Speakers

Jason Resendez

President & CEO, the National Alliance for Caregiving

Jason Resendez the President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, where he leads research, policy, and innovation initiatives to build health, wealth, and equity for America’s 53 million family caregivers. Jason is a nationally recognized expert on caregiving, aging, and research equity. In 2023, he was named one of the most consequential leaders in health, science, and medicine by STAT News.

Prior to joining NAC, Jason was the founding executive director of the UsAgainstAlzheimer’s Center for Brain Health Equity and was the principal investigator of a Healthy Brain Initiative cooperative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). While at UsAgainstAlzheimer’s, he pioneered the concept of Brain Health Equity through peer-reviewed research, public health partnerships, and public policy.

Shelly Moore Capito

United States Senator for West Virginia

Senator Shelly Moore Capito serves as the Senator for West Virginia. After seven terms representing the Second Congressional District, she ran for the United States Senate, hoping to be a stronger voice for the Mountain State and to restore order to a Senate stuck in gridlock for far too long. Shelley is the first female Senator in West Virginia’s history.

For the 118th Congress. Senator Capito serves on the Appropriations Committee; the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee; the Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee as ranking member; and the Rules and Administration Committee. This committee portfolio puts her in a strong position to create new opportunities in the Mountain State and fight for West Virginia priorities, jobs, and families. Senator Capito also serves as the Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference, the number five position in Senate Republican leadership. Senator Capito believes that today’s challenges demand bipartisan solutions. She supports commonsense policies that promote economic growth, unleash energy potential, lift up working families, and build a better West Virginia for the next generation.

She currently serves as to co-chair of the Assisting Caregivers Today (ACT) Caucus. Senator Capito, alongside Senator Markey (D-Mass.), introduced the Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers (ABC) Act, legislation that would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Social Security Administration (SSA), and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to review their eligibility, processes, procedures, forms, and communications to reduce the administrative burden on family caregivers. The legislation would then annually require CMS, SSA and CHIP to report to Congress about any issues they are facing and any next steps they are taking to support family caregivers.

Edward J. Markey

United States Senator for Massachusetts

Senator Edward J. Markey has a prolific legislative record on major issues across the policy spectrum and a deep commitment to improving the lives of the people of Massachusetts and our country. While serving for 37 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Senator Markey fought for his constituents throughout his Congressional District. When he was Dean of the Massachusetts delegation in the House, he worked to harness the energy and influence of his colleagues on behalf of the entire Commonwealth.

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Subcommittee on Primary Health and Retirement Security, alongside Senator Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), introduced the Alleviating Barriers for Caregivers (ABC) Act, legislation that would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), Social Security Administration (SSA), and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) to review their eligibility, processes, procedures, forms, and communications to reduce the administrative burden on family caregivers. The legislation would then annually require CMS, SSA, and CHIP to report to Congress about any issues they are facing and any next steps they are taking to support family caregivers.

Robert C. Scott

United States Congressman for Virginia

Congressman Robert C. “Bobby” Scott has represented Virginia’s third congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1993. Prior to his service in Congress, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1978 to 1983 and in the Senate of Virginia from 1983 to 1993.

His 1992 election to Congress gave Congressman Scott the distinction of being the first African-American elected to Congress from Virginia since John Mercer Langston’s election more than 100 years earlier during the Reconstruction era. Having a maternal grandfather of Filipino ancestry also gives him the distinction of being the first American with Filipino ancestry to serve as a voting member of Congress.

In the 118th Congress, Congressman Scott serves as the Ranking Member of the Committee on Education and the Workforce—his fifth term as the Committee’s Democratic leader. Throughout his tenure, he has advanced legislation that improves equity in education, frees students from the burdens of debt, protects and expands access to affordable health care, ensures workers have a safe workplace where they can earn a living wage free from discrimination, and guarantees seniors have a secure and dignified retirement.

Myra Aldarondo

Family Caregiver

Myra Aldarondo is a 48-year-old educator as well as a care partner to her husband, who has lung disease. Myra is a compassionate advocator who believes in access to quality healthcare for all, and especially in the importance of the availability of multilingual services and supports for caregivers and patients. In her free time, she enjoys spending time outdoors.

