2025 Guest Speakers

Kaushik Roy, CEO of Vivalon

Kaushik Roy is the CEO of Vivalon, Marin County’s largest senior services nonprofit, joining in March 2025 with nearly 20 years of nonprofit leadership experience. Before Vivalon, he led Shanti Project in San Francisco for 15 years, growing the organization by more than 450%.

A respected Bay Area civic leader, Kaushik has served as board president of the San Francisco Interfaith Council and as a commissioner for the City’s Aging and Adult Services Commission, overseeing a $350 million budget. He has also contributed to multiple city and county task forces, including on palliative care and LGBTQ+ aging policy.

His other roles include service with the Presidio Trust, San Francisco’s HIV/AIDS Providers Network, and several nonprofit boards and advisory groups such as Ruthless Kindness, Petaluma Health District, Amor Para Todos, and Compass Parents.

Kaushik holds a B.A. from UC Berkeley and is a graduate of both the Metta Institute’s End-of-Life Care Practitioner Program and the Leaderspring Executive Fellowship.

Connecting the Community to the Courthouse

Lori Frugoli is a Marin native and was first inspired to keep Marin safe when she participated in a Law Enforcement Ride-a-Long program while attending Terra Linda High School.  She was one of the first women to volunteer as a Reserve Police Officer in San Rafael and later became a Police Officer for the Santa Rosa Police Department where she chose the Downtown Walking beat in order to meet and learn about her community.  While at Santa Rosa she investigated arsons, fraud and embezzlement cases and served as a member of the Hostage Negotiations Team.

Lori worked her way through law school while working for the Marin County Sheriff’s Office.  In 1990 she became a Deputy District Attorney for the County of Marin and in 2018 she was elected to serve as Marin County’s District Attorney.

Lori has earned many prestigious awards and recognitions including the Champion for Children award from the Jeannette Prandi Children’s Center.  She has earned a reputation in the community for treating all people with respect and professionalism.  A few of Lori’s accomplishments as the DA include: creating one of the first immigration relief programs in a California District Attorneys Office; Co-Chairing Marin County’s first Gun Safety Collaborative, Hosting Marin’s first Gun Violence Restraining Order training for law enforcement and the community, Co-hosting multiple Not in Our Town events. Welcoming a working group of community leaders and activists to her office to ensure an open line of transparency and communication between the DA’s office and the community.  Lori also welcomed a community group of Jewish leaders NOAH (Name, Own, Abolish Hate) to her office, and they successfully sponsored new Hate Crime Legislation which was passed in 2022.

Friendship Is a Public Health Strategy: Reframing the Aging Experience

Meaningful connection isn’t just a nicety—it’s essential to well-being as we grow older. In this engaging, research-informed talk, Barbara J. Brown, EdD, Executive Director of LITA (Love Is The Answer), explores the role of friendship, purpose, and intergenerational connection in promoting healthy aging. With real-life examples and local perspective, she invites us to consider new ways of supporting connection and belonging in later life.

Barbara Jeanette Brown is a seasoned nonprofit and education leader dedicated to fostering connection, learning, and belonging. She currently serves as Executive Director of LITA (Love Is The Answer), a Marin-based nonprofit that has brought friendship and human connection to older adults for 50 years.

Presented by: Seniors for Peace

A powerful educational gathering dedicated to world peace, social justice, true democracy, and the protection of our planet. Hear from Nancy Miller, chair of Mill Valley Seniors for Peace, alongside a panel of inspiring members who are passionate about making a difference- at every stage of life.

  Conservatorships

This presentation will provide an overview of conservatorship, including proactive steps to help avoid the need for one, along with guidance on when a conservatorship is necessary. It will also cover the court process involved in obtaining a conservatorship.

Alexis Lynch is an attorney in Marin whose law practice focuses primarily on conservatorships. She has prior experience with estate planning and special needs trusts. She is a board member of ICS, a nonprofit that provides services to people with disabilities. She also is the Fundraising Chair for her daughter’s public school PTA.

  Suicide Prevention in Older Adults

Suicide Prevention in Older Adults– foundational information including local data and resources, identification of warning signs, risk factors and protective factors, and communication strategies to support older adults.

