Ginny Paulson has thirty years of experience as a program director, grant manager, and trainer in government-funded programs, with the last fourteen at the national level of the aging network. She has served in her current role as the State Health Insurance Assistance Program National Technical Assistance Center (SHIP TA Center) director at Northeast Iowa Area Agency on Aging (NEI3A) since 2014, after having been NEI3A’s Senior Medicare Patrol (SMP) National Resource Center director from 2007 - 2014. 

Prior to these national roles, she worked at the state, regional, and local levels. At the state level, Ginny managed Iowa’s statewide caregiver support and information & assistance programs at the Iowa Association of Area Agencies on Aging (i4a) from 2002 - 2007. In that role, she helped form Iowa’s first Aging and Disability Resource Center, a collaborative effort of Iowa’s aging and disability referrals networks. She also launched new information & referral software statewide. From 1997 – 2002, she worked at Hawkeye Valley Area Agency on Aging (now part of NEI3A), coordinating refugee outreach, caregiver support, information & assistance, and outcome measurement. She began her non-profit career in the field of children and family services. From 1992 – 1997, she managed local and regional childcare information & assistance programs at two community-based organizations in Iowa. 

As the SHIP TA Center director, Ginny ensures that Center goals and objectives are achieved in accordance with ACL policies, manages the overall grant processes, collaborates with leaders of other national resource centers, coordinates Center provision of technical assistance to SHIPs, and monitors the ongoing progress of Center staff and consultants in fulfilling their responsibilities to the project. She oversees the development of the Center’s website, training events, publications, and other online tools. In her national roles, Ginny has supported the launch of three federal data systems. She has written or edited newsletter articles, website content, and other training materials for SMPs and SHIPs, including data reporting manuals, Medicare training manuals, and volunteer risk program management and policy materials. From 2009 – 2014, she served on the national committee that oversaw the development and implementation of the national SHIP and SMP Volunteer Risk and Program Management policies, and she continues to provide technical assistance regarding these policies. Ginny earned a bachelor’s degree of English in 1986 from the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph Minnesota.

Emily McDonald leads the programmatic content and customer service strategy and execution across NCOA’s economic security product portfolio. She has 10+ years of experience working in multi-community, rapid-cycle innovation programs for older adults. Prior to joining NCOA she worked at the Center for Social Development at Washington University. Emily received her degrees from Trinity University and the School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis.

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.

Kathleen Cameron, BSPharm, MPH, has more than 25 years of experience in the health care field as a pharmacist, researcher, and program director focusing on falls prevention, geriatric pharmacotherapy, mental health, long-term services and supports, and caregiving. Cameron is Senior Director of the NCOA Center for Healthy Aging, where she provides subject matter expertise on health care programmatic and policy related issues and oversees the Modernizing Senior Center Resource Center.

Jennifer S. Brach, PhD, PT, FAPTA is Professor in the Department of Physical Therapy and Associate Dean for Faculty Affairs and Development in the School of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences at the University of Pittsburgh.  She is a physical therapist and epidemiologist with over 20 years of experience in patient-oriented research in aging and disability prevention.  She has demonstrated a strong commitment to a career in research, publishing over 100 manuscripts. She has also served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on multiple NIH/NIA and PCORI grants. Dr. Brach’s current work focuses on developing, testing and implementing exercise programs to improve mobility in community-dwelling older adults. Her long-term goal is to bridge the gap between clinical research, public health, and everyday practice by transferring the findings from clinical trials to practice settings and communities, where the findings will improve mobility and prevent disability in older adults.

Michelle Mai, MPH is the Senior Program Associate with the Center for Healthy Aging. She brings experience conducting outreach increasing public health education within the community. In this role with NCOA, she provides technical assistance to chronic disease self-management education and falls prevention grantees, striving to help them reach their grant goals as they implement evidence based programs into their community. Michelle received her Master’s degree in Public Health and Bachelor’s degree in Community Health from George Mason University.

