AARP Foundation Leadership
Board members are elected to serve two-year terms. These individuals are leaders in their fields and usually hold other positions with the boards of foundations, associations, and a variety of public and private organizations. They are selected based on their record of achievement and commitment to the issues of interest to the AARP Foundation and represent the extensive diversity of the American population. For the 2008-2010 Biennium, the AARP Foundation Board of Directors is composed of:
N. Joyce Payne, Ed.D., Chair
N. Joyce Payne, Ed.D., of Rocky Mount, NC, is Chair of the AARP Foundation Board of Directors and a member of the AARP Board of Directors, Class of 2010. Dr. Payne currently serves as executive director of the National Endowment for the Public Trust, a new organization committed to advancing principled leadership, inspired scholarship and trusted stewardship. She accepted this position following her retirement as vice president of the Office for the Advancement of Public Black Colleges (OAPBC), which represents 40 of the largest and most prestigious historically black public colleges and universities in the nation, and the Council of Student Affairs of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC), the national voice for 213 public and land-grant universities, in cooperation with the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
Before joining OAPBC, Dr. Payne was president of Global Systems, Inc. and a senior staff member under the Carter Administration with the President's Advisory Committee for Women; President's National Advisory Council on Women's Education Programs, and the White House Conference on Families. She taught at the former Federal City College and George Washington University, and currently serves as a senior scientist consultant with the Gallup Organization.
An authority on women's issues in relation to higher education and labor force participation, Dr. Payne has published and presented a number of papers on "Women in Administration in Higher Education"; "Women in Urban School Systems"; Women and the Consequences of Power"; "Maintaining the Competitive Tradition" in Minorities in Higher Education; "Hidden Messages in the Pursuit of Equality" in Academe; and "Black Colleges in an Expanding Economy" in the American Council on Education's Educational Record.
Dr. Payne's extensive volunteer efforts include chairing the University of the District of Columbia's Board of Trustees from 1979-1988. Prior to being named chair, she was a trustee. In 1987, she created the nationally recognized Thurgood Marshall College Fund, designed exclusively for exceptional students at public black colleges and universities. She continues to serve on the Foundation's Board of Directors.
Among her numerous honors, Dr. Payne received a Presidential Medal from Delaware State University in 2003 and honorary doctorates from Lincoln University of Missouri, Lincoln University of Pennsylvania, Kentucky State University and the University of the District of Columbia. Originally from Washington, DC, she was inducted into the District of Columbia's Hall of Fame in 2001.
Payne earned her Master's and Doctorate from Atlanta University in higher education, and received a B.A. in speech pathology from the District of Columbia Teachers College.
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George Rowan, Vice Chair
George Rowan, Ph.D., of East Lansing, MI, is a member of the AARP Foundation Board of Directors, Class of 2010 and AARP Board of Directors, Class of 2012.
Dr. Rowan currently is a professor at Michigan State University and holds an extension appointment. He previously was director of the David Walker Research Institute at MSU and assistant dean for external relations. Dr. Rowan also was a principal in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, public school system.
Prior to his election to the Board, Dr. Rowan served as AARP Michigan State President. His other volunteer service includes chair of the Ingham County Board of Health and membership in the Lions Club of America. Dr. Rowan brings to the board experience from his involvement with and representation on numerous health and educational committees and organizations, including service on a Public Health Advisory Committee and the Michigan African American Health Institute. Dr. Rowan also serves on the Ingham Regional Medical Center Prostate Cancer Awareness Committee and does volunteer programming for the American Cancer Society.
Among his honors, Dr. Rowan has received an Exemplary Service in Academia Award from the American Society for Public Administration, a Service Award from the Western Michigan Regional Health Committee, an Outstanding Mentor Award from Michigan State University, and the Black Educator of the Year in Michigan and Ohio from the Peace Corps.
Bruce Corson, Board Member
Bruce Corson, BS, MBA, of Chicago, was appointed to the AARP Foundation Board of Directors in 2008. He has managed companies for 30 years in a variety of industries, supplying consumer products from footwear to frozen foods. As CEO of his own companies and of established national organizations, Mr. Corson developed what he describes as “an eclectic entrepreneurial background.” Faced with the necessity of devising creative solutions to the innumerable challenges confronting executive managers every day, he learned what it takes to make a business survive and thrive.
Mr. Corson shares his expertise through a number of channels. For six years, he was a chairperson for TEC International, an organization of top-level executives who meet in small groups around the world to capitalize on the power of peer learning. Forming alliances with potential sponsors around the country, he turned a concept into a dynamic national program within two years. Through his affiliation with the Edward Lowe Foundation, he supports that organization’s mission of helping business owners take their companies to the next level. Mr. Corson is formerly a member of the National Board of Directors of the Entrepreneurship Institute. This non-profit company provides educational programs and networking opportunities for leaders of small and mid-market businesses.
