Alison Barkoff was sworn in as Principal Deputy Administrator on January 20, 2021 and is currently performing the duties of the ACL Administrator and the Assistant Secretary for Aging.  She provides executive leadership and coordination for ACL programs nationwide and advises the HHS Secretary on issues affecting people with disabilities and older adults.

A sibling of an adult brother with developmental disabilities and a civil rights attorney, Alison is a lifelong advocate for community living – both professionally and personally – and has been at the forefront of national efforts to expand the home and community-based services (HCBS) that make community living possible.

As part of countless coalitions of people with disabilities, older adults, and advocates, she has fought to uphold the rights of people with disabilities and older adults and advance policies to ensure their access to health care, housing, employment, education, and all other facets of community life. She has testified before Congress and the US Commission on Civil Rights on disability rights and community living.

She has served in a variety of leadership roles with disability rights organizations, including leading advocacy efforts at the Center for Public Representation and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

She also is a veteran of the federal government. As Special Counsel for Olmstead Enforcement in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, she led efforts to enforce the rights of people with disabilities to live, work and fully participate in their communities. She also led interagency initiatives with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on Medicaid HCBS and with the Department of Labor on direct care workforce issues.

Alison has brought that same focus on collaboration and coordination to her current role. Under her leadership, ACL is working with partners across HHS and the federal government on initiatives and interagency approaches to issues that affect people with disabilities and older adults, such as expanding access to HCBS and affordable, accessible housing; strengthening the direct care workforce; increasing competitive, integrated employment for people with disabilities; and advancing equity, to name just a few. 

Carole Johnson is the Administrator of the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).

Johnson joined HRSA from the White House COVID-19 Response Team. She previously served as Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, leading the state’s largest agency and providing health care and social services to one-in-five New Jerseyans. During her tenure as Commissioner, the Department expanded Medicaid coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services, created new Medicaid benefits to improve maternal health outcomes, and integrated Medicaid into the newly launched state-based Affordable Care Act marketplace. Under Johnson’s leadership, the Department also substantially increased child care rates for the first time in a decade, expanded food assistance benefits, and created an Office of New Americans to support the state’s diverse communities.

Johnson served for more than five years as the Domestic Policy Council public health lead in the Obama White House, working on the Ebola and Zika responses, implementation of the Affordable Care Act, and combatting the opioid epidemic. In addition, she served on Capitol Hill as health staff for the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and for members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Committee.

At the Department of Health and Human Services, Johnson previously managed health care workforce policy issues for HRSA. She also was policy director for the Alliance of Community Health Plans, program officer with the Pew Charitable Trusts health program, and senior government relations manager with the American Heart Association.

She holds a master’s degree in government from the University of Virginia.

Before joining the Domestic Policy Council as the Director of the Affordable Care Act and Health Care, Jessica worked at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) where she examined issues related to Medicaid and other coverage issues.  Prior to her role at CBPP, Jessica served in various capacities at the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services at CMS during the Obama Administration, working on Medicaid, CHIP, and the Basic Health Program and was an integral member of the Center’s senior leadership team.  Before joining CMS, Jessica worked at the District of Columbia’s Medicaid agency, helping to oversee the city’s school-based health services program, Medicaid waivers as well as implementation of health reform and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  Born and raised in western New York, Jessica graduated from Syracuse University and the George Washington University.

Twitter Handle: @JessicaSchubel

Andrea Palm is the DeputySecretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As DeputySecretary, she is the Chief Operating Officer and is responsible for overseeingthe day-to-day operations of the Department.

Palm most recently served as Secretary-designee of the Departmentof Health Services (DHS), overseeing one of the largest state agencies inWisconsin as a member of Governor Tony Evers' cabinet. In this role, she hadresponsibility for the state's Medicaid program, its Supplemental NutritionAssistance Program (SNAP), and behavioral health programs, among others. DHS isalso Wisconsin's public health agency, and as such, Palm led the state'sresponse to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Previously, Palm held a number of policy and operational roles inthe Obama-Biden Administration at HHS, including Acting Assistant Secretary forLegislation, Counselor, Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to the Secretary.During her eight-year tenure, she worked on a variety of Administrationpriorities, including the Affordable Care Act, as well as providing leadershipfor the Department's work to combat the opioid epidemic.

Palm was born and raised in rural, upstate New York. She holds aBachelor's degree from Cornell University and a Master's degree from WashingtonUniversity in St. Louis.

A familiar face on television, one of broadcasting’s most respected journalists and host of CBS Sunday Morning, Jane Pauley is praised by audiences for her relatable and personal inspirational message.  She advocates for people 50+ starting different careers, making a difference and pursuing their dreams.  She is also a highly regarded advocate for mental health, children’s health, and education issues. Jane Pauley's celebrity fills the room with optimism, and audiences often bring her back more than once, citing the warm reception she received by the audience.

