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Veteran Democratic political strategist Donna Brazile is an adjunct professor, author, syndicated columnist, television political commentator, Vice Chair of Voter Registration and Participation at the Democratic National Committee, and former chair of the DNC's Voting Rights Institute. Last, but never least, she is a native of New Orleans.
Aside from working for the full recovery of her beloved New Orleans, Ms. Brazile's passion is encouraging young people to vote, to work within the system to strengthen it, and to run for public office.
A New Orleans native, Ms. Brazile began her political career at the age of nine when she worked to elect a City Council candidate who had promised to build a playground in her neighborhood; the candidate won, the swing sets was installed, and a lifelong passion for political progress was ignited. Four decades and innumerable state and local campaigns later, Ms. Brazile has worked on every presidential campaign from 1976 through 2000, when she served as campaign manager for former Vice President Al Gore, becoming the first African-American woman to manage a presidential campaign.
Author of the best-selling memoir Cooking with Grease: Stirring the Pots in American Politics, Ms. Brazile is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University, a syndicated newspaper columnist for United Media, a columnist for Ms. Magazine and O Magazine, and an on-air contributor to CNN, NPR, and ABC, where she regularly appears on This Week.
In August 2009, O, The Oprah Magazine chose Ms. Brazile as one of its 20 "remarkable visionaries" for the magazine's first-ever O Power List. In addition, she was named among the 100 Most Powerful Women by Washingtonian magazine, Top 50 Women in America by Essence magazine, and received the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation's highest award for political achievement. A former member of the board of directors of the Louisiana Recovery Authority, responsible for leading the state's rebuilding process in the aftermath of two catastrophic hurricanes, Ms. Brazile is the proud recipient of honorary doctorate degrees from Louisiana State University and Xavier University of Louisiana, the only historically Black, Catholic institution of higher education in the United States.
Ms. Brazile is founder and managing director of Brazile & Associates LLC, a general consulting, grassroots advocacy, and training firm based in Washington, DC.
Jody Holtzman, Senior Vice President, Thought Leadership at AARP, has more than two decades of experience helping companies develop and implement competitive strategies and achieve their strategic market goals. At AARP he leads AARP's new Thought Leadership efforts which support the organization's new brand positioning around a focus on living not just aging and for people 50+ to live their best life. Previously, Jody led AARP's research, competitive intelligence and strategic analysis functions. A central focus of this research is to understand the needs, wants and preferences of AARP members and prospective members, their intent to join and renew their memberships, as well as their views regarding AARP's social mission and policy goals. Prior to that, Jody was AARP's first Director of Strategic Analysis and Intelligence where his team provided forward looking and actionable insight about AARP's external environment in support of senior management decision-making. Jody is a member of AARP's Leadership Team and Brand Council.
Top Analysts Will Provide an Overview of the Business Landscape
Sharon Dworkin Bell - Senior Vice President, NAHB
Candace Corlett - President, WSL Strategic Retail
Steve French - Managing Director, National Marketing Institute
Jeff Hasen - Chief Marketing Officer, Hip Cricket
Kurt Hulander - Platform Leader for Health Solutions, Best Buy
Gail Gibson Hunt - President & CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving
Jodi Olshevski - Assistant Vice President, The Hartford
Laurie Orlov - Founder, Aging in Place Technology Watch
"Age and Healthtech Marketplace"
Lee Rainie - Director, Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
"Trends in Social and Internet Media"
Robert Stephen - VP, My Home & Family Portfolio, IVS-Portfolio Management, AARP
Sandra Timmermann - Assistant Vice President, MetLife and the Director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute
Featured Speakers
Sally Abrahms - Writer and Editor
Lori Bitter - President, Continuum Crew
Myrna Blyth - Editor in Chief, ThirdAge.com
Suzanne Braun Levine - writer, editor and nationally recognized authority on women and family issues and media
Beth Carpenter - Digital Distribution, Blogger, AARP
Stephen Chen - CEO, New Retirement
Andy Cohen - Founder and CEO, Caring.com
Scott Collins - President and CEO, Linkage
Jim Emerman - Executive Vice President, Civic Ventures
Mary Furlong - President and CEO, Mary Furlong & Associates
Joe Gerardi - CIO, ABHOW
Jeremy Gin - Co-founder and CEO, Sitejabber.com
Alex Go - CEO, Virtual Health
Tammy Gordon - Director, Social Communications & Strategy, AARP
Ravishankar Gundlapalli - Founder and CEO, MentorCloud
Deborah Jacobs - Author and Journalist, Forbes Magazine
Stephen Johnston - CEO, Fordcastle, LLC
Vicki Lawrence - COO, Linqto
Jeff Makowka - Senior Strategic Advisor, Thought Leadership, AARP
Lynn Mento - SVP, Member Experience, AARP
Gary Moulton - Product Manager, Trustworthy Computing Group, Microsoft
Laura Mitchell - VP, Marketing, GrandCare Systems
Matt Mitchell - Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer, AARP
Margit Novak - President, Moving Solutions
Greg O'Neill - Director, National Academy on an Aging Society
Ilya Oshman - Senior Vice President, FP&A, Weight Watchers
Madeline Pantalone - Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, GreatCall, Inc.
