Our Mission

Najja Orr, MBA, assumed the role of president and CEO of Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) during an unprecedented time in PCA’s history as services had to quickly adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under his direction, services are continuing to meet the ever-evolving needs of Philadelphia’s older adults. This includes delivering more than 1.9 million meals to older Philadelphians through home-delivered and community-based meal programs in the last 11 months. Orr in 2017 joined PCA as its Chief Strategy Officer, leading the agency’s planning department. Prior to coming to PCA, Orr worked for the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging starting in 2002, serving as the agency’s director from 2011 to 2017. Orr has served on several boards during his tenure in the aging field and held a number of positions. Currently he sits on ASA’s Board, and has chaired the Pennsylvania Department of Aging Cultural Diversity Advisory Council, PCA Care Connections and the Bucks County Commissioners Senior Task Force; as well as having been president of the Bucks County Foundation on Aging and Innovations Home Care.

Jeffrey B. Klein, MBA, FACHE, is the President/CEO of Nevada Senior Services Inc., operating adult day healthcare centers, caregiver support services, in-home respite, home modifications and geriatric assessment clinic and wellness programs. As a consultant, Klein has been a Founder and Principal of Altila Associates, conducting and supervising extensive engagements for hospitals, medical groups and academic centers. Prior to that, he was President and CEO of Premier Hospitals Alliance of New York, CEO of CRCA (international consulting and management firm) and Corporate Vice President at Daniel Freeman Medical Center. He is board-certified in Healthcare Management as a Fellow of the American College of Health Care Executives. He has chaired the Nevada Commission on Aging Legislative Subcommittee and is an active member of the public policy committees of the American Society on Aging and is Board Vice Chair of NANASP.

Ginna Baik has had over a decade in senior care and technology experience with a mission to provide scalable technology and services to underserved populations. Prior to her work in senior care, she worked years with title one projects with Sylvan Learning in Chicago Public Schools. As she transitioned from serving the nation’s youth to the nation’s older adult population, she has established a social platform startup, led innovation and resident technology with a national senior care provider, Brookdale Senior Living, and most recently built the senior care business practice at a national technology solution provider, CDW. With her role at Amazon, she is leading Alexa smart properties business focused on senior living and pioneering voice technology with older adults. Ginna is an executive board member at America’s Society on Aging, member of Board of Directors at Leading Age California, and the Chairman of the board at OATS (Older Adults Tech Services), an affiliate of AARP. Ginna lives in sunny San Diego with her husband, two young adult children and her dog Lily.

Melissa Tischler, MBA, leads innovation strategy in Lippincott’s New York office. With more than 20 years of such experience, she has created products, services and experiences across a range of industries. Tischler has a strong track record of bringing new products and experiences to market for a range of clients including Citi, Airbnb, Nestle, Marriott, Virgin, Office Depot and ASA. Prior to joining Lippincott, she spent nearly a decade as the Head of Strategy at Fahrenheit 212, an innovation consulting firm, where she shaped Fahrenheit’s approach to strategy and led the firm’s engagements in retail and consumer packaged goods. Previous to that work, Tischler was an entrepreneur, designing and launching the personal care brand, EOS. Tischler also co-founded Women in Innovation, a nonprofit focused on building the skills of women in the innovation industry

Simona Valanciute, MBA, is Vice President and CEO of San Diego Oasis, a regional nonprofit with more than 51,000 members. The Oasis team has launched its first Tech Tank in partnership with Cox Communications and is working on creating a first-of-its-kind Oasis Innovation Institute. Prior to Oasis, Valanciute was a senior executive at The San Diego Foundation, where she worked with community leaders and donors. Valanciute serves the community outside of San Diego Oasis as a board member of Rotary 33, San Diego Senior Alliance and San Diego State University’s CEAL. She is also a strategic advisor at California Software Inc. and Founder and Director of the San Diego Lithuanian School, working closely with Ministry of Education and major universities in Lithuania. She is an active host and member at the San Diego Diplomacy Council, and other international organizations.

Vincent Tilford has 30 years’ experience in the not-for-profit and for-profit housing and community development sectors. He has worked as an investment professional and a banker. Additionally, he has been the CEO of four nonprofit/public sector organizations, including the Arkansas Development Finance Authority, Detroit Local Initiatives Support Corporation, Habitat for Humanity Detroit and now the Luella Hannan Memorial Foundation (Hannan). At the Hannan Foundation, Tilford leads a team whose mission is to improve the quality of life for older adults throughout Michigan. Tilford has served several boards, including the Center for Community-Based Enterprise, the Wayne State Institutional Review Board, and the Council of Michigan Foundations. He also has served on the Grant Makers in Aging board of directors, where he was treasurer for four years.

Denny Chan, JD, is managing director, Equity Advocacy, at Justice in Aging (JIA), responsible for leading and developing JIA’s Strategic Initiative on Advancing Equity. Chan and his team work across all program areas to ensure that JIA’s advocacy eliminates barriers and inequities for older adults experiencing systemic discrimination. The son of working-class Chinese immigrant parents, Chan has worked significantly on non-discrimination in healthcare, language access and issues of aging and equity for low-income older adults and brings these experiences to his advocacy. He serves as affiliate faculty at the Shriver Center on Poverty Law and was appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to serve on California’s Civil Rights Council.

