AARP Foundation Board of Directors Full Biographies

Libby Sartain

AARP Foundation Board Chair

Libby Sartain, of Bastrop, Texas, MBA is an independent advisor, working with companies on human resource issues. With more than 40 years of experience in human resources, she is also an author and frequent public speaker, using her HR leadership and management experience at companies in technology, transportation and manufacturing. She led human resources at Yahoo! and at Southwest Airlines during transformative periods. Both companies were among Fortune magazine’s “Best Places to Work” during her tenure. She is Chair of the Board of SHRM Foundation, the former board chair of the Society for Human Resource Management and is on the board of ManpowerGroup. She resides in Texas.

Diane D. Miller

Vice Chair, AARP Foundation Board of Directors

Diane D. Miller, of Sacramento, Calif., is President and CEO of Wilcox Miller & Nelson, a human capital consulting firm located in Sacramento, California.  Prior to joining her firm, Ms. Miller served as Vice President of Portfolio Management for a national real estate investment company, which at that time was the second largest in the nation.

Ms. Miller is a certified public company director through the Director Certification Program at UCLA’s Anderson School of Business, and holds a current Certificate of Director Professionalism, Board Governance Fellow, and Master designations from the National Association of Corporate Directors. Since 2007, she has been facilitating public, private and nonprofit company board evaluation and governance education programs.

Ms. Miller is a current Board member of the California Chamber of Commerce, the second largest U.S. state Chamber.  In 2018, she joined the Board of Paris-based LeaderXXchange, a purpose-driven organization that advises and promotes diversity and sustainability in governance, leadership & investment.

Ms. Miller is a Board member and Chair Emeritus of the California Host Committee, which annually gathers the top 1,000 California industry and government leaders. As well, she is one of the founders and Chair Emeritus of the Northern California Chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Ms. Miller served as a Regent for the University of the Pacific from 2007-2016, where she chaired the Audit Committee and served on the Executive Committee. During her tenure, she also served on the University’s Technology, Compensation, Presidential Search, Branding, and Strategy Committees. A director of Umpqua Holdings (a NASDAQ-traded financial services company in Oregon, California, Nevada and Washington) from 2004 to 2013, Ms. Miller served on the Compensation, Audit, and Loan and Investment Committees as the company grew from $1 billion to $12 billion in assets. Ms. Miller also served on the boards of Humboldt Bancorp as well as Merchants Bank of Commerce and CPI International.

A frequent guest speaker on governance and workforce issues, Ms. Miller has been a presenter for such organizations as 2020 Women on Boards, National Association of Corporate Directors Annual Conference, USC Governance Conference, Compensationstandards.com, Society of Corporate Secretaries, Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Young Presidents Organization, the Western Independent Bankers Directors Conference, and PBS’s NewsHour.

Ms. Miller holds an M.B.A. with an emphasis in marketing from Golden Gate University and a B.A. in Applied Behavior Analysis from the University of the Pacific. She has taken cybersecurity and computational thinking courses through MIT, RSA, SANS and University of Pennsylvania.  She has also completed the Exponential Innovation Program at Singularity University.  In 2021, she will attend Harvard University’s “Governing for Nonprofit Excellence.”

Judge Patricia Banks 

Member, AARP Foundation Board of Directors

Judge Patricia Banks (Retired, Chicago, Ill.) received her Juris Doctor from the University of Wisconsin Law School. Judge Banks practiced law for over 20 years before her 1994 election to a judgeship for the Circuit Court of Cook County. She served as a trial judge in the Domestic Relations and Law Divisions prior to her appointment as the founding Presiding Judge of the Elder Law and Miscellaneous Remedies (ELMR) Division from 2010-2017. The ELMR Division is the only division of its kind in the United States and was established to improve access to justice for the elderly.

Judge Banks has served as a consultant on elder abuse for the National Center for State Courts. She is also a former faculty member of the Illinois Supreme Court Judicial Conference, where she lectured on elder abuse and aging. She has given testimony before the Elder Justice Coordinating Council, and most recently participated in a panel discussion at a congressional briefing on the intergenerational, interdisciplinary issue of advance care planning. She is a former board member for the Center for Conflict Resolution and is a certified mediator with advanced certification in Eldercare Mediation.

Judge Banks chaired the 15 member America Bar Association (ABA) Commission on Law & Aging, the Elder Law Committee of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) and the Elder Abuse Committee of the American Judges Association (AJA). During the course of her legal career she served as a member of the Chicago Bar Association Board of Managers, the Chicago Bar Foundation board of directors and Vice-President of the Cook County Bar Association, chairing its Judicial Evaluation Committee. Judge Banks chaired the Illinois Supreme Court Alternative Dispute Resolution Coordinating Committee and The Judicial Council Division of the National Bar Association (NBA). Judge Banks also served on the Advisory Board of Concordia University-Chicago Center for Gerontology.

Judge Banks established the Circuit Court of Cook County Elder Justice Center. A comprehensive resource center designed to close the access gap for seniors through a free legal clinic, benefits counseling, and educational seminars on a myriad of issues including abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation. She currently facilitates workshops, publishes articles and speaks globally on elder law and elder care issues.

Robert “Bob” Blancato

Member, AARP Foundation Board of Directors

Robert “Bob” Blancato of Alexandria, Va., is president of Matz, Blancato and Associates, a public and government relations firm.  He spent 17 years on the staff of the U.S. House Select Committee on Aging and has participated in four White House Conferences on Aging, including as the Executive Director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging.  With over 30 years of deep experience in the field of aging and public service, he is executive director of the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs and the National Coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition. As a volunteer, Bob serves on the Board of the National Hispanic Council on Aging.  From 2016 to 2018, he chaired the American Society on Aging (ASA).  He is a former volunteer State President of AARP Virginia and served six years on the Board of the National Council on Aging.  He is a former president of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. 

