Welcome and Opening Plenary & The Rise of High-Risk Debt among Older Adults

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.

Kathy Greenlee, Chair-Elect of the NCOA Board of Directors, is an attorney with 25 years of public service experience. She has expertise in aging, long-term care, disability, elder rights, health care, community services, rural aging, and LGBT health.

In 2009, Greenlee was appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging by President Obama, a position she held for seven years. During her time in Washington, Greenlee created the Administration for Community Living (ACL), an agency that administers a broad range of aging and disability programs. Greenlee provided national and international leadership on preventing and responding to elder abuse. She chaired the Elder Justice Coordinating Council, created a federal home for state adult protective services programs, and created the national elder maltreatment data collection system. Greenlee also co-chaired the HHS LGBT Issues Coordinating Committee, an endeavor that resulted in comprehensive program and policy improvements for LGBTQ individuals.

In fall 2018, Greenlee launched a consulting business, Greenlee Global, LLC, to pursue aging-related projects regionally, nationally, and internationally. In early 2018, the Sunflower Foundation announced a major grant to support her continued work in the areas of elder abuse and neglect. In May 2020, Greenlee began working with the State of Kansas, serving as the Kansas COVID-19 LTSS Liaison.

Greenlee spent 18 years in Kansas state government. She served in numerous high-level positions, such as Secretary of Aging for Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Kansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman, General Counsel for the Kansas Insurance Department, and Assistant Attorney General.

Sarah Sattelmeyer is the project director for education, opportunity, and mobility in the Higher Education initiative at New America. She manages New America’s work on student loan and engages in work at the intersection of higher education finance and economic mobility.

Previously, she launched and directed The Pew Charitable Trusts’s student borrower success project, an initiative focused on student loan reform, especially to support borrowers at greatest risk for delinquency and default. She also served on Pew’s financial security and mobility project, assessing the relationship between short-term financial security and longer-term economic mobility.

Before joining Pew, Sarah worked at the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, the Kaiser Family Foundation, the Urban Institute, the California Department of Health Care Services, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sarah holds master’s degrees in public policy and public health from the University of California, Berkeley and bachelor’s degrees in English and biology from the University of Georgia.

As Grants Program Manager, Jaime Cherry manages the lifecycle of grants from beginning to end through collaboration with key internal stakeholders and external partners. Jaime’s background is in operations and client services where she served clients on active debt management programs and managed teams that launched debt management programs for individuals, ensuring their needs are met with empathy and compassion.

Jaime holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Western Michigan University and is HUD (Department of Housing and Urban Development) certified.

Berneta L. Haynes is a staff attorney at National Consumer Law Center, where she focuses on consumer energy policy and medical debt. She leads the medical debt team and recently authored NCLC’s The Racial Health and Wealth Gap: Impact of Medical Debt on Black Families. Before joining NCLC, she served as a director at Georgia Watch, a state-based consumer advocacy organization in Atlanta, where she worked to make energy programs, quality healthcare, financial protection, and civil justice more equitable and accessible for all. At Georgia Watch, she led coalitions, steered the passage of crucial medical billing legislation, and authored consumer-facing educational materials (such as the Georgia Consumer Guide for Medical Bills and Debt) and policy guides on healthcare billing. Previously, she practiced law at Environmental Law and Policy Center in Chicago and Southern Environmental Law Center in Atlanta. She earned her Bachelor’s degree in English, Writing, and Psychology from Drury University, her Master’s degree in English from University of Iowa, and her law degree from University of Iowa College of Law.