Jesse M. Abraham recently retired from an over 30-year career as a business economist, most recently with Wells Fargo Bank. He currently serves as a Board Member and Research Director for the HomesRenewed Resource Center, a nonprofit promoting home modifications to support widespread aging in place. He recently completed a paper titled: ?Making it Safe to Age in Place: At no (net) cost to the government.? Dr. Abraham received undergraduate degrees from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a PhD in Economics from Princeton University.

Matthew Hubbard, MA, manages NCOA's federal executive branch efforts on issues and programs of concern to older adults, such as access to Medicare, Medicaid, and SSI. Matthew also works on policies relating to older adult financial security.

Kathleen Cameron, BSPharm, MPH, has more than 25 years of experience in the health care field as a pharmacist, researcher, and program director focusing on falls prevention, geriatric pharmacotherapy, mental health, long-term services and supports, and caregiving. Cameron is Senior Director of the NCOA Center for Healthy Aging, where she provides subject matter expertise on health care programmatic and policy related issues and oversees the Modernizing Senior Center Resource Center.

Shannon Myers is the lead Community Research Associate with the Community-Academic Aging Research Network and the Program Implementation Director and Faculty Trainer with the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging. In these roles, Shannon Myers works with researchers and the Wisconsin Aging Network to identify and develop high level evidence-based programs and oversees the Stepping On and Mind Over Matter programs nationwide and future programs entering their dissemination phase.

Shannon Myers has extensive knowledge of programming in local Wisconsin communities and has a degree in Health Promotion and Wellness from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point.

Shannon is no stranger to health and wellness, having spent over 15 years as an educator and trainer.

Before joining the Wisconsin Institute for Healthy Aging in 2014, Shannon Myers worked for 7 years as the Health Coordinator for the Aging and Disability Resource Center, collaborating with a diverse communities and range of organizations, including health care organizations, public health departments and researchers.

After a successful history in the health and wellness field thus far, Shannon now coaches and trains other individuals and partners how to achieve the same success and serves as the national expert for Stepping On and Mind Over Matter.

Michelle Mai, MPH is the Senior Program Associate with the Center for Healthy Aging. She brings experience conducting outreach increasing public health education within the community. In this role with NCOA, she provides technical assistance to chronic disease self-management education and falls prevention grantees, striving to help them reach their grant goals as they implement evidence based programs into their community. Michelle received her Master’s degree in Public Health and Bachelor’s degree in Community Health from George Mason University.

Monika is a Program Analyst in the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs at ACL. They worked for 4 years in the mental health field before earning a Masters of Public Policy and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Michigan with a focus in healthcare policy.

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 serves as the lead for the Falls Prevention grant program and as the Program Officer for the Chicago Housing Authority’s grant. Before joining the team at ACL, Donna 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.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Organizational Management from Northern Kentucky University.

Paige Denison serves as the Director of Health, Wellness and Project Enhance® at Sound Generations, a multiservice community-based organization located in Seattle, WA. Paige has 20+ years of experience working with health promotion programs for older adults and adults aging with disabilities. Nationally, Paige oversees the ongoing licensing, research coordination, adaptation and dissemination of two such programs: Enhance®Fitness (45 States and DC) and Enhance®Wellness (11 States). Regionally, her oversight focuses on supporting multiple interventions for diverse adult populations, chairing the King County Falls Prevention Coalition and providing operational guidance for the development of the region’s Community Information Exchange. Her work on multiple boards and committees includes NCOA’s National Falls Prevention Summit Planning Committee, University of Washington Health Promotion Research Center (HPRC) Community Advisory Board, American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Exercise Is Medicine (EIM) Older Adult Advisory Committee (2017- 2023) and the Evidence Based Leadership Collaborative (2013-2020).

Marlana Kohn, MPH, is a research scientist at the UW Health Promotion Research Center. Her current research includes older adult physical activity, workplace health promotion, and age-appropriate cancer screening in the context of program implementation and dissemination. She works extensively with community partners to expand reach of evidence-based programming through research and adaptation.

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.

