Q: You recently announced your retirement. What are you proudest of at the Foundation?
A:Two things. One is raising the visibility of aging. When we started the Foundation 12 years ago, there wasn’t much philanthropic work on aging and public policy. For a small foundation, we picked an important niche, and we worked hard on it. I am also proud of the team we built. They work tirelessly to improve systems for older adults that preserve dignity and independence.
Q: What accomplishments are you most pleased about?
A:I’m really proud of the Master Plan for Aging initiative, because I think it will change the direction of how we think about getting older in California. I’m also pleased about the multiyear LTSS State Scorecard, which measures state performance from the viewpoint of users of services and their families. States use it to hold officials accountable and drive federal policy.
Q: What does retirement mean to you?
A:If I could banish a word from my vocabulary, it would be retirement. I will make the transition from a full-time job to a series of projects over the next decade or more. I’m stepping away from the Foundation to give someone else a chance to lead, but I’m certainly not done working on healthcare issues.