Mr. Corson has the ability to see opportunities that others pass by, a talent for finding paths around obstacles and the determination to bring good ideas to fruition. He also has a sincere desire to help others find the success he has achieved.
Mr. Corson received a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Missouri and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago.
Joanne Handy, Board Member
Joanne Handy, R.N., M.S., of Boston, MA, is a member of the AARP Board of Directors, Class of 2010 and was appointed to the AARP Foundation Board in 2008. Professionally, Ms. Handy is president and chief executive officer of the Visiting Nurse Association of Boston. She formerly served as the president and chief executive officer of the Institute on Aging in San Francisco, CA, and as assistant director at the University of California/San Francisco - Mount Zion Medical Center.
In her volunteer work, Ms. Handy was board chair and now serves on the executive committee of the American Society on Aging. She also is a board member of the Visiting Nurse Association of America and the Boston Partnership for Older Adults. Ms. Handy previously served on the board of the National Association for Home Care and as board chair of the California Association for Health Services at Home.
Ms. Handy has received numerous awards including the Leadership Award from the American Society on Aging, the Member of the Year Award from Women Health Care Executives, and the Outstanding Alumni Award from Rutgers University College of Nursing. She was a fellow in the Kellogg Foundation International Leadership Program. Ms. Handy also has been responsible for a nonprofit board governance program series for a senior executive women's association.
Madeleine Moore-Burrell, Board Member
Madeleine Moore-Burrell, BFA., MFA, was appointed to the AARP Foundation Board of Directors in 2008. She recently relocated to Chicago from New York, is the Founder and of Moore Creative, and now President of Moore Creative at Austin& Williams. Ms. Moore-Burrell has launched award-winning communications and sale-promotion campaigns developed to enhance the image and market share of national and international clients.
Ms. Moore-Burrell headed the first African-American marketing firm awarded a post-apartheid contract with South Africa, launching the Sister City agreement between New York City and Johannesburg.
An expert in multi-cultural marketing, Ms. Moore-Burrell developed targeted marketing strategies and promotional products for the first municipal HMO in America and helped launch AmeriChoice, one of the country’s largest African American managed care plans. A new identity campaign transformed Beekman Hospital into New York Downtown Hospital with her top-to-bottom redesign including the hospital’s new name, signage, ambulances, and uniforms, while marketing the institution to both Wall Street and Chinatown
For over a decade she marketed the annual New Orleans Essence Music Festival, the annually televised Essence Awards on FOX TV, as well as spearheading the licensing of Essence Eyewear and Sunwear with national merchandising and advertising campaigns.
As a world traveler and Co-Founder of the National Professionals Network, Inc. (NPN), Ms. Moore-Burrell annually brings over 700 African American professionals and captains of industry together in the televised Leadership Summit at Sea—a celebrity conference cruise aired on NBC and CBS, that has sailed around the world for the past 17 years.
She is a founder of the 21st Century Women’s Leadership Center, a multi-cultural collaboration of the New York Coalition of One Hundred Black Women, One Hundred Hispanic Women and Asian Women in Business. For over a decade the Leadership Center developed original research, influenced public policy and provided entrepreneurial forums for women of color.
Ms. Moore-Burrell received a Bachelors of Fine Arts from New York University and a Masters of Fine Arts from Columbia University.
J. David Nelson, Board Member
J. David Nelson, BA, MBA, of Old Greenwich, CT, is a member of the AARP Board of Directors, Class of 2014 and was appointed to the AARP Foundation Board in 2008. Mr. Nelson is COO of the National Foundation for the Teaching Entrepreneurship (NFTE), a $15 million nonprofit educational foundation focused on teaching entrepreneurial and life skills to young people from low-income communities. Previously, he had an extensive career with IBM spanning 33 years. His positions included marketing executive of Global Financial Markets (IBM Corporation); general manager of Banking Finance and Securities (IBM Greater China); and senior director of Wholesale Banking and Securities Industries (IBM Global Services, known at one time as Integrated Systems Solutions Corporation), among others.
As a volunteer, Mr. Nelson is currently on the advisory board of Envision EMI, a company creating unique experiences for high achieving young people; a mentor to graduate students at Kellogg School of Management; a board member of the Stamford, CT Women's Business Development Center and chair of the Center's Strategic Planning Committee; and a member in multiple capacities of Stamford's World Affairs Forum.
Mr. Nelson was named a Purpose Prize Fellow by Civic Ventures; named a "notable alumni" by Northwestern University; received numerous achievement awards from IBM; and honored as a lecturer at both Harvard Business School and Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.