Kate served as the Director of the Stanford Patient Education Research Center and Professor of Medicine in the Stanford School of Medicine. She earned her bachelor’s degree in nursing at Boston University, and her masters and doctorate of public health in health education at the University of California, Berkeley. She came to Stanford in 1979 while a graduate student at Cal to develop and research an educational program that emphasized self-help skills for people with arthritis. This program became the Arthritis Self-Help Course and was the prototype for the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program, The Diabetes Self-Management Program, the Positive Self-Management Program for HIV, the Cancer: Thriving and Surviving Program, the Building Better Caregiver's Program, the Chronic Pain Self-Management Program, and others. She has authored several books and many articles about arthritis, chronic disease in general, health education and behavioral science. She travels extensively at the invitation of organizations concerned with patient care and academic research. She lives in Mountain View, CA, with her 2 cats and a collection of Native American art.

Judy Simon, MS, RD, LDN comes to ACL most recently from the Maryland Department of Aging where she acted as the Nutrition & Health Promotion Programs Manager. Throughout her career, Ms. Simon has focused on delivering high quality community-based nutrition and health promotion programs, including administering statewide Older Americans Act nutrition programs in two states. She has acted as Principle Investigator in ACL grants covering areas including Nutrition (Innovations), Chronic Disease Self-Management (CDSME) and Alzheimer’s Disease (ADPI). Ms. Simon has also delivered nutritional care to patients in long term and rehabilitation settings and is a food safety instructor. Ms. Simon has also achieved leadership positions within the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and has participated in numerous, collaborative projects and publications addressing malnutrition in older adults.

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.

Lesha Spencer-Brown is an Aging Services Program Specialist in the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs, within the Administration for Community Living's, Administration on Aging. Driven by her passion for public health, she has spent the past decade working with nonprofit and local government entities to establish and enhance health promotion strategies among vulnerable populations and under-resourced communities. Prior to her work at ACL, Lesha served as a Health and Wellness Senior Program Manager for the National Recreation and Park Association where the managed the Healthy Aging in Parks Initiative. She earned a Master of Public Health with a concentration in Socio-Health Sciences and Community and Family Health from the University of South Florida, and a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry from Clark Atlanta University.

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.

Kathleen Cameron, BSPharm, MPH, has more than 25 years of experience in the health care field as a pharmacist, researcher, and program director focusing on falls prevention, geriatric pharmacotherapy, mental health, long-term services and supports, and caregiving. Cameron is Senior Director of the NCOA Center for Healthy Aging, where she provides subject matter expertise on health care programmatic and policy related issues and oversees the Modernizing Senior Center Resource Center.

Dr. Akobundu is a Registered Dietitian and serves as the Senior Director of Nutrition Strategy at Meals on Wheels America where she leads the development and implementation of the Association’s strategy on nutrition and malnutrition. This work includes the design and execution of projects that demonstrate and strengthen the evidence base for senior nutrition programs. In addition, she works collaboratively at the national level to build knowledge and skills among nutrition and aging professionals in healthcare integration, business acumen development, program evaluation, and food service management arenas. She also serves as the director of the National Resource Center on Nutrition and Aging, awarded to Meals on Wheels America by the Administration for Community Living of the U. S. Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. Akobundu holds a Masters of Nutrition with a concentration in public health from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, and a Ph.D. in Nutrition from the University of Maryland, College Park.

Susan Stiles, PhD, provides leadership in the design and development of consumer products that inspire, educate, and activate older adults. She’s been instrumental in bringing the Aging Mastery Program® to market and scaling it nationwide via strategic alliances and business partnerships. Stiles has 20+ years of experience in design thinking, multimedia, strategic communications, and management consulting.

Jennifer Steele is the CEO of Meals on Wheels Southwest OH & Northern KY, a nonprofit that delivers essential services allowing seniors to remain healthy, happy, and independent in their homes. She has over 15 years of diverse experience in inventive and inclusive leadership positions in the nonprofit sector. Over the last few years, Jennifer has led her organization through transformative change, through a strategic merger with Cincinnati Area Senior Services. The innovative nonprofit leadership by Jennifer has provided major community impact and successfully resulted in a $4 million grant from McKenzie Scott, which will help Jennifer and her team tackle the “Crisis on Aging” in Greater Cincinnati with creative long-term solutions.