Prior to anchoring on CBS, Pauley had a 13-year career on NBC's Today program and was also a co-host of Dateline NBC for 12 years. 

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.

Lily Liu is a family caregiver for her mother who has had Parkinson's Disease for almost four decades and is now living with early-stage dementia.  Her parents were refugees escaping the civil war in China in the late 1940s and spent almost five years in a refugee camp in French Indochina (now Vietnam) in the early 1950s.  Lily immigrated from Taiwan as a child and grew up on the East Coast of the United States.  Her career was spent in the non-profit sector in the field of strategic communications and public outreach.  After the death of her father, Lily took a hiatus from the workplace to care for her mother.  She currently engages in consulting work, in particular, delivering speeches about empowering family caregivers at community-education events.  Lily is fluent in speaking Mandarin Chinese and highlights in her presentations the challenges experienced by immigrant family caregivers who face issues of generational trauma in addition to caregiving responsibilities.  Her hobby is literary translation and her translations of the essays of contemporary Chinese women writers have been published in the United States and Asia.

Lisa M. Brown, Ph.D., ABPP is Professor, Director of the Trauma Program at Palo Alto University and an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Stanford University School of Medicine. Her clinical and research focus is on trauma, resilience, and aging. Dr. Brown has considerable experience collaborating with state, national and international organizations. She is actively involved in developing and evaluating programs used nationally and internationally, drafting recommendations aimed at protecting vulnerable individuals and communities, and improving access to resources and services. 

Leah Bergen Miller is the Associate Director at the Center on Holocaust Survivor Care and Institute on Aging and Trauma. She manages all JFNA-funded programs and technical support, as well as builds the national capacity to provide person-centered, trauma-informed care for Holocaust survivors, diverse older adults with a history of trauma, and family caregivers. From 2000 to 2015, she dedicated herself to improving the lives of refugees and internally displaced people by working as an advocate and program manager for refugees and asylees at HIAS, which aided her Holocaust survivor grandparents; a case worker for refugees at Church World Service-Joint Voluntary Agency in Nairobi, Kenya; an employment case manager for refugees and asylees at Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area in the Metro Washington area; a GED instructor for immigrants at Centro Hispano in Milwaukee, WI; and a disaster action team volunteer for internally displaced people at the American Red Cross in Arlington, VA. Before graduating from American University’s School of International Service with a BA in International Peace and Conflict Resolution, Leah processed asylum applications at US Citizen and Immigration Services’ Arlington Asylum Office. 

Dr. Erin Emery-Tiburcio is an Associate Professor of Geriatric & Rehabilitation Psychology and Geriatric Medicine at Rush University Medical Center, as well as Co-Director of the Rush Center for Excellence in Aging (aging.rush.edu). She is past-Chair of American Psychological Association Committee on Aging, and past-President of the Society for Clinical Geropsychology. Dr. Emery-Tiburcio is Co-Director of CATCH-ON, the Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program based at Rush University Medical Center (www.catch-on.org). Dr. Emery-Tiburcio also co-directs the brand new Engage, Educate, Empower for Equity: E4, The Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Disparities in Aging at Rush (www.e4center.org). 

Lynn Cooper is the Behavioral Health Policy Specialist at the Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Ms. Cooper has over 25 years of experience working on regulatory and policy issues for mental health and substance use disorder treatment providers in Pennsylvania. She is now working with the Area Agencies on Aging to help improve access to mental health and substance use disorder services for older adults in the commonwealth. Ms. Cooper also has six years of lived experience helping her mother deal with mental health and substance use disorders in the last of her 85 years of life.

Leigh Ann Eagle is the Chief Operating Officer of the Living Well Center of Excellence (LWCE) at MAC, Inc., an area agency on aging that oversees Maryland’s implementation of Healthy Aging Evidence Based Programs. Ms. Eagle is responsible for all aspects of program management for LWCE. She created the Mid Shore Coalition for Chronic Disease. Under Leigh Ann's leadership, Living Well is connecting healthcare organizations with aging and community resources to coordinate statewide program delivery. LWCE is a one of twelve National Network Lead Entities funded by the U.S. Administration for Community Living.

Dr. Smith is the Regional Administrator for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services - Region VIII.  Dr. Smith is the former Director of the Colorado Division of Behavioral Health and Deputy Commissioner of Mental Health and Substance Abuse for the State of Colorado.  He is a Licensed Psychologist with over 30 years of experience in fields of forensic psychology, addiction psychology, suicide prevention, crisis intervention, integrated care and behavioral health policy and administration. Dr. Smith holds a PhD in Counseling Psychology from the University of Denver, a MA in Rehabilitation Counseling from New York University, and a BS in Psychology from Allegheny College.