Jennifer is the program director at the Marin office of Seniors At Home, a division of JFCS. She has worked in social services in Marin County for over 20 years, specializing in program development that meets the unique needs of senior clients. She is a licensed marriage and family therapist and has a master’s degree in clinical counseling from Sonoma State University.

Understanding Institute on Aging and the Resources Available to Older Adults in CA Regardless of Income

Institute on Aging works to enhance the quality of life for adults as they age by enabling them to maintain their health, well-being, independence and participation in the community. We serve a diverse population of older adults and disabled adults by providing innovative, community-based programs that enable our clients to live at home for as long as possible. We serve as an essential partner in the continuum of care by providing health services, social and emotional support, and education and advocacy.

Lattice Wealth Management Group Inc.

Mike Ross has been a Financial Advisor since 1987.  He has worked with the senior community throughout those 38 years, first with a major Wall Street bank and since 2021 as an independent financial advisor.  He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy (BA 1981) and the State University of New York (MA 1984). 

Over the years, he has seen confusion from clients on how to best pay for senior living services.  His presentation was an overview of seven funding sources to pay for care, as well as a set of steps seniors or their families can use to decide what type of care is affordable and meets their needs. 

The Redwoods a Community of Seniors

Hunter Moore has been the CEO of The Redwoods for the last 7+ years and a leader in the retirement industry for several decades.  He is stepping back from his role as CEO at the end of the year and will share his observations of the current needs for seniors in Marin, thoughts on the changes coming in the near future, and the role we all can play as leaders in helping it be as positive as possible for people we serve, work with and one another.

HICAP- Health Insurance Counseling & Advocacy Program

Michael is a California Department of Aging certified Medicare counselor. Michael provides Medicare education classes to beneficiaries by working with community partners in Marin, Napa, Sonoma, Lake, Mendocino and Solano counties.

Michael has been a Key-Note Speaker for a myriad of Medicare conventions, community aging panels, County Library Speaker Series, etc.

After the closing of his Sonoma County small business in 2020, Michael discovered the complicated world of Medicare while assisting his parents with their Medicare related issues. Michael jumped at the opportunity to work with HICAP.

Michael now finds great joy in his role offering free and unbiased Medicare education to the community.

Vivalon

Michele Levine serves as the Healthy Aging Programs Manager at Vivalon, a role she has embraced since August 2022. As a key member of the Programs team, she played a pivotal role in the relocation to our new Healthy Aging Campus in January 2024. The Programs team offers an impressive 50 different classes each month, with Michele overseeing both Digital Literacy and Health and Wellness programming, including our Falls Prevention initiatives. Michele holds a BA in Sociology and a Master’s degree in Education.

Alzheimer’s Association

Carmen is the Community Engagement Specialist for the Alzheimer’s Association in the North Bay. She has also been with the U.S. Pointer Study at the Alzheimer’s Association in Sacramento, CA for the last 5 years. In this role, she has supported study participants in making lifestyle changes to help reduce the risk of dementia. She has a BA degree in Psychology and Speech Language Pathology. In her free time she enjoys hiking and sailing on the SF bay.

Culturally Competent Approaches to Meeting the Needs of LGBT+ Older People

Bill Blackburn: Cultural Competency Trainer, Consultant, Writer, Community Builder, Cultural Change Advocate

At the beginning of the Covid pandemic in March 2020, The Spahr Center of Marin hired Bill to develop an LGBT+ senior program to keep people from falling further into isolation. Initially, he facilitated two weekly socialization groups on zoom and sent out a weekly newsletter going to 380 people with Covid updates, community news, resource information and uplift. As the pandemic lessened, he initiated a variety of in-person events around Marin County. He managed the program until, in February of this year, The Spahr Center was forced to close due to financial unsustainability. Through that experience and being a gay senior himself, he knows firsthand the fear many LGBT+ older people have that they may have to go back into the closet when entering care situations. 

Bill taught Cultural Competency Trainings for Healthcare Providers in Caring for LGBTQI Patients at both Stanford Hospitals and Clinics and at UCSF School of Nursing. The trainings awarded continuing education units to participants and garnered excellent evaluations. 