Stuart Rosenthal - Founder, Publisher and Editor of the Beacon newspapers
Francine Russo - Bestselling Author
Kian Saneii - CEO, Independa, Inc.
Gail Sheehy - Bestselling Author and Columnist, USAToday.com
Jeff Shoemate - Vice President of Innovation and Business Development, United Healthcare - Medicare & Retirement
Katrina Shonbeck - Google
Missy Sullivan - Senior Editor, Smart Money, The Wall Street Journal
Charlotte Yeh - Chief Medical Officer, AARP Services, Inc.
More About Our Speakers & Analysts
Sally Abrahms - Writer & Editor
Sally Abrahms is an award-winning Boston writer and editor specializing in aging and boomers, work, and family issues. She has published in the country's top magazines and newspapers, on major Internet sites, and is the author of two books on divorce and children. Sally also does corporate communications work for corporations, organizations, and institutions.
Lori Bitter - President, Continuum Crew
Lori Bitter is President of Continuum Crew, an integrated communications firm focused on engaging mature consumers. Lori has more than 25 years of advertising, public relations and strategic planning experience and is the author of numerous white papers on topics relevant to the senior and Boomer population.
Myrna Blyth - Editor in Chief, ThirdAge.com
Myrna Blyth, Editor in Chief at ThirdAge, was the longtime editor of the Ladies' Home Journal and the founding editor of More magazine. She has written for many magazines and newspapers including The New Yorker, New York, National Review, Redbook and Cosmopolitan. She is also the author of the New York Times bestseller "Spin Sisters" and "How to Raise an American."
Suzanne Braun Levine - Writer, editor and nationally recognized authority on women and family issues and media
Suzanne Braun Levine is a writer, editor and nationally recognized authority on women and family issues and media. She was the first editor of Ms. magazine (1972-1988), and the first woman editor of the Columbia Journalism Review. She reports on the ongoing changes in women's lives in her books, on her web site www.suzannebraunlevine.com, on television and radio, as a frequent guest blogger and lecturer.
Suzanne's new book, How We Love Now: Sex and the New Intimacy in Second Adulthood (Viking/January 2, 2012) is the groundbreaking, funny, poignant and sometimes shocking "next chapter" in Levine's ongoing conversation with Women In Second Adulthood, the stage she celebrated in two popular books: Inventing the Rest of Our Lives and Fifty is the New Fifty.
Stephen Chen - CEO, New Retirement
Stephen Chen is an entrepreneur who specializes in consumer internet solutions. His domain experience spans financial services, education, software as service and on-line performance marketing. Most recently he founded NewRetirement.com, which is working on delivering holistic retirement planning to the mass market and has 250,000 to 400,000 unique users per month.
Andy Cohen - Founder and CEO, Caring.com
Andy Cohen is the founder and CEO of Caring.com, a website to help adult children care for their aging parents. Andy has over 20 years of marketing experience at companies including SC Johnson Wax, Peapod and Intuit. Andy is a graduate of Stanford University and Northwestern's Kellogg School of Management.
Scott Collins - President and CEO, Linkage
As President/CEO, Scott Collins is responsible for the strategic direction & growth of the company which connects its more than 460 member locations to a broad range of resources to ensure their ongoing success. Linkage collaborates with senior living providers & thought leaders throughout the country to explore new market opportunities beyond the campus as well as innovative ways of generating revenue and containing costs. Before joining Linkage, Mr. Collins was a Vice President & Senior Account Executive with GE Capital Commercial Asset Funding. Mr. Collins has also held senior management positions in the commercial real estate and textile industries.