Kristie Kulinski is a Team Lead in the Office of Network Advancement at the Administration for Community Living (ACL), an operating division of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Her work focuses on advancing strategic priorities related to the alignment of health care and social services, with an emphasis on sustainable partnerships between networks of community-based organizations and health plans/providers. Prior to her current role, Kristie led efforts in ACL’s Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs to support the implementation and sustainability of evidence-based health promotion programs.

Prior to joining ACL, Kristie held positions with the National Council on Aging and Partners in Care Foundation. She has a B.S. in Human Development and Family Studies from Penn State University and a Master of Social Work from California State University, Northridge.

Dr. Bell Washington is a Quadruple Board Certified Physician who specializes in Adult Psychiatry, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Lifestyle Medicine, and Obesity Medicine. She will graduate with her MPH in Health Policy with a concentration in leadership and minority health policy in May 2022. In 2020, Dr. Bell Washington received the Outstanding Teaching Faculty of the Year Award in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Wake Forest School of Medicine and the National Medical Association’s Post-Graduate Section’s “Top Physician under 40” Emerging Leader award. She was named one of the 40 under 40 Leaders of Minority Health by the National Minority Quality Forum in April 2022 and is a trustee for several national organizations including; currently serving as a Delegate from the American Psychiatric Association to American Medical Association Young Physicians' Section, AMA ambassador leadership steering committee for the past two years, and as an executive member on several national organizations such as the Black Psychiatrists of America (501c3), Council of Black Obesity Physicians and African American Wellness Project (501c3). Dr. Bell Washington is passionate about advocacy, research, improving diversity and equity in leadership and decreasing stigma and bias surrounding chronic illnesses such as mental health disorders and obesity prevention and treatment. 

Patricia Nece, J.D., advocates for the eradication of weight bias, science-based obesity treatments, and access to those treatments. She encourages change by sharing her personal experiences with life-long severe obesity. Patty is Chair of the Obesity Action Coalition, a 75,000-member organization dedicated to representing the interests of those affected by obesity. She is also a member of the National Academies of Sciences Roundtable on Obesity Solutions, the World Obesity Federation’s Policy and Prevention Committee, the Global Obesity Patient Alliance, and the Lancet Commission on Obesity. A noted advocate, Patty has been invited to speak at numerous venues including the Obesity Medicine Association, the George Washington University School of Medicine, the Partnership for a Healthier America, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the Society for Behavioral Medicine, Obesity Canada, and the Society for Human Resource Management. She has testified before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and participated in U.S. Congressional briefings. Patty recently retired from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Solicitor’s Office after 37-years of service. 

Dorothea K. Vafiadis, is the Director of Health Partnerships and Strategic Engagement at NCOA. She has 20+ years' experience in public health and working with non-profit organizations. She has a track record for building and sustaining high-value relations, surpassing revenue goals and achieving reach and impact with mutually aligned partners. Vafiadis leads NCOA’s healthy aging strategy and oversees project management for the Obesity Education and Awareness Campaign, the Healthy Bone Initiative and the Wellness and Pain Relief program. Prior to NCOA, Vafiadis served as Director of Healthy Living for the American Heart Association, where she oversaw board-appointed science committees and convened multinational food companies for the purposes of optimizing their healthy food offerings and improving the food landscape. She played a major role in launching the national Healthy for Good campaign, a science-based campaign to drive behavior change. Prior to AHA, Vafiadis worked on federal nutrition policy at USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy & Promotion.

Yeates Conwell, M.D. is Professor and Vice Chair of Psychiatry at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry. A geriatric psychiatrist, he is academic co-chief of the Division of Geriatric Mental Health and Memory Care, co-director of the University’s Center for the Study and Prevention of Suicide, and a member of the University of Rochester Aging Institute Executive Committee. Dr. Conwell received his medical training at the University of Cincinnati and completed his Psychiatry Residency and a Fellowship in Geriatric Psychiatry at Yale University School of Medicine. In addition to teaching and mentoring internationally, clinical care, and service system development, Dr. Conwell directs an inter-disciplinary program of research in aging, mental health services, and suicide prevention. 

Mary Chase Mize, PhD, APC, NCC, is a postdoctoral research associate at Georgia State University and co-primary investigator of "Equipping the aging network to address social isolation, loneliness, and elevated suicidality among vulnerable older adults during COVID-19 and beyond: A partially nested randomized control trial of the BE WITH Innovation" funded by ACL. Dr. Mize completed her dissertation under the direction of Dr. Laura Shannonhouse, who currently leads the BE WITH project. Dr. Mize is an Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training (ASIST) trainer, and serves as assistant director of the HOPE Lab at GSU. Dr. Mize is also a part-time mental health clinician with Jewish Family and Career Services of Atlanta, where she works with older adults and individuals who have experienced grief and ongoing struggles with suicide. Her research interests include community-based suicide prevention and intervention efforts within the aging services network, as well as preparing professional counselors to work with older clients.