He has worked to increase the holistic health and wellness of LGBTQ people, founding a Lesbian and Gay Hotline in Eugene, Oregon, in 1979. Since 1988, he has been involved in the Billy Community (no relationship to his name,) a heart-centered community of gay, bi and trans men, leading workshops, Heart Circles, retreats and rituals to deepen connection to heart and spirit for men seeking more depth and support than is generally offered in mainstream gay culture. For eight years, he served on the Billy Foundation Board of Directors, where he taught consensus and designed and facilitated Visioning Retreats. In 2003-2004, working as a consultant for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, he designed and implemented the creation of ManREACH, a heart-centered community modeled on the Billy Community, as a holistic intervention for isolated, hard-to-reach, at-risk rural gay, bi, and queer men in Colorado. ManREACH celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. 

Additionally, he participated for 6 years with The UNtraining: Unlearning White Liberal Racism, peeling away residual layers of unconscious enculturation and conditioning as well as deepening his understanding of intersectionality and his capacity to be an ally to BIPOC people. 

Bill will speak on the importance of culturally competent approaches to meeting the needs of LGBT+ older people. 

Introduction to AgeWell PACE

Introduction to AgeWell PACE, a Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly, servicing most of Sonoma and Marin Counties. Explanation of PACE facilities, services provided, and our unique care model. Discussion regarding qualifications and eligibility including the enrollment process.

Chenoa Cue is a dedicated and passionate registered nurse with diverse experience in areas including geriatrics, pediatrics, fertility, and oncology. Having a background as a medical assistant, she holds degrees in psychology, sociology, and behavioral health sciences. She holds a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Columbia College where she graduated with distinction after completion of an original research project entitled Critical Thinking Skills in Baccalaureate Nursing Students, as well as completion of a community service project regarding the effects of virtual learning on the mental health of school-aged children. Prior to joining Agewell, she worked in an Oncology infusion clinic; although it was very fulfilling work, she looks forward to making a large impact through individualized compassionate care focused on enriching the lives of the seniors we serve.

Presentation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of Washington DC

This is an exciting opportunity for The Marin Section on Aging Members. Jenefer Duane, originally from Marin and currently with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has coordinated an outstanding educational program for April. The CFPB was initially developed by Senator Elizabeth Warren, and it has outstanding materials for our members to access and share with their clients and colleagues.

Please join us for a presentation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau of Washington DC. Lisa Schifferle will share strategies to combat elder financial exploitation through network collaboration and age-friendly banking.

Lisa Weintraub Schifferle is a Senior Policy Analyst in the CFPB’s Office for Older Americans. She leads the Managing Someone Else’s Money financial caregiving program as well as the Money Smart for Older Adults scam awareness program. Ms. Schifferle’s career in consumer protection spans more than 25 years. Before coming to the CFPB, she worked at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), where she trained consumers, business and advocates on scams, identity theft, and cybersecurity. She also served as the FTC’s Identity Theft Coordinator and litigated fraud and data security cases.

Inflation Reduction Act (IRA)

The U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is the federal agency that provides health coverage to more than 160 million through Medicare, Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program, and the Health Insurance Marketplace. CMS works in partnership with the entire health care community to improve quality, equity and outcomes in the health care system. This program will discuss the expansions to Medicare under the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. The new drug law makes improvements to Medicare that will expand benefits, lower drug costs, keep prescription drug premiums stable, and improve the strength of the Medicare program. The law also extends enhanced financial help to purchase HealthCare.gov and state-based Marketplace plans and expands access to Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommended vaccines for adults with Medicaid coverage.

Cristina Collazo serves as an Outreach Specialist at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of Program Operations and Local Engagement. Cristina educates consumers, providers and other partners about CMS programs and initiatives. Cristina has also worked in a variety of public and private sector employment in the areas of labor law and health law. Cristina is a member of the California bar and holds a B.A. from Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, and a J.D. from the University of San Francisco School of Law. 

Today and Tomorrow: Retirement Housing Options

There is a wide and growing variety of retirement housing options for seniors in Marin County.  Hunter has worked on options accross the country and in other countries.  He will touch briefly on the benefits and drawbacks of each of the major options, suggest how to find what it best for your loved one/client, how to get the best deals/save money, as well as answer your questions in an open and honest manner.