Candace Corlett - President, WSL Strategic Retail
Candace Corlett is president at WSL Strategic Retail. Established in 1986,WSL/SR is a retail strategy firm that helps manufacturers and retailers bring more shoppers to stores to buy brands.
The firm is well known for its How America Shops® trend research, which predicts changes in shopping "life", and how those changes will impact your business.
Candace has a proven track record in corporate marketing at companies both large and small. She has held management positions in brand marketing and market research at Bristol-Myers Squibb, Revlon, and DEL Laboratories. She joined WSL Strategic Retail as a principal in 1995. Her professional background combines the best of classic package goods marketing with an entrepreneur's spirit.
Sharon Dworkin Bell - SVP, Multifamily and 50+ Housing, National Association of Home Builders
Sharon Dworkin Bell is senior vice president for Multifamily and 50+ Housing at the National Association of Home Builders in Washington, DC. She represents developers of affordable and market-rate rental apartments, condominiums and homes and communities specifically targeted to the 50+ market. Ms. Bell marshals the considerable resources of NAHB on behalf of these two important segments of the housing industry, including the organization's lobbying prowess, economic forecasts, analytical research, and activities related to construction codes, land use, and legal action. Ms. Bell has been repeatedly named by prominent industry trade publications as one of the most influential members of the multifamily industry.
Jim Emerman - Executive Vice President, Civic Ventures
Jim Emerman is Executive Vice President of Civic Ventures, a think tank on boomers, work and social purpose. As Executive Vice President, Emerman is a member of the organization's executive management team and serves as chief program officer, responsible for management and implementation of all Civic Ventures' programs. Prior to assuming his current position as EVP, Emerman developed and directed The Purpose Prize, a $17 million program designed to recognize and invest in social entrepreneurs who are working after the age of 60 to solve important problems in their communities, the country and the world. At the time he joined Civic Ventures in 2005, Emerman was Chief Operating Officer of the American Society on Aging, the largest association of professionals working with and on behalf of older adults.
Steve French - Managing Director, Natural Marketing Institute (NMI)
Steve French has over 26 years of marketing, strategic consulting, and management experience across numerous industries. With his focus on healthy aging, wellness, and social sustainability, he works with many global clients on developing new business opportunities, strategic planning, and market research projects. He has pioneered a range of NMI consumer databases that analyze consumer attitudes and behavior, including NMI's Healthy Aging/Boomer Database. As a recognized industry expert, his expertise is also utilized on a regular basis by global media, is an author of numerous reports and articles, and is a regular speaker at many industry events worldwide.
Mary Furlong - President and CEO, Mary Furlong & Associates
Mary Furlong, Ed.D., MFA's president and CEO, is a leading authority on the baby boom generation as it moves toward and beyond age 50. Through her three companies she has raised over 130 million in venture financing and corporate sponsorships for companies with products and services to serve the needs of the boomer/senior marketplace. In March 2011 Mary received an award as one of the top 100 Women of Influence by the Silicon Valley Business Journal and is also the author of "Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace".
Alex Go defines the strategic direction of Virtual Health and provides leadership with the goal of establishing the company as the premier solutions integrator, bridging consumers with health and wellness service providers. Prior to joining Virtual Health, Alex was the global director of new markets for Intel's healthcare business, driving new product introductions such as the Mobile Clinical Assistant, the first purpose-built healthcare tablet now used in more than 1,000 hospitals worldwide. He brings 20 years of experience working for Tyco Electronics and Intel Corp., in a variety of strategic planning, sales and market development positions.
Ravishankar Gundlapalli - Founder and CEO, MentorCloud
Dr. Ravishankar Gundlapalli ("Ravi") is the Founder and CEO of MentorCloud, the online platform to promote entrepreneurship and professional growth of aspiring individuals globally, through wisdomsharing and mentoring. Ravi launched MentorCloud to harvest the untapped wisdom of millions of boomers towards developing the next generation of leaders and entrepreneurs. His work and vision have appeared in the HBR Blog Network and Arab Knowledge@Wharton. He was also a stakeholder and technology consultant for a 2010 report on "Collaborative Workforce Development in Silicon Valley" by Silicon Valley Joint Venture Network. Ravi has been an invited speaker at leadership conferences in Silicon Valley and India.
