Carol is a nationally recognized gerontologist who was named one of the nation’s Top 50 Influencers in Aging for 2017 by Next Avenue, the digital journalism arm of the PBS system. Zernial holds a master’s degree in social gerontology and has been in the field of aging for more than 25 years.

Zernial currently serves as Senior Vice President of Social Responsibility and Foundation Executive Director at WellMed. In 2020, she received the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/National Recreation and Park Association Innovation Award for Health Equity. In 2021, the National Diversity and Leadership Conference selected her as one of the Top 50 Corporate Social Responsibility Leaders. She was recently appointed to the Texas Nonprofit Council.

Carol is the Past Chair of the Board of Directors for the National Council on Aging and was appointed to the RAISE Family Caregiving Advisory Council under President Trump. Zernial was a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in 2015 under President Obama, and 2005 under President George W. Bush. She was a staff member to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging under President Clinton. She is the former chair of the National Institute of Community-based Long Term Care, board member of the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging, and vice president of the Texas Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

Zernial received the 2008 Outstanding Professional in Aging Award in Texas for her contributions in the area of evidence-based disease prevention and health promotion. She was named the 2018 Alumni of Distinction for Service in Mission from the University of the Incarnate Word and received the 2017 Murlin B. Johnson Legacy Award.