Senior Center Summit 2026: Happier Birthdays Happen Here

NCOA President and CEO Ramsey Alwin is leading a nationwide movement to create the conditions for all to age well today and into the future. A nationally recognized thought leader and advocate, she has been listed on the NonProfit Times Power and Influence List for three years in a row (2024-2026). She is guiding NCOA toward its next bold milestone: 100 million happier, healthier birthdays by 2040.

Kim Phillips is a skilled professional with extensive experience in sales, training, fundraising, and organizational operations. She holds certifications in Training, Volunteer Administration, and Fundraising Management from Indiana University’s Lilly School of Philanthropy, reflecting her commitment to professional excellence and continuous learning.

For the past twelve years, Kim has served as the Director of Senior Citizen Services for the City of Portage, overseeing the Portage Zhang Senior Center (PZSC). Her leadership played a central role in a successful public-private fundraising initiative that made possible the construction of a new, state-of-the-art senior center. Since opening in 2022, the facility has grown from 7,000 to 36,000 square feet and has driven a 175% increase in membership and participation.

Kim is dedicated to elevating services for older adults, strengthening community partnerships, and advancing innovative approaches to senior engagement.

Dianne Stone has more than 20 years of experience with senior centers and aging issues, primarily as the Director of the Newington Senior and Disabled Center in Newington, Connecticut. Stone has also worked, volunteered, and held leadership positions with a variety of organizations in Connecticut, including Connecticut AgeWell Collaborative, the ADA Coalition of Connecticut, Connecticut Medicaid Oversight Council, and the Commission on Women, Children, Seniors, Equity and Opportunity. She joined NCOA in January 2022 where she is focused on building capacity and engagement within the community-based organization network with special emphasis on senior centers. 

Jenna Hauss, MSW, is the President & CEO of ONEgeneration, a nationally recognized nonprofit organization serving older adults, children, and families throughout Los Angeles & Ventura County. Jenna has dedicated over two decades to advancing innovative, person-centered programs that promote healthy aging, intergenerational connection, caregiver support, and community well-being. Since becoming CEO in 2021, she has led the organization’s strategic growth, expanded partnerships across Southern California, and championed collaborative initiatives focused on elder justice, social connection, aging in place, and strengthening the nonprofit sector through advocacy, risk management, and organizational sustainability. Jenna serves as California’s representative to the National Council on Aging (NCOA) Leadership Collaborative and National Institute of Senior Centers (NISC) Leadership Collaborative, is a founding member of the Los Angeles Coalition for Aging (LACA) and serves on the Board of Directors for the Nonprofits Insurance Alliance of California (NIAC), where she helps advance solutions that strengthen risk management and insurance sustainability for the nonprofit sector. She is a recognized leader in the aging services field and is committed to building communities where people of all generations can thrive with dignity, purpose, and connection.

Yoko Meusch, MA, supports national and privately funded grant initiatives focused on strengthening community-based aging programs, including evidence-based health promotion and digital literacy. She provides comprehensive project management and technical assistance while fostering strategic collaboration across diverse stakeholders. Yoko brings extensive experience facilitating learning collaboratives, developing practitioner-focused resources, and strengthening delivery infrastructures that support older adults in aging with dignity. She holds a Master of Arts in Communication from Johns Hopkins University.

Ebony is a seasoned professional with over 15 years of experience in the field of helping to improve the lives of vulnerable families and communities rooted in equity. In her most recent role as the Senior Director of Programs with Prosperity Now, Ebony led a team that provided tailored technical assistance and capacity building to nonprofits and other key stakeholders to increase their leadership, ability to access resources, influence policy, expand their partners and networks, and find promising solutions in providing human-centered services grounded in data to advance economic stability and mobility. Prior to her work at Prosperity Now, Ebony spent nine (9) years at W.K. Kellogg Foundation where she worked across many initiatives, programs, and sectors to provide resources and agency to partners nationally. During that time, Ebony supported the design and implementation of the W. K. Kellogg Foundation’s Truth, Racial Healing and Transformation (TRHT) enterprise. In this initiative, Ebony managed the collaboration and networking with over 130 organizations and thought experts to identify best practices and guiding principles for communities to consider when implementing the TRHT framework of narrative change, racial healing, separation, law, and economy. Ebony earned her MPA in Nonprofit Leadership Management from Western Michigan University and her BSBA from Colorado Technical University.

Rosalind Newsholme joined NCOA in November 2023, and serves as the primary point of contact for the Benefits Enrollment Centers in the Western Region. She has over 10 years of experience supporting and advocating on behalf of older adults. Ros’ previous work focused on helping older adults to understand, apply for and appeal public benefits decisions relating to Medicare, MSP, LIS, Medicaid, food security and affordable housing. Ros is passionate about working to increase access to life-changing benefits.

Gretchen Dueñas-Tanbonliong, MS, MPH, RDN, MCHES, is passionate about using her multifaceted background working in nonprofit, international organization, and industry settings and diverse skills as an experienced nutrition communicator, registered dietitian, and public health professional to improve the quality of life for older adults.

Emily Nabors is the Associate Director of Innovation at the National Council on Aging. In the field of falls prevention for over 15 years, she has conducted applied research, developed tools and educational materials, and provided professional training on falls prevention and home modification to support community living. She has extensive experience in building cross-sector coalitions and partnerships, and she manages projects including the ACL Innovation Lab, the National Falls Prevention Fellowship, and a grant to support the development of state falls prevention coalitions. Previously, Emily was Program Manager of the Fall Prevention Center of Excellence at the University of Southern California (USC) Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She has a Master of Science degree in Gerontology from the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology.

Sophie Morgado serves as the Legislative & Policy Associate at the National Council on Aging. In this capacity, she advocates for older Americans at the federal policy level, focusing on critical issues such as the Older Americans Act, Medicare, and mental health, as well as other healthcare and retirement issues. She also supports NCOA’s broader advocacy and government relations efforts, including Hill Day planning and execution, helping to ensure older adults’ priorities are elevated with federal lawmakers.

Sophie holds a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree, with a health policy focus, from The George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. She also received her B.S. in Public Health with a minor in Political Science from West Virginia University.