Tanya Burgess is a fourth-year doctoral student at Arizona State University's School of Social Work, a researcher of the connection between social embeddedness and mental health as we age, and a therapist.

Dr. Eisenstein is a Senior Program Officer and Director of Research & Evaluation at RRF Foundation for Aging in Chicago, Illinois. She has worked in the combined fields of gerontology and public health for over 20 years and has held a variety of positions in both academic and community-based settings. She is passionate about working to advance equitable opportunities for older adults to achieve and maintain high levels of dignity and quality of life. Dr. Eisenstein is an Ambassador for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, a Fellow of The Gerontological Society of America, and holds an Adjunct appointment at the University of Illinois at Chicago, in the School of Public Health.

Shannon Jarrott studies methods of connecting unrelated young and older persons for mutual benefit. She has worked with childcare centers, adult day services, schools, nursing homes, food banks, and churches interested in youth’s and older adults’ potential to benefit participants and the larger community. These collaborations identified strategies that increase program success, promoting meaningful roles, healthy food access, empathy, resilience, and a sense of purpose for young and older participants. Shannon is a Professor of Social Work at The Ohio State University and the Director of Faculty Development. She is the Editor of The Journal of Intergenerational Relationships.

Jill Juris, PhD, in addition to being an Associate Professor, is also the interim Department Chair of the Recreation Management, Health and Physical Education program at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Her research focuses on developing, implementing and evaluating intergenerational community-based programs related to health outcomes. She is the evaluator for the USDA/CYFAR BRIDGE2Health project that aims to improve teens’ and older adults’ life skills, resilience and social connections through shared mentoring. She is also the co-PI for an RRF Foundation for Aging study, examining the implementation of an intergenerational technology program in higher education.

Dr. Leedahl is a faculty member with a joint appointment in the Departments of Human Development and Family Science & Political Science.  She was hired as part of the Cluster Hire Initiative in Aging & Health.  She has worked in nursing homes, for a U.S. Senator, at a community agency action agency, and as a research project coordinator for various stated-funded program evaluation and research projects.  Dr. Leedahl was the recipient of the prestigious John A. Hartford Doctoral Fellowship in Geriatric Social Work, and she has received awards from the University of Rhode Island, the University of Kansas, and the Gerontological Society of America for her research. 

Laura Miller, LMSW, is the National Program Director at Perfect Pair, a nonprofit organization fostering intergenerational connections across the country. In this role, she leads national efforts in program design, grant writing, fundraising, and strategic outreach to expand the organization’s impact. She also helps oversee Pairs with Pride, a program of Perfect Pair focused on building meaningful relationships between LGBTQ+ older and younger adults. Laura also works at a community mental health center in Kansas City, where she provides therapy to families of justice-involved youth, including many grandfamilies. Her passion for intergenerational connection is rooted in her own upbringing in a multigenerational community, which continues to inform her commitment to building inclusive, age-integrated spaces.

Carly Roman-Woo, PhD, joined Archstone Foundation as a Program Officer in 2023. As a 2020-2021 intern at the Foundation, Dr. Roman-Woo worked closely with grantees, grant applicants, and program staff to promote new funding opportunities, disseminate communication materials, and implement special projects, such as Catchafire’s skills-based volunteering platform. In her role as a Program Officer, Carly leads work within the Foundation’s equitable, coordinated care portfolio, with a focus on advancing equity in aging through the organization’s JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) principles. She supports grantees and partners in strengthening care systems for older adults and caregivers, with an emphasis on technology, strategic collaboration, and care coordination across health and social services. She also manages the Catchafire partnership and helps guide the Foundation’s capacity building program, supporting organizations to enhance their effectiveness and long-term sustainability.