Maeona Mendelson

Maeona Mendelson, Ph.D., of Kailua, Hawaii, has been a member of AARP's Board of Directors since 2006, and she chairs the AARP Foundation's Board of Directors. 

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Life Perspectives

"I'm at a point in my life where personal and professional have become beautifully seamless. Most of what I do now is volunteer work, and it's very much directed by the way I was raised — in a multigenerational family with a very close connection to my grandmother. 

"I'm passionate about intergenerational work. That isn't just a feel-good activity. It's really a concern that the generations are becoming more isolated from each other. What I had growing up was access to my grandmother and learning my Japanese culture from her — and being able to turn to my grandmother when there were issues with my parents, which there always are in your teen years. 

"A lot of young people don't have access to grandparents anymore. In the United States, people live far apart from each other. You go to school in kind of a silo with young people your own age. Older people go into nursing homes or assisted living facilities. That wonderful wisdom and legacy is being missed by the younger generation. 

"How do you build a community that makes sure that older people and young people have access to each other? One of the things we've done in Hawaii is to locate a child care center next door to an adult day care center, with joint programs between the two on a daily basis. 

"And I'll tell you, it's just astounding. You have young people, children, growing up without the fear of aging. It's just become very natural. 

"And the older person who might be sleeping in the wheelchair until that child comes in, and they suddenly become very animated. They bring the child on their lap. And the child isn't afraid. The older person no longer seems frail. 

"I was able to see birth to death in my home. That's important. 

"My other personal interest is travel. I'm not particularly interested in tourism, but in visiting intergenerational programs. Now I'm taking people on intergenerational study tours. We make a tremendous effort to visit some of the best programs. 

"We've been to Germany and to Spain. Japan has fabulous programs. We're looking at Morocco, and there are wonderful programs in Europe. Although people are very interested in this approach in the U.S., it hasn't really caught on. 

"A dream would be a housing facility for the elderly on a college campus. This has been done in France. The students receive subsidized housing if they're helping to care for the older people. 

"That's the way I want to age. I don't want to go into a facility just for people my age. I want to have children, not just my children, around me all the time."

Education

Ph.D., philosophy of social welfare, University of Hawaii; M.S.W., social work, University of Hawaii; B.A., international relations, American University, School of International Service

Expertise

Intergenerational studies, community development, international affairs, social work, social welfare

Experience

President, Travel and Learn, an intergenerational study tour company. Professor-in-residence at Chaminade University of Honolulu to develop The Intergenerational Center. Former executive director of the Hawaii Intergenerational Network and adjunct professor at Hawaii Pacific University, where she taught program design for human services and intergenerational studies. Former adjunct professor, University of Hawaii. Former program director for the Hawaii Community Services Council and director of development and public relations for the YWCA.

Volunteer Experience

Boards: Currently, chair, AARP Foundation Board of Directors and member of AARP board Member and Social Impact Committee. Former board member, United Nations Association of Hawaii.

Other: Former state president, AARP Hawaii. Former member, International Advisory Committee for World Congress of Youth and the International Consortium of Intergenerational Practice. Currently serves as Hawaii coordinator for Sister Cities International and as a council member of the Honolulu Academy of Arts.

Honors

Named a Purpose Prize Fellow by Civic Ventures and recognized as Social Worker of the Year in Gerontology by the NASW Hawaii in 2007. Other honors include an award from the Kingdom of Morocco for strengthening the cooperative relationship between Morocco and Hawaii; a resolution commending her contributions to international affairs, culture, education and trade on behalf of Hawaii; and a commendation for leadership of the Millennium Young People's Congress from the Honolulu Department of Economic Development.

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