Mr. Nelson earned his M.B.A. in marketing and his BA in history from Northwestern University; he has also participated in various seminars on government operations, management and finances at the Brookings Institution and Harvard Business School.
Thomas Nelson, Board Member
Thomas C. Nelson is AARP's Chief Operating Officer. In addition to overall association leadership responsibilities, Mr. Nelson oversees State and National Initiatives, Operations, Integrated Communications, Social Impact, and Membership. He is responsible for AARP's key operations including communications, publications, research, advocacy, community service and field delivery capabilities, and membership development, all of which further AARP's goal of being the leading organization for social responsibility.
Mr. Nelson joined AARP in 1980 as Manager of Consumer Affairs, and in that position established AARP's consumer program. In 1982, he assumed the additional responsibility for AARP's health activities. From 1984 to1990, he was Director of AARP's Program Department that was responsible for the Association's educational and community service programs. In 1990, he became Director of the Field Services Division and was named Associate Executive Director of State and National Initiatives in 1999.
His many contributions include the expansion of AARP's state capacity, strengthening of the advocacy team, development of the volunteer ranks, and growth of AARP's community service efforts.
Prior to joining AARP, Mr. Nelson was at the University of Southern California Andrus Gerontology Center. From 1973 to 1977, he was a staff member of the Federal Trade Commission, where he worked on the investigation and subsequent regulation of the funeral industry, as well as inquiries related to nursing homes and other consumer issues facing the elderly.
Mr. Nelson has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Union College, a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University, and Doctoral degree from the University of Southern California.
Joan Ruff, Treasurer, Audit Chair
Joan Ruff, J.D., of Mission Woods, KS, was appointed to the AARP Foundation Board of Directors in 2008. She recently retired after more than 30 years in the private sector. Ms. Ruff spent the last ten years of her professional working life as Assistant Vice President of Knowledge Development for H&R Block and as Executive Vice President for Corporate Development at Zurich Financial Services-North America.
Ms. Ruff brings to the Board experience from her involvement with and representation on several professional committees and non-profit boards. She has been active in community and professional groups for more than 30 years. Joan has served on the Executive Committee for the Mid-Continent Council of Girl Scouts and as National Delegate for the Girl Scouts USA. She currently serves as a committee member on the Electronic Tax Administration Advisory Committee.
Ms. Ruff received a J.D. from the University of Kansas School of Law, and earned an LLM in Taxation at the New York University School of Law and an MBA from Rockhurst University.
Fernando Torres-Gil, Board Member
Dr. Torres-Gil, Ph.D., was appointed to the AARP Foundation Board of Directors in 2007. Dr. Torres-Gil is Acting Dean and Associate Dean of Academic Affairs, Professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy, and Director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging at the School of Public Affairs, University of California at Los Angeles.
Fernando Torres-Gil, PhD, is a renowned expert in the fields of health and long-term care, the politics of aging, social policy, ethnicity, and disability. He is the author of six books and more than 80 articles and book chapters. In recognition of his many academic accomplishments, he was elected a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America in 1985 and the National Academy of Public Administration in 1995. He served as President of the American Society on Aging from 1989 to 1992 and is currently a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance.
His academic accomplishments parallel his extensive government and public policy experience, including being appointed by President Clinton as the first Assistant Secretary for Aging in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As the Administration's chief advocate on aging, Dr. Torres-Gil played a key role in promoting the importance of aging, long-term care, and disability issues, in consolidating federal programs for the elderly, and in helping baby boomers redefine retirement in a post-pension era. He simultaneously worked with HHS Secretary Donna Shalala in overseeing aging policy throughout the federal government, managing the Administration on Aging and organizing the 1995 White House Conference on Aging.
He sits on the Board of Directors of Elderhostel, The National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare, The California Endowment, and The Los Angeles Board of Airport Commissioners.
Dr. Torres-Gil was born and raised in Salinas, California. He earned his Ph.D. in Social Policy, Planning and Research from the Heller Graduate School in Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University in 1976.
Dr. Arthur Ulene, Development Chair
Art Ulene, M.D., was appointed to the AARP Foundation Board of Directors in 2007. He is a Board-certified Obstetrician/Gynecologist whose interest in the educational needs of patients led him to explore the use of modern communications technology for the delivery of health-related information. Since 1975, Dr. Ulene has spearheaded the use of television to promote public health. For 23 years, his health reports appeared nationally on NBC's TODAY program.
Dr. Ulene created and led several nationwide campaigns promoting health in collaboration with leading medical organizations in the United States. He is the author of more than 50 health-related books and home video/audio programs designed to promote good health. In 2006, he received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Medical Communicators.
