Young Professionals in Aging

Jamie Malone
Assistant to the Director
Aging and Adult Services
Colorado Department of Human Services, Denver, Colorado

For the past eight years, Jamie has served as the assistant to the Director of the Division of Aging and Adult Services, Colorado Department of Human Services, as well as the staff administrator for the Colorado Commission on Aging.

Jamie was personally selected by Dorcas Hardy, National Chair to attend the 2005 White House Conference on Aging as a volunteer. She was recently appointed to the Denver Commission on Aging for District 8.

One of her most cherished accomplishments is the organization of the Centenarian Celebration and the Al Buckingham Senior Leadership Legacy Award for the Colorado Commission on Aging. Each year she is responsible for bringing together leaders in the field of aging to pay tribute to those who have lived more than 100 years, as well as to professionals and volunteers who have dedicated their lives to improving the quality of life for older adults in Colorado

Most recently, she has been responsible for staffing the Silverprint Colorado launch of a website and effort by the State of Colorado to provide a central clearinghouse for information on aging.

She is currently seeking her bachelor’s degree in public policy/sociology with a minor in gerontology from the University of Colorado at Colorado Springs

The Society is pleased to present this award to Jamie Malone for her continued work in the field of aging in Colorado.

Annell Mook
Regional Director
Sunrise Senior Living, Denver, Colorado

Annell has been working with Sunrise Senior Living for the past four years in the Denver area. At Sunrise she is responsible for community relations and community outreach.

Annell works very closely with the community supporting many outreach activities such as the Senior Answers and Services Holiday Basket project, hosting Medicare workshops for the residents, family and the community, and a host of other activities to promote the well being of older adults. She has also been involved with the Jefferson County Council on Aging.

Prior to joining Sunrise, she was with Evercare, Life Care Centers of America, and Vencor (formerly Hillhaven). Before working with the elderly, she owned her own business providing customer service programs for over 400 hospitals nationwide. Her accounts also included Lord & Taylor, Denver Dry and others.

As an avocation, she raises Labrador retrievers. Currently she is tending to eight puppies. She belongs to the Labrador Retriever Club of Denver.

She has dedicated herself to advocating for seniors issues in the community. The Society is grateful for all the work Annell has contributed to our seniors in the past and pleased to present to her the Al Berger Distinguished Service in Aging Award.

Stephen Bender
Social Worker
Veterans Administration, Colorado Springs, Colorado

Stephen, or better known to all of us as Steve, started his career in aging as a volunteer with the Area Agency on Aging in Fort Collins. Following much research and study of the field, he reports that one day in a conversation with Dorothy Anders, the director of the state unit on aging, he had an epiphany to enter the field as a professional

The next year in 1979 he became the director of the area agency on aging in Colorado Springs. He held that position until 1987 when he went in to private practice as a private geriatric care manager.

From 1989 to 1999 he was a social worker at Memorial Hospital in Colorado Springs. He has been a social worker at the Veterans Administration since 2001. He has also been the publisher of several resource directories.

Steve has been a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging, most recently in 2005. He has been actively involved in the launch of Silverprint Colorado, an information and clearinghouse of information for elders.

As the chair of the Colorado Commission on Aging, Steve has worked tirelessly to advance public policy for seniors.

Being a good social worker, Steve lists family as his avocation, followed by bike riding and running his private business.

The Society is pleased to present this award to Stephen Bender for his continued work in the field of aging in Colorado.

GlaxoSmithKline
The mission of GlaxoSmithKline is to improve the quality of human live by enabling people to do more, feel better and live longer. As a research based pharmaceutical company, GSK has dedicated significant resources to three priority diseases identified by the World Health Organization: HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria.

In 2006 GSK donated 155 million albendazole tablets to help eliminate lymphatic filariasis (elephantiasis), making almost 600 million treatments in total. In addition, they shipped 206 million tablets of preferentially-priced Combivir and Epivir (our HIV treatments) to developing countries - including 120 million tablets supplied by generics manufacturers licensed by GSK. They also supply one quarter of the world’s vaccines.

In 2003 GlaxoSmithKline made a commitment to developing the Patient Advocacy Leadership Summit (PALS) as a forum for patient groups to learn more about patient advocacy and leadership in their communities. GSK has sponsored national, as well as regional and state PALS meeting on an ongoing basis since 2003.

The Society has helped to coordinate five of these state and regional meetings for health care advocates.

More than 200 patient advocates and health care leaders have attended the leadership training programs. Leading scientists, legislators and technical experts have provided training at the sessions during the past five years.

In addition, the Colorado PALS group consists of participants from a wide variety of health advocacy groups including epilepsy, gay and gray, arthritis, county department of human services, Alzheimer’s disease, brain injury, home care, and a variety of other groups who come together monthly to discuss advocacy for frail and vulnerable populations.. Health care groups interested in advocating on behalf of patient rights, access and protections are encouraged to join PALS. PALS members meet monthly to discuss legislative and regulatory issues concerning Coloradoans and to share information and strategies

The Colorado Gerontological Society is pleased to present our 2007 corporate award to GlaxoSmithKline for their partnership in helping older adults in our community. Here to accept this award today is Larry Martinez, Health Advocacy for Colorado and Spencer Gutherie, Government Relations.