AARP Foundation Leadership
By: Source: AARP.org Date Posted: 2004-03-15 10:37:00-05:00
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 2006-2008 Biennium, the AARP Foundation Board of Directors is composed of:
Nelda Barnett, Chair, AARP Foundation Board of Directors
Nelda Barnett of Owensboro, KY, is a member of the AARP Board of Directors, Class of 2008. During this biennium, she serves on the Board Governance Committee and as Chair of the AARP Foundation Board. She previously served on the AARP Insurance Trust and the Board/Governance Manual Review Subcommittee and chaired the Board Retreat Committee.
Mrs. Barnett previously served as AARP State President of Kentucky and currently serves as a Commissioner on the Kentucky Commission for Community Service Volunteers. The Kentucky House of Representatives and the Senate each adopted resolutions honoring her for 25 years of outstanding service in the aging field. Mrs. Barnett also is on the Board of Audubon Area Community Services and is active in her church on the local, national, and regional levels and in local women's groups. She was twice a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging, and has been a spokesperson and keynote speaker at numerous events.
In her professional career, Mrs. Barnett has 36 years of experience in the field of human services with 30 years devoted to the aging field. She has served as Director of the Area Agency on Aging (AAA) where she subcontracted funds to service agencies and senior centers and monitored the contracts for compliance. She was instrumental in expanding services to the elderly in the AAA, and in increasing an initial grant of $150,000 to well over $1 million during her tenure. In 1999, Mrs. Barnett retired as Director of Maplebrook Village, Christian Church Homes of Kentucky. She currently serves on the Board of Directors and serves on the Legislative Committee. Prior to that, she was in public relations and marketing for the Lifeline Home Care, Inc., and was Founder and Director of the Voluntary Action Center.
Mrs. Barnett has received numerous awards including recognition for her outstanding work with volunteers from the Department of Health and Human Services. She recently received The Mayor's Award for Excellence, the highest honor bestowed upon an individual or organization by the City of Owensboro. Mrs. Barnett also was awarded the Elizabeth Munday Award in recognition of her work for seniors in Owensboro, and the Thoroughbred Award for Outstanding Advocacy on Behalf of the Elderly in Kentucky by the Kentucky Association for Gerontology. In 2000, she was sent to Vietnam by the Woman-to-Woman program to learn about Vietnamese women and their culture, and has shared her experiences as spokesperson on 28 occasions.
Clarence Pearson, Vice-Chair
Clarence Pearson of New York, NY, is a member of the AARP Board of Directors, Class of 2008. During this biennium, he serves on the Board Audit and Finance Committee and Vice Chair of the AARP Foundation Board. He previously was a member of the Board Governance Committee, the Board Membership Committee, and the AARP Insurance Trust.
Mr. Pearson is former Senior Advisor to the World Health Organization Office at the United Nations. He was Founding President and Chief Executive Officer of the National Center for Health Education, the outcome of a Presidential Commission. He also served as Vice President of the Peter F. Drucker Foundation for Nonprofit Management and Vice President and Director of Health and Safety Education for Metropolitan Life.
Mr. Pearson was a loaned executive for a two-year White House assignment as Associate Director of a U.S. Presidential Health Commission; a Consultant-in-Residence in Moscow for the U.S. Department of State, directing a management training program, New Leaders of Russia; and public health assignments in the former Yugoslavia and in Central America.
Among his numerous volunteer activities and board service, Mr. Pearson served on the Board of Overseers of the Dartmouth Medical School and the C. Everett Koop Institute at Dartmouth and as Adjunct Professor of Education at Columbia University. He is a member of the Advertising Council Public Policy Board of Advisors and the Board of Directors of the American Federation for Aging Research. For President Eisenhower's People to People Ambassador program, he led a delegation to study public health and medical care in the People's Republic of China.
Mr. Pearson conceived a series of books on global health and serves as Executive Editor for the series which is published by Jossey-Bass/John Wiley & Sons. Books in the series include Critical Issues in Global Health, a collection of essays written by 75 international health leaders from government, business, and the social sector; a second book, Global Health Leadership and Management; and a third, Global Health and Global Aging (publication in October 2007).
Clarence Pearson co-founded the Scott and June Pearson Fund for Patient Advocacy, administered by the University of North Carolina School of Public Health at Chapel Hill, his alma mater. The Fund's focus is to improve patient/health-care communication and patient outcomes. The Fund has generated a textbook—the first of its kind (publication 2007)—a curriculum, and a conference series.
Mr. Pearson's awards include the International Health Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Public Health Association; the Distinguished Alumni Award from the School of Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and the Gold Medal for Distinguished Service to Education from Columbia University.
N. Joyce Payne, Ed.D., Board Member
N. Joyce Payne, Ed.D., of Rocky Mount, NC was elected to the AARP Board of Directors at the National Leadership Conference in April, 2004. She serves on the Board Committee on Membership and the AARP Foundation Board.
Dr. Payne recently retired as Director of the Human Resources and Minority Programs for the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges. She was responsible for congressional and federal relations and developing and coordinating initiatives that contribute to the advancement of these universities. She previously was President of Global Systems, Inc., and held positions on the White House Conference on Families and the President's Advisory Council on Women's Education.