Jeff Hasen builds, strengthens and protects brands. Companies benefiting from his talents have landed on Wired's list of most innovative entities on Earth and been named pioneers and the early leader in the burgeoning mobile marketing category.
Named a top CMO on Twitter, Jeff is the author of the upcoming book, Mobilized Marketing: Driving Sales, Engagement, and Loyalty Through Mobile Devices, due in Spring 2012 from Wiley Publishing.
He co-created the certification program for the Mobile Marketing Association. He is one of only two individuals certified by the MMA to train professionals and students on mobile marketing definitions, techniques, and benefits. At Hipcricket, he conceived and led the execution of an accelerated rebranding effort in advance of the mobile marketing software and services company being named "the early leader in the mobile marketing space in the U.S." by Frost and Sullivan. Hipcricket also won consecutive annual pioneer awards from CTIA - The Wireless Association.
Jeff's emphasis on integrity in business has made him a frequent speaker and writer on what he calls "Moments of Trust," the points that make or break brands and dramatically impact loyalty and sales.-
Kurt Hulander - Platform Leader for Health Solutions, Best Buy
Kurt Hulander, an 11 year veteran of Best Buy, assumed the role of Platform Leader for Health Solutions in July, 2010. In this capacity Kurt is charged with developing and executing the strategic vision for Best Buy to enter and effectively participate in the healthcare industry. This involves retail solutions as well as strategic partnerships and product or program development. Previous to his current role at BBY, Kurt was a member of the Best Buy marketing group and held a variety of positions related to innovation and business development, including work on the Best Buy small business initiative and new format development.
Gail Hunt - President & CEO, National Alliance for Caregiving
Gail Hunt is President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, a non-profit coalition dedicated to conducting research and developing national programs for family caregivers and the professionals who serve them. Prior to heading NAC, Ms. Hunt was President of her own aging services consulting firm for 14 years. She conducted corporate eldercare research for the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration, developed training for caregivers with AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association, and designed a corporate eldercare program for EAPs with the Employee Assistance Professional Association.
Deborah Jacobs - Author and Journalist, Forbes Magazine
An award winning journalist specializing in legal topics, Deborah L. Jacobs is a graduate of Barnard and Columbia's Law School and Graduate School of Journalism. She has been a syndicated newspaper columnist, newsletter editor and freelancer for many national publications, including The New York Times, Bloomberg Wealth Manager and BusinessWeek.
In her latest entrepreneurial venture, Deborah self-published her bestselling book for consumers, Estate Planning Smarts. Now a senior editor at Forbes, Deborah writes for Forbes magazine and blogs at www.forbes.com/deborahjacobs/blog covering the broad range of topics that affect baby boomers as they approach retirement.
Stephen Johnston - Founder and CEO, Fordcastle LLC
Stephen Johnston is the Founder and CEO of Fordcastle LLC, a New York-based innovation consultancy, which is part of the Growth Agenda network. Stephen previously worked at Nokia, Siebel Systems and Bertelsmann on strategic planning, new ventures and mobile services.
Over the past year, Stephen has been consulting to a major pharmaceutical company exploring new solutions for diabetes, and one of the world's largest hotel chains helping to deliver new guest experiences. In addition, he's been working with a family foundation on a personalized biotech research project exploring innovative stem cell therapies and exploring potential cures for Alzheimer's and dementia. His personal blog is threedimensionalpeople.com and he edits an online portal highlighting innovation in the aging space at Aging2.com and a LinkedIn Group called Aging2.0.
Vicki Lawrence is responsible for the design and implementation of Linqto technology into a live Facebook application model for small business and nonprofit users. She has a 15 year history of designing software platforms for small business and has received grants from the New York State Science and Tech Foundation, MapInfo (now Pitney Bowes Business Insight) and Stanford University. Vicki co-founded Home Search Information Network, the first online real estate communications and marketing solution provider to brokers; implemented in 250 US markets. Recently Vicki worked with the Dept. of Commerce's National Advisory Council on Innovation and Entrepreneurship.