Nicole Howell is director of Direct Care Workforce Development at the National Council on Aging (NCOA), where she leads its Direct Care Workforce Strategies Center. Prior to joining NCOA, she was the director of Workforce Policy at LeadingAge, where she advanced innovative policies to support the aging services sector. Howell also served as health policy advisor to Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (NJ-9), managing a portfolio that included health, Social Security, and veterans’ affairs. She was a 2021–2022 Health and Aging Policy Fellow, working with the House Ways and Means Committee’s Health Subcommittee, where her work focused on long-term care, elder justice, and workforce policy. Prior to her time in Washington, she was the executive director of Empowered Aging, leading advocacy and support efforts through the long-term care ombudsman programs across three of California’s most diverse counties. She was named one of Congressman John Garamendi’s 2020 Women of the Year for her dedicated service to long-term care residents.

Ling Kung, MBA, is senior director at Kaiser Permanente, leading the Continuum of Care product vertical for KP’s Care Delivery Technology Services. She loves working at the intersection of design, technology, and healthcare to bring creative solutions to market in service of improving the total experience of members and clinicians. Ling began her Kaiser Permanente career as an administrative fellow in Southern California, and has worked in care delivery, hospital and health planning, and now technology. Her former roles include strategic planning for the Medicare Line of Business, department administrator for OB/GYN, product innovation for the commercial lines of business, and innovation for care delivery technology. Prior to KP, Ling was a management consultant with PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Jacquelyn “Jacki” Bennett joined ASA in April 2021.  As Chief Operating Officer & Chief of Staff, Bennett manages the organization’s administrative functions and serves as a thought partner to the President & CEO on the organization’s strategy and Board engagement to develop a robust operational and financial plan that drives decision-making around ASA’s short- and long-term objectives, fundraising strategies, and cost management protocols. Jacki has over fifteen years of serving in C-Suite level positions at the South Florida Institute on Aging (SoFIA), the Wyss Foundation (a private family foundation located in Washington DC), Freedom House (an international NGO), the National Council of State Housing Agencies, and the Human Rights Campaign. Her expertise lays in providing vision, strategy and operational direction to finance, information technology, human resources, grantmaking, facilities, and organizational planning and evaluation activities. Bennett proudly served in the President William J. Clinton Administration as the Finance Manager for the White House Office (WHO), as the Operations Director of the Gore 2000 presidential campaign, and on the staff of Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA). A native of Iowa, she is a graduate of Iowa State University. Jacki and her wife, Liz, reside in Fort Lauderdale, FL and Syracuse, NY with their basenji, Chisholm.

Alison Biggar is Editorial Director at the American Society on Aging, and has worked with ASA since 2011 as senior editor on its publications. She plans content for the Generations Today digital bimonthly publication, writes articles and edits the publication. For the Generations journal, she helps to plan issues with guest editors, and edits the publication. She also plans content and solicits speakers for the Bylines podcast and Future-Proof broadcast, and writes and edits Generations Now blog posts. Biggar has more than 30 years editorial experience and served as editor of the Sunday Magazine for the San Francisco Chronicle for a decade. She graduated from University of California at Santa Barbara with a Bachelor’s Degree in English Literature.

Kay Link is the Marketing & Communications Director at ASA. Since joining ASA in 2022, she has led successful marketing campaigns and enhanced the organization’s brand presence. She has extensive experience working with nonprofits, including those focused on global gender equity and supporting individuals with disabilities. Kay is passionate about social change and is dedicated to advancing ASA’s mission, particularly in raising public awareness about ageism. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies from American University.

Julia Burrowes is the On Aging Institute Associate Director at ASA. She joined the team after working as a direct senior care service provider for over 10 years, specifically with in-home care supervision, care management, Medicare counseling, and as a III-D health & wellness workshops leader. Before joining ASA, Julia most recently worked at Centralina Area Agency on Aging, serving the greater Charlotte area and monitoring OAA programs. Julia holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Gerontology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where she has also spent some time teaching as an adjunct instructor.

Adi (Dee) Goldstein is the Senior Operations & Growth Manager at ASA, having previously been Senior Development Manager at ASA and the Director of Development for the South Florida Institute on Aging, a community nonprofit devoted to helping older adults thrive as they age. She brings over 10 years of experience in marketing and fundraising across industries, and is excited to help shape the work ASA does to unite, empower and champion all those that work in aging. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Santa Clara University and a Master’s in Counseling Psychology with a specialization in Creative Expression from Sofia University (formerly the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology).

Mazie Soto is a bicultural and bilingual first-generation immigrant from México. Prior to joining ASA, she was the Data Systems Specialist for the Skokie 69 School District in Illinois, where she served students, parents, faculty, support staff and administrators in different capacities. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human-Computer Interaction and a Master’s degree in Instructional Technology Systems from DePaul University. Mazie teaches yoga in her spare time; her work in mindfulness reflects the practices that have allowed her to heal physically, mentally and spiritually. These practices are Yoga, Yoga Nidra and conscious eating.

Emily Erdt is the Communications Coordinator at American Society on Aging. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Public Relations with a minor in Theatre from Wayne State University, located in Detroit, MI. Born into a family with roots in Detroit, she has a deep love for the city and its people. She worked with several nonprofits dedicated to serving Detroit’s historically underserved communities before joining the team at ASA. With a robust background in marketing and public relations, Emily’s work focuses on creatively enhancing communications between ASA and our community.

Liz Deubner is the Membership and Customer Support Coordinator at ASA. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Integrated Studies from Grand Valley State University. After honing her customer service skills in hospitality management for many years, she made the switch to membership and CRM management in 2020. Liz is passionate about civic engagement and is an active volunteer for several local organizations, including serving on the board of directors for the Fulton Heights Neighborhood Association. In her spare time, you’ll find Liz in the kitchen, at a concert, or playing outside with her family.