Jeffrey Shultz volunteers to promote mental health wellness and suicide awareness. After Gettysburg College, he worked in both automotive and pharmaceutical sales, and as VP of Sales for a successful start-up nutraceuticals company. In 2012, his son died by suicide. Jeff has lived through the trauma of his son's death and his own depression and suicidal ideation. 

With a career in sales/sales management, plus 40 years as a youth leader/teacher/mentor in church & civic organizations, he now serves NAMI Kent and Queen Anne's along with AFSP Maryland on the Delmarva Peninsula. Jeff's roles include speaker, family group facilitator, social media and publicity & outreach chair, and Out of the Darkness Walk chair. 

Dr. Sirey is a Professor of Psychology in the Department of Psychiatry of Weill Cornell Medicine.  Her research interests include the development, implementation and dissemination of psychosocial interventions to improve mental health treatment in later life in non-mental health settings. She is the current the Principal Investigator for the Weill Cornell ALACRITY for Mid- and Late-Life Mood Disorders (P50 MH113838) and has an R01 (MH 124966) to test the comparative effectiveness of Behavioral Activation delivered by MSWs and Peer Coaches to older adults with depression. In 2021 she was awarded the Spero Award for Community Psychiatry from Weill Cornell Medical College.

Previously, Dr. Sirey has received funding from the NIMH to the increase the use of mental health services among depressed community dwelling elders (NIMH R01 079865) and to conduct a multi-site study of a brief psychosocial intervention to improve treatment adherence among depressed elders in primary care settings (NIMH R01 087557). In addition to her research, Dr. Sirey is implementing multiple service delivery projects to bring evidence-based psychotherapy to hard-to-reach adults with mental health needs.

Dr. Sirey and her team deliver mental health services in 16 senior centers in NYC. In addition, Dr. Sirey remains active in community development of new services by serving on the New York State Interagency Geriatric Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders Planning Council and the Chair of the Westchester County Geriatric Mental Health Collaborative, an interdisciplinary group of aging and mental health providers, consumers, and advocates. She serves on the Advisory Board of the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance and is a reviewer for National Institute of Health review panels as an expert on stigma and depression in later life.

Sean Johnson, MA, CRSS is Research Specialist and Project Coordinator at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Center on Mental Health Services Research and Policy. He is an advocate for recovery education and peer-driven support services. Sean draws from his lived experience to fuel his passion for serving others by providing opportunities for empowerment through evidence-based practices that enhance both group and individual wellness. Sean collaborates with Dr. Judith Cook and Jessica Jonikas at UIC in program development, implementation, and evaluation for the Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP®) for Seniors Project, funded by the federal Health & Human Services Administration for Community Living to deliver wellness self-management education to individuals aged 60 and older across Illinois.

At the age of 24, Warren Campbell enlisted into the United States Marine Corp. He proudly served his country for 22 years and earned the rank of Gunnery Sergeant. He is a peer supporter, who has helped many Marines get the resources they needed to be mentally and physical fit for duty. He likes to keep himself active by volunteering in his community and can be found during hockey season watching the Carolina Hurricanes game. He resides in NC with his six dogs and two cats.

Keri Lipperini is the Director in the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs, within the Administration for Community Living’s, Administration on Aging.  For over 25 years, she has worked in health and wellness, 20 of those years she has been working specifically with the aging and disabilities populations. Prior to her work at AoA, Ms. Lipperini served as Program Manager for Calvert County Maryland where she oversaw Calvert’s health promotion and nutrition programs. Keri is a former United States Navy Hospital Corpsman. She holds Masters in Public Administration (MPA) with Health Care focus from Troy State University and Bachelors of Science degree in Health Care Administration from Southern Illinois University.

Robyn Golden, LCSW, is the associate vice president of population health and aging at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago, where she also holds academic appointments in the Departments of Medicine, Nursing, Psychiatry and Health Systems Management. She is responsible for developing and overseeing health promotion and disease prevention, mental health, care coordination and transitional care services for older adults, family caregivers and people with chronic conditions.  Golden is key to the development of interprofessional models of care for Rush’s population health programs. She is currently the principal investigator for the HRSA Funded Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program and the Commonwealth Funded Primary Care Redesign Project.

For over 30 years, Golden has been actively involved in service provision, program development, education, research and public policy aimed at developing innovative initiatives and systems integration to improve the health and well-being of older adults and their families. In 2003-04, she was the John Heinz Senate Fellow based in the office of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton in Washington, D.C. Golden is a past chair of American Society on Aging and currently co-chairs the National Coalition on Care Coordination. She also is a fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and of the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare and is an NASW Social Work Pioneer. She received the Gerontological Society of America’s 2017 Maxwell A. Pollack Award for Productive Aging.