Abena Apau

Founder & CEO of Empowered Potential International (EPI)

Abena Apau, founder and CEO of Empowered Potential International (EPI), is dedicated to helping families achieve fulfilling lives amid the chaos. As a working mom and caregiver, she empathizes with the challenges of juggling multiple roles. EPI is committed to simplifying life using a strategic planning lens, authentic conversations, and practical services to address challenges today. EPI offers our clients a clear path to mental clarity and calm.

Abena attended the University of Virginia for her undergraduate studies and, upon graduating in 2003 with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Economics, she took a position as a Financial Center Manager with Wachovia Bank (now Wells Fargo Bank). In 2005, Abena joined the accounting firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) as an Associate in the Commercial Consulting practice. During her time at PwC, she worked with a wide range of commercial clients in the areas of process improvement and change management. Abena joined the NIH Office of Strategic Planning and Management Operations in 2016. During her 3-year tenure, she focused on the NIH’s Change Management program, Administrative Strategic Plan (ASP), and Optimize NIH activities.

Allison J. Applebaum

PhD, Director, Caregivers Clinic, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Dr. Allison J. Applebaum is an Associate Attending Psychologist in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK), and an Associate Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is the Founding Director of the Caregivers Clinic at MSK, housed in the Counseling Center. The Caregivers Clinic is the first of its kind and provides comprehensive psychosocial care to family members and friends of patients who experience significant distress and burden as a result of their caregiving role. Dr. Applebaum’s program of research focuses on the development and dissemination of psychosocial interventions for cancer caregivers, as well as understanding the impact of caregiver psychosocial wellbeing, prognostic awareness and communication skills on advanced care planning. She has published over 100 articles, reviews, and book chapters on these topics, and is the editor of the textbook Cancer Caregivers (Oxford University Press, 2019). Dr. Applebaum has received competitive funding for her research, including awards from the National Cancer Institute, the National Institute of Nursing Research, the American Cancer Society, the T.J. Martell Foundation, and the van Ameringen Foundation.

Alison Barkoff

Principal Deputy Administrator

Alison Barkoff was sworn in as Principal Deputy Administrator on January 20, 2021, and is currently performing the duties of the ACL Administrator and the Assistant Secretary for Aging. She provides executive leadership and coordination for ACL programs nationwide and advises the HHS Secretary on issues affecting people with disabilities and older adults.

A sibling of an adult brother with developmental disabilities and a civil rights attorney, Alison is a lifelong advocate for community living – both professionally and personally – and has been at the forefront of national efforts to expand the home and community-based services (HCBS) that make community living possible.

She has served in a variety of leadership roles with disability rights organizations, including leading advocacy efforts at the Center for Public Representation and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law.

Alison has brought that same focus on collaboration and coordination to her current role. Under her leadership, ACL is working with partners across HHS and the federal government on initiatives and interagency approaches to issues that affect people with disabilities and older adults, such as expanding access to HCBS and affordable, accessible housing; strengthening the direct care workforce; increasing competitive, integrated employment for people with disabilities; and advancing equity, to name just a few.

Laura Blessing

PhD, Senior Fellow, The Government Affairs Institute, Georgetown University, RAISE Family Caregiver Storyteller

Laura Blessing, Ph.D. is a Senior Fellow at the Government Affairs Institute (GAI) at Georgetown University and also teaches in the McCourt School of Public Policy. Prior to coming to GAI, she earned her PhD from the University of Virginia, where she was also a Miller Center National Fellow and a fellow for the Bankard Fund for Political Economy. Her interests include institutions, political parties, and policy, particularly tax and budget. She has worked on the Hill as an American Political Science Association (APSA) Congressional Fellow, serving as the legislative assistant for tax policy for a senior member of the Ways and Means Committee. She has published on the eroding budget process, tax policy in the 2016 Presidential campaign, social movements and the Presidency, and the importance of practical experience in politics informing scholarship. She has engaged in congressional testimony and other public commentary on politics in various media venues, including NPR’s Marketplace, CSPAN, The Conversation, and other politics outlets. She is currently working on a book on the politics of tax policy from the midcentury period to today. Her public testimony also includes congressional testimony on the topic of caregiving; her late husband Todd Rosa fought pancreatic cancer for two years.