Jeff Makowka - Senior Strategic Advisor, Thought Leadership, AARP
Jeff Makowka has over a decade of experience in strategic analysis, management consulting and market research. For over 5 years, Jeff has been focused on the wants and needs of the 50+ both domestically and internationally. As Senior Strategic Advisor in AARP's Thought Leadership group, he supports the organization's new brand positioning around a focus on living not just aging and for people 50+ to live their best life.
Prior to this role, Jeff held the position of Senior Manager, Global Member Value in AARP's Membership Development group. Before his work at AARP, Jeff was a Project Manager and Senior Business Analyst in the Monetizing Knowledge Practice at Edgewater Strategy Services. Before working at Edgewater, Jeff held positions as a Research Associate and Web Business Analyst with Jupiter Media Metrix.
Lynn Mento - SVP, Membership Development & Member Experience, AARP
Lynn Mento joined AARP in December 2006 as Director of Membership Development. She was promoted to Vice President in early 2008, and then to Senior VP/Membership Development and Member Experience shortly after. Lynn manages a team today responsible for the acquisition, engagement and renewal of the 37 million member base, the 'customer experience' for our members, the development of strategic initiatives to help drive the 'health' of the association, and the association-wide segmentation and 50+ insights work.
- Laura Mitchell - VP, Marketing, GrandCare Systems
Laura Mitchell is a founding member of the GrandCare team. A significant part of her role was to bring the product to market through the development of a nation-wide GC-Partner/Distributor network. Laura has spoken in various venues and educational forums including ASA, Silicon Valley Boomer Summit, AHIMA, LSN Tech Conference, CEDIA and EHX about enabling technologies for the aging population, the importance of social media in the aging industry, industry disruptive demographics and technology-enabled medication management. She is What's Next Boomer Summit Flame Award Winner for Innovation & Leadership, is a co-founder and serves as a Director on the AgeTek Alliance board (www.agetek.org), is the creator and host of the bi-weekly AGING/TECH industry-wide aging & technology webinars, and is a key organizer for the EHX CE PRO SHOW and CEDIA Future Home Pavilion and Educational Tracks.
Matt Mitchell - EVP and CIO, AARP
Matt Mitchell is AARP's Executive Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO). He is responsible for developing leading edge capabilities, and ensuring high-quality, and cost-effective delivery of technology solutions and services in support of AARP's mission and goals. Mr. Mitchell has direct responsibility for all technology development, infrastructure, and operations services across the organization.
Gary Moulton - Product Manager, Trustworthy Computing Group, Microsoft
Gary Moulton is an aging coordinator/product manager in Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing Group. He works within industry and actively partners with external parties on the use of Microsoft technology by individuals 50+.
Jodi Olshevski - Assistant Vice President, The Hartford
Jodi Olshevski, Assistant Vice President, heads The Hartford Advance 50 Team, a nationally-recognized team of corporate gerontologists who deliver expert services across The Hartford Financial Services Group. Olshevski is a frequent lecturer on business and aging at professional conferences and on industry panels, and has held an adjunct faculty position at Pennsylvania State University, Lehigh Valley campus. An expert in caregiving and eldercare issues, she is co-author of the book Stress Reduction for Caregivers, published by Taylor & Francis.
Greg O'Neill - Director, National Academy on an Aging Society
Greg O'Neill is director of the National Academy on an Aging Society, a Washington, DC, think tank on population and aging issues and the policy institute of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Dr. O'Neill specializes in the demographics of aging and civic engagement. His publications include "The State of Aging and Health in America," a national and state-by-state report card on healthy aging and the recent article, "The Baby Boom Age Wave: Success or Tsunami?" that appears in Boomer Bust? Economic and Political Issues of the Graying Society (Praeger, 2008). Dr. O'Neill is the co-editor of Public Policy & Aging Report, the Academy's signature publication. For the past five years, he has directed GSA's Civic Engagement in an Older America project, an initiative funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies to advance the issue of older adult civic engagement in the research and public policy arena.
Laurie Orlov - Founder, Aging in Place Technology Watch
Laurie M. Orlov, a tech industry veteran, writer, speaker and elder care advocate, is the founder of Aging in Place Technology Watch, a market research firm that provides thought leadership, analysis and guidance about technologies and related services that enable boomers and seniors to remain longer in their home of choice.