Stacy works with organizations across the United States to leverage the power of research and insights to fuel consumer knowledge and business growth. During her 20+ years in research, she has worked with clients across a broad range of industries to drive understanding, acceptance, and ultimately usage of research as a tool to improve the lives of consumers. Stacy has worked on multiple large-scale projects related to the customer journey of the senior population and specifically how their lives can be enhanced and improved by removing barriers to product and service usage.

For more than 30 years, James Firman, EdD, has been a leading force for innovation in services, programs, and public policies for older persons. After 45 years of service in nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, including serving as NCOA CEO and President for 25 years, Firman recently co-founded BellAge Inc and BellAge Labs, social enterprises that are using artificial intelligence and machine learning to help millions of people across the world to age well. 

David Lindeman, PhD, is Director Health, Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society and the Banatao Institute (CITRIS), UC Berkeley, and Director, Center for Technology and Aging (CTA).  Dr. Lindeman has worked in the fields of health care and long-term care for nearly 40 years as a health services researcher and gerontologist, conducting research related to telehealth, health care technology, chronic disease management, healthy aging, disabilities, dementia, community-based and residential services, health care workforce, and family caregiving. Dr. Lindeman’s current focus is working with researchers and providers on the incubation, start-up, evaluation, and scaling of technology-enabled solutions, including initiatives that address critical health care challenges through telehealth, mobile/cloud, sensors/IoT, robotics, assistive technologies, and machine intelligence (Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning).  These technology-enabled solutions cover a continuum of health care and social issues benefitting older adults, ranging from wellness to complex chronic conditions and precision health.  Dr. Lindeman serves as an advisor to foundations, government agencies, start-ups, and businesses.  Dr. Lindeman previously served as the founding Director of the Mather LifeWays Institute on Aging; Associate Professor of Health Policy at the Rush Institute for Healthy Aging; and Co-Director of the UC Davis Alzheimer’s Disease Center.

Nicole leads NCOA’s digital economic security team – responsible for the product development, content management, customer service, and partner engagement for BenefitsCheckUp, Age Well Planner and My Medicare Matters. These digital tools are built around NCOA’s multi-faceted consumer engagement model – providing (1) unbiased education from a trusted source, (2) personalized insights via assessments and tools, and (3) the opportunity to take action by engaging with an expert. Primarily targeting older adults and their caregivers to improve their health and financial security, the tools support NCOA’s social impact goal to impact the health and economic security of 40 million older adults by 2030, especially women, people of color, LGBTQ+, low-income, and rural individual. 

Kathleen Cameron, BSPharm, MPH, has more than 25 years of experience in the health care field as a pharmacist, researcher, and program director focusing on falls prevention, geriatric pharmacotherapy, mental health, long-term services and supports, and caregiving. Cameron is Senior Director of the NCOA Center for Healthy Aging, where she provides subject matter expertise on health care programmatic and policy related issues and oversees the Modernizing Senior Center Resource Center.

Nisha focuses on working with government stakeholders and partners to allow Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), also known as rideshare, to be eligible Non-Emergency Medical Transport providers for medicaid populations. Additionally, Nisha leads Lyft's work in developing government partnerships and programs that support providing medical transportation for communities, and further demonstrate the value that accessible transportation can provide to healthcare outcomes. Prior to Lyft, Nisha spent 5+ years in healthcare consulting. Nisha completed both her B.S. in Policy and Management and M.S. in Healthcare Policy and Management at Carnegie Mellon University.

Deborah Steinberg, J.D. is a Health Policy Attorney at the Legal Action Center where she advocates for state and federal policies to expand access to comprehensive and equitable substance use disorder and mental health care. She co-leads the Center's Medicare Addiction Parity Project, which seeks to improve Medicare's coverage of substance use disorder treatment. In this role, Deborah has testified before Congress, drafted legislation, and convened a national learning collaborative to ensure the policies for which she advocates are rooted in people's lived experiences. She graduated from Vassar College with a B.A. in Psychology and earned her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center.

With over 30 years of experience in health care and behavioral health policy, Mr. Miller has advocated for the creation of federal and state policy – and regulatory solutions – to improve the delivery and financing of health care and behavioral health care in the U.S.