Rita Choula, MA

Senior Director of Caregiving with the AARP Public Policy Institute

Rita Choula is the Senior Director of Caregiving with the AARP Public Policy Institute. She leads and provides content expertise on family caregiving initiatives throughout AARP and externally. Her work bridges policy and research to practice, centered on identifying and supporting the needs of family caregivers, across generations, elevating the unique nature of each caregiving experience. Rita currently drives AARP’s efforts to address systemic disparities and build equity in long-term care for Black, Latino, Asian American Pacific Islander and LGBTQ older adults and their family caregivers.

In collaboration with clinical experts and key stakeholders, Rita leads the development of programs and tools that enable health care professionals to better recognize the diverse needs of family caregivers and provide supports to them across settings. In addition, Rita directs the Home Alone Alliance– a collaborative of AARP, whose aim is to change the way healthcare organizations and professionals interface with family caregivers providing complex care. Through this coalition, she has led the development and production of more than 80 multi-language “How-to” videos and related resources rooted in the lived experience of communities and centered around the family caregiver, that provide them with easily accessible technical guidance necessary to perform complex medical/nursing tasks.

Verena Cimarolli, PhD

Director of Health Services Research & Partnerships LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston

Verena Cimarolli, PhD, is director of health services research and partnerships in the Washington, DC, office of the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston. She holds a doctoral degree in applied developmental psychology from Fordham University.

Cimarolli’s research focuses on the psychosocial challenges experienced by older adults due to chronic illness, their adaptation to these challenges, and the role of family/friend and formal caregivers in the process. Her research also identifies best strategies and interventions for supporting older adults with chronic illness and their caregivers in the context of long-term services and supports (LTSS).

In addition to conducting research, Cimarolli works with the LTSS Center’s leadership to develop the center’s overall research strategy and infrastructure and manages the LTSS Center’s research agenda with its external partners.

Dr. Fawn Cothran

Hunt Research Director at the National Alliance for Caregiving

Dr. Fawn Cothran is the Hunt Research Director at the National Alliance for Caregiving. Dr. Cothran is a nurse scientist, and a board-certified gerontological clinical nurse specialist. Prior to joining the National Alliance for Caregiving, Dr. Cothran was a faculty member with the Family Caregiving Institute in the Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing, University of California, Davis and Rush University, College of Nursing in Chicago, IL.

Robert Espinoza

Executive Vice President of Policy at PHI

Robert Espinoza is the Executive Vice President of Policy at PHI, where he oversees its national advocacy and public education division on the direct care workforce while shaping PHI’s organizational strategies. In 2020, he was selected for the first-ever CARE 100 list of the most innovative people working to re-imagine how we care in America today and as one of Next Avenue’s 2020 Influencers in Aging. He also serves on the board of directors for the American Society on Aging, the National Academy of Social Insurance, and the FrameWorks Institute.

Toni Gingerelli

Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy, National Alliance for Caregiving

Antoinette ‘Toni’ Gingerelli is the Associate Director of Policy and Advocacy for the National Alliance for Caregiving where she helps guide the organization’s work to translate research into policy action on behalf of America’s 53 million family caregivers. She has worked on a variety of policy initiatives and advocacy efforts at the local, state, national, and international level.

Prior to NAC, Toni served as Chief of Staff for New Jersey State Senator Vin Gopal where she oversaw office operations, communications, and legislation. In this role, she assisted in drafting, analyzing, and passing a variety of bills related to healthcare, labor, and education. She also led the office’s COVID-19 relief efforts including the creation of the district’s Economic Recovery Advisory Council.

Erin E. Kent

PhD, MSc, Associate Professor, Health Policy and Management, UNC-Chapel Hill, Cancer Prevention and Control

Associate Professor and Associate Chair Department of Health Policy and Management Gillings School of Global Public Health University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Erin E. Kent is an Associate Professor and Associate Chair in Health Policy and Management at the UNC Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health. She is a full Member of Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center and a Health Services Research Fellow at the Cecil G. Sheps Center, working with the Rural Health Research Program. Her program of research is focused on healthcare delivery for cancer patients, symptom management, and palliative and supportive care for cancer patients and their caregivers. Her current focus is to develop healthcare delivery interventions and policy solutions for caregivers through community engagement and partnership.

