Connecting the Dots: Reframing Aging Across the Age-Friendly Ecosystem

Patricia M. D’Antonio, BSPharm, MS, MBA, BCGP is Vice President of Policy and Professional Affairs for the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and a board-certified geriatric pharmacist. Ms. D’Antonio directs GSA’s policy initiatives and is responsible for developing relationships with organizations in the aging arena. She represents GSA on several policy coalitions and serves as co-chair for the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition, president of the board of the Protecting Access to Pain Relief, and a member of the steering committee for several federally focused coalitions. Ms. D’Antonio is also the executive director for the National Center to Reframe Aging, the central hub to advance the long-term social change endeavor designed to improve the public’s understanding of what aging means and the many ways that older people contribute to our society. She received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Duquesne University and her Master of Science in Health Finance and Master in Business Administration with a concentration in health care from Temple University. She completed a residency in administration and finance at The Philadelphia Geriatric Center.

Timothy Farrell, MD, AGSF, CPAFH, is the Presidential Endowed Chair in the Division of Geriatrics, Professor of Medicine, and Geriatrics Division Associate Chief for Age-Friendly Care, Spencer Fox Eccles School of Medicine at the University of Utah. He also serves as a Physician Investigator at the VA Salt Lake City Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center. He received his A.B. from Dartmouth College and his M.D. from the University of Massachusetts Medical School, followed by family medicine residency and geriatric medicine training at Brown University. Dr. Farrell is active in efforts to oppose ageism and led the American Geriatrics Society (AGS) position statements on unrepresented older adults and allocation of limited healthcare resources during the COVID pandemic. He also led the University of Utah Health’s successful application to the Institute for Health Improvement for Age-Friendly Committed to Care Excellence status. In 2026, Dr. Farrell was elected to the AGS Board of Directors.

Alyssa Scully, MHA, PMP, is Assistant Vice President of Operations for the Northwell Institute for Healthy Aging (NIHA), leading enterprise strategy focused on advancing Age-Friendly care transformation across one of the nation’s largest health systems. Her work spans healthy aging strategy, care models, access, caregiver support and community-based models designed to improve outcomes and quality of life for older adults. Together with the NIHA leadership team, she convenes a 22-hospital collaborative guiding systemwide implementation of the Age-Friendly Health System Initiative. She also oversees national and international collaborations advancing healthcare transformation in aging services, including experiential learning initiatives supported by The John A. Hartford Foundation. Prior to her current role, Alyssa held leadership positions within the Northwell Medical Group corporate office, focused on operations and provider engagement. She is passionate about redesigning healthcare systems to better align with what matters most to older adults and the people who care for them.