Dr. Payne served as Chair of the Board of Trustees of the University of the District of Columbia (UDC), coordinated congressional relations for the UDC Coalition and chaired the political action committee for the D.C. chapter of the Coalition of 100 Black Women. She was appointed to the U.S. Department of State's Council on Equality in the Workplace by former Secretary Warren M. Christopher and served on the Kellogg Foundation's Task Force on African-American Boys and Men.
Dr. Payne founded the Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Fund, which she considers her greatest achievement, and serves as chair of its nominating committee. To date, the Fund has awarded over $42 million in scholarship assistance and capacity building support. Dr. Payne also founded and chairs the Board of Directors for the G. James Gholson Endowment Fund.
Among her numerous honors, Dr. Payne received an honorary doctorate degree from Lincoln University, a Presidential Leadership Award from Delaware State University, and a fellowship from the Ford Foundation. Dr. Payne earned her Masters of Arts and a Doctorate in Education from Atlanta University.
A. James Forbes, Treasurer and Chair, Audit Committee
A. James Forbes, Jr. of Putnam Valley, NY is a member of the class of 2008 of the AARP Foundation Board of Directors. He serves as Chair of the AARP Foundation Board Audit Committee and Treasurer of the Foundation.
Currently, Mr. Forbes is a Partner in Tatum LLC, a national executive and consulting services firm. Prior to Tatum LLC, Mr. Forbes was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Lighthouse International, a not-for-profit serving those who are blind or partially sighted. Prior to his tenure at Lighthouse International, he served as President of MedYield, LLC ®, which provides strategic planning, financial, operating, and supply chain solutions for both for-profit and not-for-profit organizations, and Executive Vice Chair and member of the Executive Committee of the not-for-profit, Americares, the world's largest private international relief organization. Earlier in his career, Mr. Forbes held senior management level financial and operational positions for national and international "for-profit" organizations.
Mr. Forbes is a Certified Public Accountant who earned his initial public accounting experience at Price Waterhouse in New York City.
Mr. Forbes also speaks and writes on topics such as the delivery of goods/services into developing countries; financial capacity building for not-for-profits; and the creation of sustainable and predictable income streams for not-for-profit organizations. His additional volunteer activities include his church, a cancer care hospice (Rosary Hill), and other local charities.
Dr. Arthur Ulene, Board Member
Art Ulene 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 45 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.
George Rowan, Board Member
George Rowan, Ph.D., of East Lansing, MI, was recently elected to the AARP Board of Directors, Class of 2012 and appointed to the AARP Foundation Board. He is a professor at Michigan State University, and former principal in the Grand Rapids, MI, public school system.
Dr. Rowan was AARP Michigan State President, but resigned upon his election to the AARP Board. He has extensive knowledge and experience in AARP policies and procedures from the state and regional levels as well as media and communication experience in articulating AARP's positions.
Dr. Rowan also brings to the Board experience from his involvement with and representation on numerous health and educational committees and organizations, including the Michigan African American Health Institute.
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.
Fernando Torres-Gil, Board Member
Dr. Torres-Gil was appointed to the AARP Foundation Board in 2007. Dr. Torres-Gil is Acting Dean of Academic Affairs, Professor of Social Welfare and Public Policy, and is the Director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging at the 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.
AARP Foundation Executive Leadership
Robin Talbert, AARP Foundation President
Robin Talbert serves as the Foundation President of the AARP Foundation and has worked at AARP in several leadership capacities including Managing Director for the AARP Foundation, and Interim Associate Executive Director for State and National Initiatives, overseeing AARP's advocacy, community service, and state activities. Prior to joining AARP, she was an attorney with Land of Lincoln Legal Assistance Foundation, specializing in consumer law. She also serves as a volunteer mediator with the D.C. Superior Court and has been a speaker at numerous professional conferences and authored articles on topics ranging from dispute resolution to consumer rights to insurance issues for older persons.
Stuart Cohen, Director of Legal Advocacy
Stuart (Stu) Cohen since 1999 has served as AARP Foundation Litigation's (AFL) Director of 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.
Edna Kane-Williams, Director AARP Foundation Integration
Edna Kane-Williams rejoined AARP in November 2006 as Director of AARP Foundation Integration. In this role she works with leaders across the organization to enhance the Foundation's integration with and support of AARP's Social Impact and Member Value agendas.
Edna worked for AARP from 1983-88 and again from 1992-1999. During those years, she served as a Project Manager in Health Advocacy Services, Director of the National Eldercare Institute on Health Promotion, Interim Director, Program Development and Coordination, and Manager, Health and Long Term Care Issues staff.
After leaving AARP she served in senior executive positions at several organizations. She was Vice President of Programs and Research at the Epilepsy Foundation, Senior Vice President, Social Marketing Practice at Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide, Vice-President of Community Services and Outreach at East Baltimore Development and, most recently, Senior Vice President of Communications and Social Marketing at IQ Solutions, Inc.
Susan Miler, Director of Programs
Susan Miler was named the Director of AARP Foundation Programs in September 2002. 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.
Patricia Shannon, Director of Financial Management
Patricia D. (Trish) Shannon is the Director of Financial Management for the AARP Foundation. She 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.
David Whitehead, Chief Development Officer
David Whitehead joined the AARP staff in March 2007 as Chief Development Officer. Housed in the AARP Foundation, David is responsible for AARP's charitable and advocacy fund raising.
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).
Laura von Behren, Director of Business Operations
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.
Share
preview