Lizzy Letter

Staff Director for Senator Bob Casey

Lizzy Letter is the Staff Director for Senator Bob Casey on the Senate Special Committee on Aging. She leads the Committee’s work on a range of policy issues affecting older Americans and people with disabilities, centered around enabling each person to be able to live and age in their setting of choice. She previously served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oversight at the Department of Health and Human Services in the Biden-Harris Administration. Lizzy was the Oversight Director and Deputy General Counsel for the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee under Senator Murray’s leadership. She previously spent seven years with the House Energy and Commerce Committee, working on communications and oversight for Reps. Waxman and Pallone. Lizzy attended Washington University in St. Louis for her B.A. and then George Washington University for law school.

Liv Mendelsohn MA, MEd.

Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence

Liv Mendelsohn, MA, MEd, is the executive director of the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence where she leads innovation, research, policy, and program initiatives to support Canada’s caregivers and care providers.

A visionary leader with more than 15 years of experience in the not-for-profit sector, Liv has been a lifelong caregiver and has lived experience of disability. Her experiences as a member of the ‘sandwich generation’ fuel her passion for building a caregiver movement in Canada to change the way that caregiving is seen, valued, and supported.

Yadira Montoya

Director of Programs, National Alliance for Caregiving

Yadira Montoya’s work focuses on advancing health equity and racial justice. She has over fifteen years of experience across multiple sectors, including academia, non-profit, and philanthropy. In 2019, she was recognized as a Culture of Health Leader by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation for her leadership in community efforts that improve aging equity and the health and wellbeing of Latinx dementia family caregivers.

Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey

Dr. Nii-Quartelai Quartey is a journalist, educator, and trusted community leader who has been featured over the years meeting the moment on programs ranging from the Oprah Winfrey Show to MSNBC’s Sunday Show with Jonathan Capehart to CNN This Morning. He serves as Moderator of “A More Perfect Union” Radio Show produced by Tavis Smiley and Chief National Political Analyst for KBLA Talk 1580. For almost 200 episodes, Dr. Quartey Anchored Season 3 of the nationally syndicated Fox Television produced news magazine show, Fox Soul’s Black Report. In fall 2022, the double alum returned as an Adjunct Professor in the Social Entrepreneurship and Change program at the Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology. This former National Affairs Contributor for TheGrio and highly regarded changemaker has dedicated his life and career toward advancing narrative, culture, and policy change in pursuit of social and economic justice. His work as a political journalist is grounded in his unique style of re-examining the assumptions of his guests and audience.

Rani E. Snyder, MPA

Vice President, Programs at The John A. Hartford Foundation

Rani Snyder is Vice President, Programs at The John A. Hartford Foundation, a private philanthropy with the vision of a nation where all older adults receive high-value, evidence-based health care, are treated with respect and dignity, and have their goals and preferences honored. With more than 25 years of experience in working with pre-eminent healthcare institutions across the nation, Rani has demonstrated experience in identifying and guiding healthcare programs that have set the standard for medical best practices, increasing medical education opportunities, and maximizing resources to improve healthcare broadly.

Prior to joining The John A. Hartford Foundation, Rani served with the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation for 14 years, starting as a program officer with a promotion to director for the Foundation’s Health Care Programs. In that capacity, she managed more than $278 million in Health Care Grants to major medical facilities throughout the country, focusing on Aging and Quality of Life Programs as well as the Foundation’s $159 million investment in its Cardiovascular Clinical Research Program. During her tenure, Rani worked alongside the country’s most forward-thinking educators and pioneering healthcare providers to create educational and clinical programs that have significantly advanced how patient care is delivered. These include collaborative and groundbreaking programming at prestigious medical institutions such as Duke University, Johns Hopkins University, New York’s Mount Sinai Medical School, and UCLA’s academic health centers.

