Empowering Change: Promoting and Expanding Evidence Based Programs in Rural Communities

Tom Kamber is the founder and executive director of Older Adults Technology Services (OATS) and Senior Planet. He is a leading expert on aging and technology and is regularly featured in national media. Under his leadership, OATS and Senior Planet have developed award-winning programs for older adults across America and are now charitable affiliates of AARP. Tom has taught courses on technology, urban studies, and philanthropy at Columbia University, is widely published in professional and academic journals, and has presented his work on five continents. He is also a co-founder of the Afro-Latin Jazz Alliance (which has won multiple Grammy awards) and serves on several nonprofit boards of directors and public commissions. 

Jen Paquet serves as the Director of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at Healthy Living for ME®(HL4ME®), Maine's Community Care Hub, a division of Spectrum Generations. She began her journey with Spectrum Generations, the Central Maine Area Agency on Aging, in 2014.

In her present capacity, Jen oversees the statewide implementation of HL4ME’s Network of Community Partners' Evidence Based Programs. Her responsibilities include overseeing network performance, ensuring quality assurance, identifying, and promoting best practices, and upholding program fidelity.

In 2020, she was honored with Spectrum Generations ‘Distinguished Employee of the Year’ award. Spectrum Generations has also been awarded several grants from Administration for Community Living, including 2016, 2018, and 2021 Chronic Disease Self-Management Education awards, the 2019 Falls Prevention award, and the 2021 Community Care Hub award.

Ashley Washington serves as the Senior Director of Aging Initiatives at Lutheran Services in America. In this role, Ashley supports the work of members who provide home- and community-based programs to support the healthy, independent aging of older adults in America. 

In this role, Ashley leads the Rural Aging Action Network, our national collaborative dedicated to expanding sustainable community-based services and supports for older adults who are underserved in rural Minnesota, Montana, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

Ashley previously served as the Director of Healthcare Forums at The Health Management Academy where she managed peer-learning programs for C-suite healthcare executives. Prior, she was a Health Systems Manager for the American Cancer Society where she co-led a national workgroup working with VA Medical Centers on veterans' cancer care and partnered with health systems to identify interventions for their patient populations. Ashley also served as a Fulbright English Teaching Assistant with the U.S. State Department in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. 

Ashley has a Master of Public Health from the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine and a B.A. from Wake Forest University.