Introduction and Training: Healthy Aging Programs Integrated Database™

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.

Patty Keane is a registered dietitian nutritionist with a diverse, cross-sector background and a passion for building on community strengths to advance nutrition and health equity. Patty joined ACL in March 2024 as the National Nutritionist, and her role encompasses the Older Americans Act Title III-C Senior Nutrition Program and Title III-D Evidence-Based Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Services. She serves as the Project Officer for the National Chronic Disease Self-Management Education (CDSME) Resource Center and for several CDSME and Innovations in Nutrition grantees. Before joining ACL, Patty held consulting roles advising USDA NIFA Gus Schumacher Nutrition Incentive Program (GusNIP) grantees and supporting the cultural adaptation of diabetes prevention curricula for American Indian and Alaska Native populations. In previous municipal and state government roles, Patty managed senior nutrition and transportation programs for the City of Albuquerque and advised New Mexico Governor Lujan Grisham’s interagency food security initiatives and COVID-19 response. Patty served as an Associate Scientist and Principal Investigator at the University of New Mexico (UNM) Prevention Research Center and as Nutrition Faculty for the Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND) Program at the UNM Center for Development and Disability. At UNM, Patty led chronic disease prevention and health promotion research and programs and provided nutrition, policy, and leadership expertise. Patty has served as a federal grant reviewer for ACL and in volunteer professional leadership roles at the local, state, regional, and national levels.

Angelica Herrera-Venson, DrPH, MPH is an Associate Director in Data Management & Evaluation at NCOA. She provides training and technical assistance to database users on the National CDSME Database and conducts data analyses of evidence-based program activity and grantee performance. She has worked in the field of aging and diverse communities for nearly two decades. As a former professor and academic, she has researched and published peer-reviewed, scientific articles on many related topics, including the quality of diabetes care, depression in older age, health disparities among Hispanic and other minority elders, and family caregiving challenges in vulnerable populations.

Meghan Thompson has worked with data and analytics for evidence-based health promotion programs serving older adults for more than twenty years. As data manager for Sound Generations’ Project Enhance in Seattle, WA, she has been dedicated to making EnhanceFitness and EnhanceWellness program data as useful and relevant as possible for delivery partners, researchers, and participants, as well as to providing quality support to the community of those who use NCOA’s National CDSME and Falls Prevention Databases.

Jenn Nguyen, MBA works as a senior coordinator in the Center of Healthy Aging at NCOA. She has experience in product, project management and account management working at tech companies, startups, agencies in various roles. She is passionate about processes and operations as well as product.

Yoko Meusch, MA, is a Program Associate for the Center for Healthy Aging at National Council on Aging. Yoko provides technical assistance to U.S. Administration for Community Living (ACL) grant-funded community-based organizations promoting and implementing evidence-based Falls Prevention and Chronic Disease Self-Management education programs. In addition, she is a program administrator for Aging Mastery Program®, an NCOA’s signature program for aging well. 

Yoko holds a Bachelor's degree in Management Studies from the University of Maryland Global Campus and a Master's Degree in Health Communication from Johns Hopkins University.