In 2019, he was appointed by HHS Secretary Alex Azar to the National Advisory Council on Rural Health and Human Services.  Bob was named to the ASA Hall of Fame in 2020. He was knighted by the Republic of Italy in 2011.

Margot James Copeland

Member, AARP Foundation Board of Directors

Margot James Copeland of Cleveland, Ohio is an experienced executive with extensive board and organizational leadership expertise. Since her retirement from KeyBank as Executive Vice President and CEO of the KeyBank Foundation, she now serves on the boards of AARP, The Cleveland Clinic, The Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority, The Cleveland Foundation and The The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum.

Margot is the 15th National President of The Links, Incorporated and Trustee of the Thomas White and George Codrington Foundations. Smart Business Magazine named her a “Master Innovator” and she has also received the coveted Community Impact Award from American Banker. She’s the mother of three adult children and has one granddaughter. 

Ann G. Daw

Member, AARP Foundation Board of Directors

Ann G. Daw, of Crompond, NY, is currently President of Crepini, LLC, a maker of zero net carb wraps that are low calorie, gluten free and keto and paleo friendly and distributed throughout the U.S. Canada and Japan.  Prior to this position she was President of the not-for-profit Specialty Food Association having held that position since 2006. During her tenure, membership grew by more than 30%, retention exceeded not-for-profit membership norms, and attendance at the two SFA trade shows – in NY and San Francisco - grew exponentially. She established the organization’s first foundation supporting continuing education, research, fighting hunger and food waste, innovation, and outreach, and increased the net assets five-fold. She established strong governance and oversight guidelines while building a culture of accountability and collaboration.

Prior to leading the Specialty Food Association, Ann was Senior Vice President of Business and Marketing Development in the International Division, and VP of Global Marketing Resources and Initiatives of Kraft Foods. Earlier, she headed Strategic Planning for Phillip Morris International, and led Marketing and Sales for the Asia Pacific Division of the company out of Hong Kong.

She currently sits on a number of boards including the Karagheusian Foundation and advises and mentors start-ups and turnarounds. Her husband and she have established a foundation in their son's name, giving cross country camp scholarships to students. She is the proud Mom of two strong daughters and two granddaughters.

Gregory J. Dyson 

Member, AARP Foundation Board of Directors

Gregory J. Dyson of Olney, Md., is currently the Chief Operating Officer of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), the nation’s leading non-profit promoting a just economy for all through wealth creation, housing opportunities, community development and racial equity. He is a member of NCRC’s Senior Executive Team with oversight of Strategic Planning, Human Resources, Operations and Innovation.

Previously served as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of the ANA Enterprise, the family of organizations composed of the American Nurses Association (ANA), American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), and American Nurses Foundation. ANA represents the interests of the nation’s 4+ million registered nurses.

Gregory has 25+ years of experience leading marketing and operations for both the public and non-profit sectors. In addition, Gregory possesses a deep understanding of the needs of and challenges faced by the aging population, having spent 15 years in senior executive-level positions at the ICMA Retirement Corporation (ICMA-RC), a $53 billion plan administrator and retirement services provider to state and municipal employers operating within the U.S. Throughout his career, Gregory has effectively spearheaded efforts to improve member/customer experiences including investing in technology enhancements, partnership development, and brand innovations. Gregory is an experienced Board member; he has served in numerous leadership capacities and has facilitated an organization’s fundraising, leadership transition, and diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts.

Betty J. Hudson

Member, AARP Foundation Board of Directors

Betty J. Hudson of Fort Worth, Texas is President, Hudson & Associates and an award-winning communications industry leader with more than four decades of experience in every aspect of corporate and strategic communications including consumer, employee, financial, and cause-related marketing, as well as brand and communications management. Betty’s career was spent in Fortune 500 companies and media conglomerates, including the National Geographic Society, where she was part of the leadership team that transformed the iconic brand from domestic magazine publisher to the world’s largest science, research and education organization with multiple content platforms and consumer services. Betty has consistently been able to contribute deep knowledge in technology transformation to innovate consumer brands and deliver new products. She continues to support major enterprises as a strategic communications consultant.

Susan Werth

Member, AARP Foundation Board of Directors

Susan Werth of Miami, Fla., is a career corporate legal executive with extensive experience in hospitality and real estate development and a reputation for collaboration and strategic advocacy. During her twenty years at Starwood Hotels she held a variety of legal and executive roles, the last as SVP & General Counsel for The Americas, Starwood’s largest division with over 650 hotels in 23 countries.

Pre-Starwood, Susan was SVP & General Counsel of Vistana, Inc., a publicly-traded vacation ownership developer and operator acquired by Starwood in 1999. Before joining Vistana, Susan was in private practice as a real estate partner at the Miami office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP specializing in complex real estate, corporate, and securitization transactions.

A member of the Florida Bar and a former President of the Florida Bar Foundation, Susan is on the Board of Directors of the AARP Foundation in Washington, D.C. where she currently chairs the Development Committee.  She is a member of the Miami Committee of Human Rights Watch and of the International Women’s Forum.  She is an active investor in regional start-up companies through angel investing group Miami Angels.

Susan and her husband Bernard Silver live in Miami, Florida.