From 2017 to the present. Mr. Miller has served as the Chair of the National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging (NCMHA).  The Coalition is composed of 80 organizations and its mission is to provide opportunities for professional, consumer, and governmental agencies to work together toward improving the availability and quality of mental health preventive and treatment strategies for aging Americans through education, research, and public awareness. 

Recently from 2013 to 2021, he served as Executive Director and CEO of the American Mental Health Counselors Association (AMHCA) – Mr. Miller led over 7000 clinical mental health counselors. AMHCAs mission is to enhance the mental health counseling profession through advocacy, professional development, education, and licensing.  Mr. Miller was responsible for all operations of the organization and implementing strategic initiatives in support of the Board of Directors.  He was the publisher of AMHCA’s Journal of Mental Health Counseling and its Advocate newsletter. He also served as a member on the AMHCA Foundation Board of Directors.  

In his previous position at the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD), he led the development and implementation of NASMHPD’s policy agenda and regulatory strategies, which were designed to support State Behavioral Health Agencies and the state public behavioral health systems.  He also served as Director of NASMHPD’s Financing and Medicaid Division.

At the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), Mr. Miller led NAMI’s State Policy team and Public Policy Institute, dedicated to improving the financing and delivery of mental health services at the state level for people with mental illness, and addressing mental health issues across the lifespan.  He also was Staff Director to NAMI’s Veterans Council and the organization’s Scientific Affairs Council.

He has published over 50 articles and reports on behavioral health and health care delivery and financing, health care reform, Medicare and Medicaid policy, behavioral health integration, the health care workforce, cost management, medical practice assessment, quality improvement, health insurance exchanges, and health information technology. 

Alex Graf serves as the Democratic Staff Director of the Finance Subcommittee on Health Care, chaired by Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. He is the Senator's chief health care advisor, including on the Senator's behavioral health care initiatives. In this role, he has worked on a number of Stabenow's behavioral health care bills signed into law including the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Act, CHIP Mental Health Parity Act, School-Based Health Centers Reauthorization Act, and Help for Moms and Babies Act. Alex received his Master of Public Policy degree from Georgetown University and his Bachelor of Science in molecular biology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

A member of NCOA's Board of Directors, Dr. Cheryl Woodson taught and practiced Geriatric Medicine for almost 40 years while also raising a family and navigating her mother’s 10-year journey with Alzheimer’s disease. She completed a BA in Biology (minor in English) at Wesleyan University in CT, medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, a residency in Internal Medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia, PA, and a fellowship in Geriatric Medicine at UCLA.

She began her career in geriatrics education and program development as a faculty member at The University of Chicago and Northwestern University medical schools. After serving as the director of geriatrics services for a community health system, she founded and for 12 years directed a medical practice called Woodson Center for Adult Healthcare: when you’ve outgrown the kid stuff. The Center was the only privately-owned, community-based, comprehensive geriatrics program in the country that also provided primary care to adults of all ages. It also offered Sterling Silver, a community health education series for people who’ve been blessed to be on the planet more than 40 years. 

Woodson has served on national committees for the Veteran’s Administration and the American Geriatrics Society; she continues as an advisor to several community and faith-based organizations in the Chicago area. She has presented at national meetings on geriatrics, elder abuse and neglect, health literacy and patient-clinician communications, advocating for people with cognitive disabilities, and decision-making at the end of life. Other topics include support for family and professional caregivers, increasing geriatrics expertise in all professions that interact with older adults, and How to Make Careers in Medicine Compatible with Life.

In addition to board certification in Internal Medicine and Geriatrics, Woodson earned credentials in Health Care Quality Management and worked as a medical director for several managed care companies. Her goal was to serve as a bridge between the clinical and business sides of the health care industry.

In retirement, Woodson continues to write and speak to guide adults to ROAR PAST RETIREMENT, LIVE OUT LOUD and AGE EXCELLENTLY, Embrace the Magic of Menopause, and care for older loved ones without destroying themselves. She is the author of the popular eldercare resource, To Survive Caregiving: A Daughter’s Experience, A Doctor’s Advice.