Simona Combi managed media relations for several nonprofit research and advocacy organizations, including the Center for Global Policy Solutions and the Urban Institute. Most recently, she worked for IQ Solutions—a NIH contractor—to support the National Institute on Drug Abuse’s press team. She brings experience generating national media coverage and preparing national level spokespeople for interviews.

Shannon Skowronski is the Team Lead in the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs, within the U.S. Administration for Community Living’s (ACL), Administration on Aging (AoA).  For over a decade, she has provided subject-matter expertise for AoA senior leadership, as well as managed a portfolio of grants, focused on healthy aging.  Previously, Ms. Skowronski served as a health policy analyst with RTI International. A former McGregor Geriatric Fellow, Ms. Skowronski holds Masters in Public Health and Masters of Social work degrees from the University of Michigan.

Kathleen Zuke was privileged to grow up with eight loving grandparents and developed a passion for supportive services for older adults as a caregiver for her grandfather. She has been a Senior Program Manager with the Center for Healthy Aging since 2015. In this role, she works collaboratively with community-based partners across the country to identify, implement, and sustain evidence-based programs that support older adults in staying well and aging in the community, including chronic disease self-management education, falls prevention, and behavioral health. She has a Master’s degree in Public Health from Hunter College and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.

Dr. Jennifer L. Tripken is an Associate Director, Center for Healthy Aging at the National Council on Aging. In this role, Jennifer supports the expansion and sustainability of evidence-based health promotion and disease prevention programs in the community and online through collaboration with national, state, and community partners. Prior to joining NCOA, Jennifer worked for eight years as a university professor in Health Education and Promotion. Before that, Jennifer spent six years as a middle and high school Health Education teacher in New York. 

Jennifer earned her Ed.D. in Health Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, her M.Ed. in Health Education at Boston University, and her B.S. in Athletic Training at Pennsylvania State University.

Donna Bethge is an Aging Services Program Specialist in the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs at the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Administration on Aging.  She worked in the aging network in Maryland for 10 years with Area Agencies on Aging and an assisted living community, developing and implementing programs for older adults, as well as supporting and promoting evidence-based programs before joining the team at ACL as the lead for the Falls Prevention grant program.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from Northern Kentucky University.

Dr. Gwen Bergen has worked in injury prevention at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for almost 15 years focusing most recently on older adult falls prevention and ensuring optimal older adult mobility.  She currently serves as the team lead for the Safety Promotion team which includes the older adult falls work.  She received her MPH from the Emory Rollins School of Public Health and her PhD from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. 

Daniel Thompson, MPH, is a Communication and Partnership Specialist at CDC Foundation detailed to CDC Division of Injury Prevention Safety Promotion Team to fulfill activities of a 5-year older adult falls prevention grant from Amgen. Daniel comes to CDC Foundation with more than 10 years’ experience in public health communication, health policy and partnership experience.  Previously, Daniel worked in advocacy and policy for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, North Georgia Heart Foundation, the Georgia OBGyn Society, and in a partnership development capacity with the Georgia Department of Public Health.  Most recently, Daniel served as a program manager with the Georgia Academy of Family Physicians for a statewide tobacco and vaping use prevention program. Originally from Atlanta, Daniel earned a bachelor of arts and masters of public health degree at Emory University.  Daniel and his wife, Misty, live in Gainesville, Georgia. 

Tracy Gariepy is a Certified Health Education Specialist (NCHEC CHES). She is currently on a fellowship with the CDC Foundation as the project coordinator for older adult falls prevention initiative under a grant from Amgen . Tracy is a Master Trainer for a Matter of Balance, an evidence-based fall prevention program for older adults. She holds an MS in Health Education and Behavior from the University of Florida, and is currently pursuing her PhD in Applied Health Research from Clemson University. Her most recent research with the university has focused on building capacity to prevent falls among older adults in rural South Carolina communities. Previously, Tracy was a Health and Wellness consultant in the athletic footwear industry for 12+ years. She is actively involved with her local YMCA as a personal trainer and competitive running coach, and resides in Easley, SC with her fiance Blair.

Dianne Stone has more than 20 years of experience with senior centers and aging issues, primarily as the Director of the Newington Senior and Disabled Center in Newington, Connecticut. Stone has also worked, volunteered, and held leadership positions with a variety of organizations in Connecticut, including Connecticut AgeWell Collaborative, the ADA Coalition of Connecticut, Connecticut Medicaid Oversight Council, and the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity. She joined NCOA in January 2022, as a member of the Center for Healthy Aging, where she is primarily focused on supporting senior centers throughout the country through the ACL-funded Modernizing Senior Centers Resource Center and NISC. 

As President and CEO of the National Council on Aging, Ramsey Alwin is leading a nationwide movement to ensure equitable aging for every American. 

Building on NCOA’s 70 years of service and advocacy for older adults, Alwin is renewing the organization’s commitment to improving the lives of millions, especially those who are struggling. She is sparking critical conversations about the resources every American deserves to age well—and what needs to change to ensure all have access.

A seasoned thought leader and policy advocate, Alwin has changed the way people think about older adult poverty and economic security. She designed a new measure of economic security for older adults that better accounts for out-of-pocket health costs and worked to introduce the Measuring American Poverty Act in Congress to redefine the federal poverty measure for the older population. Thanks to Alwin’s efforts, the U.S. Census Bureau formally implemented the Supplemental Poverty Measure nationwide, virtually doubling the elder poverty count and better demonstrating true needs among this population. 

Prior to leading NCOA, Alwin directed financial resilience global thought leadership at AARP and served as Director of National Economic Security Programs at Wider Opportunities for Women. Currently, she serves on the Executive Committee of the UN NGO Committee on Aging, the America250 Health and Wellness Advisory Council, and the National Academy of Social Insurance Finance Committee.

The Super Age™ was founded Bradley Schurman - a demographic futurist and opinion maker on all things dealing with the business of longevity. Schurman is also the author of The Super Age: Decoding our Demographic Destiny, as well as the co-founder and president of KIBA - an inclusive design firm dedicated to improving the built environment, with a focus on housing, hospitality, and the workplace. 

Prior to launching his entrepreneurial journey, Schurman worked for AARP where he led global partnerships. He’s responsible for the groundbreaking AARP Aging Readiness and Competitiveness Report, as well as for developing AARP’s relationships with the Asian Development Bank, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and the World Economic Forum.

Bradley is a social connector who has built his reputation by helping leading organizations harness the economic and social opportunities of our increasingly older and generationally diverse populations. He speaks regularly at in-person events, and his insights regularly inform media, national leaders, and corporate executives in the U.S. and around the world.