Ilya Oshman - Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis, Weight Watchers International (WWI)
Ilya Oshman is a Senior Vice President of Financial Planning and Analysis at Weight Watchers International (WWI). Prior to WWI he served as the Managing Director with Roberts Mitani LLC, a boutique investment bank in New York that provides investment banking, strategic advisory and management support to companies in healthcare, consumer/retail and industrial/clean technology sectors. He was also a Senior Advisor and acting CFO of Follica Inc., a startup that is developing treatments for hair loss and skin disorders and is backed by InterWest and Polaris. Until May of 2009 Ilya served as the CFO of Natura International, a global division of the largest Brazilian cosmetics company Natura Cosmeticos (public in Brazil). Prior to joining Natura Ilya spent 15 years at Pfizer. His was the founder, Vice President and General Manager of Pfizer's Strategic Investments Group (PSIG) where he was responsible for Pfizer's investments in promising new expansion areas of molecular and other types of diagnostics, healthcare IT, systems biology and others. Under Ilya's leadership the group was named among the Top 5 Corporate Investors in 2006 by Dow Jones Venture Analyst and generated a 41% IRR since its inception.
Madeline Pantalone - Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, GreatCall, Inc.
Madeline Pantalone is Vice President of Strategy and Business Development at GreatCall, Inc., creator of the Jitterbug cell phone and a leading provider of mobile applications that support active lifestyles for aging Americans. Madeline has more than 26 years of experience spanning strategic business planning, business development, marketing, technology, and product design and management. Prior to joining GreatCall, Madeline was a consultant to small and mid-sized companies, an executive in the financial service industry, and a director with two major healthcare institutions where her responsibilities included the evaluation and implementation of targeted technologies. Madeline has a B.A. in Mathematics and a M.B.A. from U.C.L.A.
Lee Rainie - Director, Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project
Lee Rainie is the Director of the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project, a non-profit, non-partisan "fact tank" that studies the social impact of the internet. Since December 1999, the Washington D.C. research center has examined how people's internet use affects their families, communities, health care, education, civic and political life, and work places. The Project has issued more than 300 reports based on its surveys that examine people's online activities and the internet's role in their lives. All of its reports and datasets are available online for free at: http://www.pewinternet.org.
Lee is a co-author of Up for Grabs, Hopes and Fears, Ubiquity, Mobility, Security, and Challenges and Opportunities. All are based on Project surveys about the future of the internet. He is also writing a book entitled Networked: The new social operating system with sociologist Barry Wellman about the social impact of the internet and cell phones for MIT Press.
Stuart Rosenthal - Founder, Publisher and Editor of the Beacon newspapers
Stuart Rosenthal is the founder, publisher and editor of the Beacon newspapers, free monthlies serving the 50+ populations of Greater Washington, Greater Baltimore and Howard County, Md. The award-winning monthlies have a readership exceeding 350,000 and may be read online at www.theBeaconNewspapers.com.
Rosenthal also chairs the Maryland Commission on Aging, serves on state and local advisory boards, and is immediate past president of the North American Mature Publishers Association (NAMPA), the trade association representing publications for boomers and older adults.
Francine Russo - Bestselling Author
Francine Russo, author of the notable book, They're Your Parents, Too! How Siblings Can Survive Their Parents' Aging Without Driving Each Other Crazy, is a writer, keynote speaker and consultant on multi-generational communication and decision-making in the aging family. For clients targeting the Boomer market, she crafts newsletters, articles and various online communications. For select private clients, she authors family histories and biographies. Russo, a widely recognized journalist, covered the boomer and aging beat for Time magazine for more than a decade, and wrote for other national media. Dr. Russo (Ph.D., English) is a New York Times Fellow at the International Longevity Center and a 'Who's Who' expert at the Sloan Work-Family Network.
Kian Saneii - CEO, Independa, Inc.
Kian Saneii is CEO of Independa, Inc., a funded San Diego startup delivering disruptive, next-generation technology solutions to help caregivers help their loved ones stay at home longer, safer and more comfortably.
Prior to Independa, Saneii was GM of Websense Wireless from 2005-2008. From 2001-2005 Saneii held roles as VP Marketing and VP Business Development at Websense, responsible for all aspects of global marketing, strategy, mergers and acquisitions, OEM sales, and business development through new strategic channels.