Dr. Ulene was a member of the full-time faculty at the University of Southern California School of Medicine from 1970 to 1975, and served on the Clinical Faculty for 15 years thereafter. He was Chairman of the Board of the USC/Norris Cancer Hospital for 10 years, and currently serves on Advisory Boards for the USC/Norris Comprehensive Cancer Center, The Children's Partnership, and the Lynne Cohen Cancer Foundation.
Dr. Ulene lives in Los Angeles, California, and Park City, Utah, with his wife of 46 years, Priscilla. They share three children, five grandchildren and a love of travel. He is an advanced skier, an avid motorcyclist and a beginning artist and snowboarder.
AARP Foundation Executive Leadership
Robin Talbert, AARP Foundation President
As President of the AARP Foundation, Talbert provides leadership across the Foundation areas of programs, legal advocacy, and development. The AARP Foundation is the affiliated charity of AARP and serves more than 2 million people per year, utilizing the talents of 38,000 volunteers and the support of one million donors and focusing on women and people of color 50 and older who are at economic risk. Talbert has been at AARP since 1988 serving in a variety of leadership roles. Prior to joining AARP, she was an attorney with Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, specializing in consumer law. She has a B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, a J.D. degree from Washington University in St. Louis, and is a volunteer mediator with the D.C. Superior Court. She has appeared on radio and television, and as a speaker at numerous professional conferences and has authored articles on topics ranging from dispute resolution to consumer rights to philanthropy. She is a member of the Women’s Leadership Board of Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government and serves on the Boards of Living Cities and Legal Counsel for the Elderly. Other professional affiliations include the American Bar Association, the American Society of Association Executives, Grantmakers in Aging, the Independent Sector, and the Association Foundation Group.
Patricia Shannon, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Patricia D. (Trish) Shannon has over 22 years of experience in accounting and financial management, specializing for the last 14 years in non-profit management and international development. Prior to joining the Foundation she was the Vice President, Finance & Administration for CEDPA, an international non-profit focusing on women's rights and health issues. She was also the Director of Internal Audit at CARE (the world's largest international development and relief organization) where she successfully established and developed the internal audit function. She began her career with the public accounting firm of Coopers & Lybrand (now PricewaterhouseCoopers) in New York, NY. She has traveled extensively throughout the developing world and worked for two years in Sydney, Australia.
Stuart Cohen, Senior Vice President, Legal Advocacy
Stuart (Stu) Cohen since 1999 has served as AARP Foundation Litigation's (AFL) Senior Vice President, Legal Advocacy (Managing Attorney). In addition to his role in the Foundation, Stu works closely with AARP's Senior Managing Director of Government Relations and Advocacy to assure the full integration of AFL with AARP's advocacy efforts.
Stu came to AFL after a 25 year career in legal services, having spent 3 years as Executive Director of Camden (NJ) Regional Legal Services, 17 years at Maryland's Legal Aid Bureau as Chief of Litigation, and 5 years as a Managing Attorney of the Lackawanna, NY office of Neighborhood Legal Services.
Susan Miler, Senior Vice President, Programs
Susan Miler serves as Senior Vice President of AARP Foundation Programs. In this position, Ms. Miler's responsibilities include direction of program strategy and operations, management of relationships with key funding organizations and agencies, development of new program initiatives, and oversight of program budgets.
Ms. Miler has been with AARP and the AARP Foundation for fifteen years. Prior to her current position, she directed AARP's four largest national community service programs: AARP Tax-Aide, AARP Senior Community Service Employment Program, AARP Driver Safety, and AARP Grief and Loss Programs. At AARP, she has also directed other programs including Public Benefits Outreach, Money Management and Guardianship Monitoring.
Laura von Behren, Chief Administrative Officer
Laura von Behren is the AARP Foundation's Director of Business Operations. In this role she takes the lead on human resources, space, internal communications, and diversity issues. She has been with AARP or AARP Foundation for 18 years in management roles. She also worked in management support for a section of the National Academy of Sciences and as a conference manager/editor for the federal National Council for Employment Policy.
David Whitehead, Senior Vice President, Development
and Chief Development Officer
David Whitehead joined AARP in March 2007 and is responsible for the Association's charitable (Foundation) and advocacy (AARP) fund raising activities, initiatives, and strategies.
David came to the AARP Foundation from the Special Olympics where he served as its chief development officer. Prior to Special Olympics, David worked for The Nature Conservancy as its director of philanthropy and chief fundraising officer. He was responsible for leading The Campaign for Conservation, the Conservancy's $1 billion effort to conserve 250 landscape-scale sites in the U.S. and 27 other countries. A five-year effort that began in 1998, the campaign concluded in September 2003 having raised over $1.4 billion
He serves as a board member of the Washington D.C. Metro Area Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP).
