The ASA RISE Story

More than three and a half years ago, I started my role as CEO of the American Society on Aging. During the first 90 days, I cancelled our annual conference, managed a new team remotely while sheltering in place, and navigated the new business uncertainties of the...

While I've been working in the field of aging for a while, I still knew I had a lot to learn from ASA RISE. Having had a previous career in which I had contact with more like-minded folks when it came to social justice issues, I was looking to connect intellectually...

I was so grateful when ASA's Director for Programs and Thought Leadership Dr. Patrice Dickerson reached out to me several years ago and asked me to be a part of the ASA RISE mentorship program. As a now seasoned professional (20-plus years in the field of aging) I can...

I received what I believed to be a decent education from grades K-12 at my suburban Philadelphia school district. But my mother often supplemented class lessons with books, films, newspaper and magazine articles, due to the lack of diversity depicted in our...

So often when you are the only one in a room who presents like you—the only woman or only person of color, you become hypervigilant to things such as tone (your own and others), peculiar questioning, behaviors, and mannerisms. Also, you can be completely ignored, even...

A few weeks ago, I had a chance to sit down with a former classmate who is a racial justice advocate in our hometown on the occasion of our 40th year high school reunion. Over glasses of Uncle Nearest straight—no chaser, he described some of the grassroots organizing...

When I think of ASA RISE, a particular moment stands out—the Welcome Luncheon for the inaugural cohort members during ASA's 2022 On Aging conference. After months of online sessions, it was their first time meeting one another. The room was lit with joyful laughter...