Before joining Websense, Saneii served as Senior Vice President, Worldwide Marketing and Business Development for IMA, Inc and IPNet Solutions, 1997-2001. From 1985 - 1997, Saneii served in management positions at AT&T Bell Laboratories, DIS Research and FileNet Corporation (acquired by IBM).
Gail Sheehy - Bestselling Author and Columnist, USAToday.com
As a cultural observer and bestselling author of 15 books, including Passages, Gail Sheehy has changed the way millions of people look at their lives. In her history-making books and introspective commentary, Ms. Sheehy has addressed fundamental questions that apply to women and men as they move through the stages of adult life from adolescence into their seasoned years. As the bestselling author of 15 books, including Passages, Gail Sheehy has rocked the culture and changed the way millions of women and men around the world look at the stages of their lives. In 2010 she takes on the most challenging and personal issue in her latest book: Passages in Caregiving.
Jeff Shoemate - Vice President of Innovation and Business Development, United Healthcare - Medicare & Retirement
Jeff Shoemate is Vice President of Innovation and Business Development for the senior markets segment of United Health Group, known as United Healthcare - Medicare & Retirement. In this role, Jeff leads a team responsible for development of new product and service offerings, for UHC Medicare & Retirement and the introduction of new value-added innovations to AARP, a long-term marketing partner of UHC - Medicare & Retirement.
In the role immediately prior to United Health Group, Jeff was one of several leaders who built the consumer marketing function at Best Buy from 1999 until 2009. At Best Buy, Jeff held various marketing leadership roles including new business development, brand strategy & marketing, innovation and customer centricity.
From 1993 to 1999, he held roles in consumer marketing, product development, branding and research with Nielsen Marketing Research, James River Co and Jostens. Jeff attended undergrad (BA- History) at Union College in Schenectady, NY and earned is Marketing MBA from the University of Minnesota.
Missy Sullivan - Senior Editor, Smart Money, The Wall Street Journal
Like many baby boomers, Missy Sullivan is easily enthralled by her own generation-its chest-thumping energy... its "What? Me worry?" optimism... and the way the ground seems to shake, T-Rex-style, every time the massive, 78-million-headed monster takes a single lumbering step. So last year, after taking on the "boomer beat" at SmartMoney, the personal finance magazine of The Wall Street Journal, Missy immediately dove in, covering topics ranging from empty nester spending trends to the difficult market for downsizing to the things other publications failed to tell you about retiring abroad.
As senior editor at SmartMoney since 2007, she has also led the magazine's consumer spending coverage of topics including travel, cars, tech, health, education, real estate, green living, collecting and wine, editing numerous award-winning stories and columns. The common thread? Trying to help drive readers to that elusive intersection of quality and value, while reducing the marketing glare.
Sandra Timmermann - Assistant Vice President, MetLife and the Director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute
Dr. Sandra Timmermann is an Assistant Vice President, MetLife and the Director of the MetLife Mature Market Institute in Westport, Connecticut.
In this role, Dr. Timmermann is responsible for MetLife's information and policy resource center for issues concerning aging, retirement, long-term care and the mature market. The Institute provides research, training and education, consultation and information to support MetLife and its business partners.
She is a nationally recognized gerontologist with over 25 years of experience in the field of aging. Prior to joining MetLife in April 1997, she held senior staff positions with several national aging organizations including the American Society on Aging, AARP, and SeniorNet. Earlier in her career, Dr. Timmermann worked with corporate clients as an account supervisor in public relations and marketing agencies.
Charlotte Yeh - Chief Medical Officer, AARP Services, Inc.
In August 2008, Dr. Charlotte Yeh joined AARP Services Incorporated (ASI) as its first Chief Medical Officer. ASI is a wholly owned, taxable subsidiary of AARP, managing a wide range of products and services that are offered as benefits to AARP's 39+ million members. The offers span health products, travel & leisure products, and life event services. In addition to managing products and services, AARP Services also develops new products, oversees marketing, conducts publications and web advertising sales, creates and maintains alliance and sponsorship relationships. Dr. Yeh will be responsible for implementing dramatic changes in healthcare delivery. She will partner with medical officers at ASI's providers to identify programs and initiatives that will lead to enhanced care for older adults. She'll also build an ASI Health Initiatives team to meet expanding member expectations, and will lead new process improvement programs focused on quality, safety and efficiency.