Brandy Bauer is Director of the Center for Benefits Access at the National Council on Aging, where she works with community organizations and state agencies across the country to promote benefits for older adults, identify strategies to improve the financial security of vulnerable seniors, and educate consumers about scams targeting older adults. She has worked in the field of aging for 11 years. Prior to that, she spent a decade in the international health and human service sectors, working on improving access to services for vulnerable and marginalized populations, including refugee and war trauma survivors in Europe, and as a humanitarian aid worker in Afghanistan.

Erin Kee McGovern, JD, is a Director of Programs, Center for Benefits Access at the National Council on Aging (NCOA).  Erin oversees NCOA’s Benefits Enrollment Centers and Senior SNAP Enrollment Initiative. These two programs are aimed at significantly increasing older adults’ participation in Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs (MSP), Extra Help (Part D Low Income Subsidy/LIS), Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), and Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) through community-based outreach and enrollment initiatives. Erin provides training to a nationwide network of social service providers on eligibility and application guidelines for these key benefits programs. Erin also provides recommendations on proposed federal legislation and regulations, particularly on how changes will impact the most vulnerable people. In 2013, she published an article on increasing SNAP participation at farmers’ markets in the Clearing House Review: Journal of Poverty Law and Policy. Erin graduated with honors from the College of Charleston, Charleston, SC, earned her Juris Doctor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, Columbia, SC, and her Master’s in Environmental Law and Policy at Vermont Law School, South Royalton, VT.

Angela Bonham is the Program Associate for NCOA’s Center for Benefits Access, where she works closely with Benefits Enrollment Centers to develop effective strategies to improve outreach and expand access to Medicare beneficiaries. In this role, she provides technical assistance to Benefits Enrollment Centers and SNAP partners in the Northeast region of the United States through one-on-one technical assistance, quarterly regional convenings, site visits, and professional development opportunities. Angela previously worked as Community Impact Manager at United Way of the National Capital Area, spearheading the organization’s economic opportunity programs serving working adults who are challenged by everyday living expenses. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech and Hearing Sciences from George Washington University, a Certificate in Project Management from Georgetown University, and currently pursing a Certificate in Community and Economic Development from Penn State University.

Ann is the Senior Program Manager, for Medicare at NCOA where she helps local, state and regional organizations develop and implement strategies to find, counsel and assist Medicare beneficiaries apply and enroll in benefits for which they may be eligible.

Over the past 25 years Ann has had the opportunity to work in many parts of the health care industry including managed care, patient assistance programs, and provider and sales force relations.  Prior to joining NCOA, Ann managed the operations for the State Health Insurance Assistance Program (SHIP) in Montgomery County, Maryland helping the most vulnerable populations gain access to the health care benefits and services.  

Ann received her B.S. in Health Care Management from Kings College in Wilke-Barre, PA and an MBA from the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, IN.