven power to deepen understanding and inspire action.

Health Reporter / Writer / Producer

Liz Seegert is an award-winning, independent journalist who has written about health for more than 30 years. Her primary beats currently include aging, social determinants of health, women’s health, and health policy. She’s the contributing editor on aging for the Association of Health Care Journalists, helping reporters better understand the topic’s many nuances. Her freelance work has appeared in dozens of national and local media outlets, including Fortune.com, The Wirecutter, TIME, Consumer Reports, The American Journal of Nursing, Medscape, and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Liz also co-directs two fellowships, mentoring and training emerging journalists in aging and in health reporting. Read more about Liz here.