Terri Stewart

Senior Vice President and Head of Global Healthcare Government & Public Affairs for EMD Serono

Terri Stewart serves as Senior Vice President and Head of Global Healthcare Government & Public Affairs for EMD Serono, having held various roles within the company since 2018. During her tenure, she has helped launch leading drugs for multiple sclerosis (Mavenclad®), bladder cancer (Bavencio®), and lung cancer (Tepmetko®), while also serving as a voice for women’s healthcare through EMD Serono’s Healthy Women Healthy Economies initiative as well as for caregivers through the Embracing Carers® program. She has over twenty years of experience in domestic and international healthcare policy and regulatory affairs, with expertise extending to regular interaction with global heads of policy, legislators, government agencies, trade associations, and healthcare industry leaders to drive consensus and impact significant policy changes. Her previous roles include VP of Global Regulatory Intelligence, Policy, and Compliance for Teva Pharmaceuticals and Lead Federal Lobbyist for Barr Laboratories. She holds a J.D. from Catholic University’s Columbus School of Law and a B.A. in Government Affairs from George Mason University.

Mike Wittke

Vice President, Policy & Advocacy, National Alliance for Caregiving

Michael Reese Wittke joined the National Alliance for Caregiving in 2016. He serves as the Vice President, Policy & Advocacy and is a senior member of NAC’s Executive Leadership team. He supported the organization’s growth during a leadership transition and has expanded capacity within NAC’s Research and Advocacy departments—focusing on bridging gaps between data and policy to address challenges facing family caregivers of older adults, people with disabilities, and those with serious or chronic conditions across the lifespan.

Mike leads NAC’s national engagement strategy working with Congressional offices, federal agencies, the White House, and key national organizations. He has directed four “National Conferences of Caregiver Advocates” held in conjunction with the annual “Aging in America” conference. Under his leadership, NAC has hosted several Congressional briefings, provided testimony in a hearing to the United States House of Representatives in support of the Older Americans Act reauthorization, and developed a policy framework to address caregiving as a public health issue. Mike has led efforts to support and implement key policy initiatives directly impacting family caregivers, including the R.A.I.S.E. Family Caregivers Act, The B.O.L.D. Infrastructure for Alzheimer’s Act, and the national “Caregiving Corps.” Since joining NAC, Mike has helped direct the development of the nationally-representative study “Caregiving in the U.S. 2020” as well as research reports highlighting populations such as sandwich generation caregivers and caregivers from diverse backgrounds.

Jennifer Wolff, PhD

Eugene and Mildred Lipitz Professor and Director of the Roger C. Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care

Jennifer L. Wolff is the Eugene and Mildred Lipitz Professor and Director of the Roger C. Lipitz Center for Integrated Health Care. She is an expert and thought leader in research and policy relating to the care of persons with complex health needs and disabilities. She has made major contributions to increasing understanding of the role of family caregivers in the interactions of older adults with the medical community. She has been involved in the development and evaluation of numerous initiatives aimed at better supporting older adults and their family caregivers, including applied research to develop practical tools and strategies that may be readily deployed in care delivery. Her research has been published in top-ranked journals including NEJM, JAMA, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, Social Science and Medicine, and Health Affairs.

Ranak Trivedi

PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences (Public Mental Health and Population Sciences), Stanford University; Director of Caregiving and Family Systems at the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE)

Dr. Trivedi is a clinical health psychologist and a health services researcher in the Dept. of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University and the Center for Innovation to Implementation at the VA Palo Alto Health Care System. She envisions a culturally attuned health care system that are not only patient centered, but family centered. Such a system would engage and empower family (family members and friends) in navigating the healthcare system on the patient’s behalf while receiving the culturally attuned supports and services receive that they need. Her studies have provided insights into how families and chronically and seriously ill patients collaborate around their mutual health, understanding the impact of their interpersonal relationship on chronic illness self-management, and the individual, dyadic, and systems-level barriers that they encounter. She has been PI or co-I on several VA and NIH funded projects, including the funded Elizabeth Dole Center of Excellence for Veterans and Caregiver Research. She serves as the Director of Caregiving and Family Systems at the Stanford Center for Asian Health Research and Education (CARE). She is the Director of Training at the Center for Innovation to Implementation and the Elizabeth Dole Center of Excellence for Veteran and Caregiver Research.