Summit 2024, Panel 1: From Bias to Understanding: Dissecting Ageism's Widespread Impact

Kathy Greenlee is an attorney with 25 years of public service experience. She has expertise in aging, long-term care, disability, elder rights, health care, community services, rural aging, and LGBT health.

In 2009, she was appointed U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging by President Obama, a position she held for seven years. During her time in Washington, Greenlee created the Administration for Community Living (ACL), an agency that administers a broad range of aging and disability programs. Greenlee provided national and international leadership on preventing and responding to elder abuse. She chaired the Elder Justice Coordinating Council, created a federal home for state adult protective services programs, and created the national elder maltreatment data collection system. Greenlee also co-chaired the HHS LGBT Issues Coordinating Committee, an endeavor that resulted in comprehensive program and policy improvements for LGBTQ individuals.

In fall 2018, Greenlee launched a consulting business, Greenlee Global, LLC, to pursue aging-related projects regionally, nationally, and internationally. In early 2018, the Sunflower Foundation announced a major grant to support her continued work in the areas of elder abuse and neglect. In May 2020, Greenlee began working with the State of Kansas, serving as the Kansas COVID-19 LTSS Liaison.

Greenlee spent 18 years in Kansas state government. She served in numerous high-level positions, such as Secretary of Aging for Governor Kathleen Sebelius, Kansas Long-Term Care Ombudsman, General Counsel for the Kansas Insurance Department, and Assistant Attorney General.

Greenlee has a B.S. in Business Administration and a J.D. in law from the University of Kansas. She is a fifth generation Kansan and grew up in a small town near Wichita. She currently resides in Lenexa, Kansas, a suburb of Kansas City.

John Beard, MBBS PhD, is Irene Diamond Professor and Director of the International Longevity Center- USA at Columbia University, New York.  He was previously Director of Ageing and Life Course with WHO in Geneva.   He was lead writer for the World report on ageing and health which underpins the current UN Decade of Healthy Ageing, oversaw development of the Integrated Care for Older People (ICOPE) programme, and established the Global Network for Age-friendly Cities and Communities.  He has worked extensively with the World Economic Forum and participated in the US National Academy of Medicine Commission on Healthy Longevity.

Alicia Harkness is a certified health care financial professional and certified change management professional. She is a founding partner at Guidehouse, where she serves as the Health segment leader and former diversity leader. She works with government, commercial, and nonprofit organizations to make a positive impact on society while balancing cost efficiency, service, quality, and compliance. In addition to Commercial Payers, Providers and Life Sciences companies, some of her government clients include the U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, U.S. Military Health System, and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

Harkness has more than 25 years of experience providing information technology consulting and managing teams. She previously was a partner at PricewaterhouseCoopers, a vice president at BearingPoint, and partner at KPMG Peat Marwick. 
 
In 2018, Harkness received the Women in Leadership Leading for Impact Federal Health IT Award. Harkness has a Bachelor of Science in business management from Lehigh University and attended INSEAD’s executive education program.

Dr. Stacy Torres is an Assistant Professor of Sociology in the Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing, and an avid public sociologist. She is the author of the forthcoming book, At Home in the City: Growing Old in Urban America (University of California Press). A proud first-generation college graduate, Stacy grew up in New York City.

Patricia M. D’Antonio, BSPharm, MS, MBA, BCGP is the Vice President of Policy and Professional Affairs for The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and a board-certified geriatric pharmacist. Trish directs GSA’s policy initiatives and is responsible for developing relationships with organizations in the aging arena. Trish 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 Chair of the Friends of NIA.  Additionally, she serves as 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. Before joining GSA, Trish served as Executive Director for the District of Columbia Board of Pharmacy and Program Manager for the Pharmaceutical Control Division, where she was responsible for the regulatory and policy development for the practice of pharmacy and served as liaison to the FDA, DEA, and other federal, state, and city organizations that promote safe handling of medications.  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.