Laura Mason, EngAGE Executive Director, Northern California, reports: “A huge thank you to Home Depot for the generous donation of garden supplies! All will be used to beautify the community garden at The Huntington Senior Apartments in Morgan Hill, California.”
DAVID QUAMMEN is an American author and journalist whose sixteen books include The Song of the Dodo (1996), The Reluctant Mr. Darwin (2006), and The Tangled Tree (2018). His 2012 book, Spillover: Animal Infections and the Next Human Pandemic, described the dynamics of viral spillover from wildlife into humans and predicted a coming pandemic, possibly caused by a coronavirus. Quammen’s magazine work has appeared in The New Yorker, National Geographic, Harper’s, The Atlantic, Rolling Stone, and The New York Review of Books, among other magazines, and his Op Eds in the New York Times and other newspapers. He’s a three-time winner of the National Magazine Award and has received several awards for his books. He shares a home in Bozeman, Montana, with his wife, Betsy Gaines Quammen, author of the book American Zion, plus two borzois, a cross-eyed cat, and a rescue python named Boots. ~ Website here.
BETSY GAINES QUAMMEN is a historian, conservationist, and author of American Zion: Cliven Bundy, God and Public Lands in the West. She received a doctorate in Environmental History from Montana State University and has studied various religious traditions over the years, with particular attention to how cultures view landscape and wildlife. The rural American West, pastoral communities of northern Mongolia, and the grasslands of East Africa have been her main areas of interest. Betsy lives in Bozeman, Montana, with her husband, writer David Quammen, two huge dogs, an overweight cat, and a pretty big python named Boots. ~ Website here.
Henry Sotelo (he/him/his), Program Director / Social Services Coordinator (El Verano, Anaheim, CA) – Mr. Sotelo is a 3rd Generation Angeleno. He has had a lifelong passion for the arts, music, travel, and social justice. In his free time, you can find him hiking/cycling the California Coastal Trail, or taking advantage of the rich arts and culture that California has to offer. His undergraduate studies were in Film & Electronic Arts at Cal State Long Beach, and he went on to earn a Masters Degree in 3D Animation from the Academy of Art, San Francisco. Eventually, all his passions led to him parachuting into the Nonprofit Sector, where he has directed Senior Corps and AmeriCorps grants/programs for the Corporation for National & Community Service. His experiences in serving older adults have been educational, impactful, and made it clear to Henry: helping older adults thrive is his ikigai. He strives to always have a “beginner’s mind” and cultivate programming at EngAGE that will inspire residents to live their best lives!
Tim Carpenter, EngAGE CEO/Founder, has contributed a Guest Post at Wisdom Well, the blog of Modern Elder Academy, founded by Chip Conley. It’s a great story of intergenerational success in the area of mission-driven affordable housing development. Click to read:
A Case for Wisdom in the Workplace
Tim is an Encore Public Voices Fellow.
Talented artist and Long Beach Senior Arts Colony resident Alva McNeal recently requested assistance from Miles Morse who has, among other responsibilities, the job of serving as technology instructor/advisor at several of our EngAGE communities, including LBSAC. Alva shared her experience with Helene Weinberg, LBSAC Program Director:
Helene,
Please find the attached letter I emailed to Miles.
I recently purchased a new editing program with no knowledge of how to operate the software.
After going nuts for a few days, I connected with Miles.
He, too, was not familiar with the software but said, “Give me a day or two and we will get back together.”
Miles’ patience and knowledge has helped to make my project a success.
Please consider placing the letter into his employee file.
Alva
And here’s the lovely letter Alva wrote to Miles:
Hi Miles,
Thank you so much for helping me to understand the Affinity Designer software.
I do not believe I could have completed the project without your help.
It was extremely kind of you to take it to the next step of reviewing the software and learning how it works and then giving excellent instructions to me.
Your patience and consideration to myself and to our community here at LBSAC is exceptional. Thanks for being our “Teck Guy”!
Sincerely,
Alva Mc Neal
I am forwarding this letter to your supervisor, Helene Weinberg, and requesting that it be placed in your employment folder.
We love a success story!
From Tim Carpenter, CEO/Founder of EngAGE:
It is with great pleasure that I announce that Maria Rojo de Steffey is joining our team as the Regional Director of EngAGE Northwest.
Maria has served for several years on our Board of Directors, and we are very excited to have her bring her many years of experience and good work in Oregon to our leadership team.
Maria’s extensive experience includes two terms as a Multnomah County Commissioner where, among many initiatives, she originated and co-chaired the County’s Vital Aging Task Force. Her experience extends to management of contracting and management services. Maria has managed a staff of 500 with a 275 million dollar budget. She has developed and implemented public sector budgets and fiscal procedures. She has also been responsible for contract negotiation for rental/use of facilities and services including the Expo Center and Civic Stadium (now Providence Park). She has extensive experience in media communication, management of event services, operations, sales and marketing. Most recently, Maria was the President and Owner of ALMAR Contracting, LLC, a state certified WBE/MBE business. The company renovates and repairs multi-family housing apartment buildings.
EngAGE Northwest is in the midst of a significant period of growth and will continue to grow exponentially in the next few years. I am looking forward to working with Maria on this next exciting chapter. Please join me in welcoming her.
Celebrate the stories of older adults dancing on during the Dance On Festival, a first-of-its-kind online gathering brought to you by Dance Exchange.
Gather, move, & make with older adults, artists, caregivers, & leaders in creative aging.
EngAGE’s own Northern CA Program Director Liv Schaffer reports: “I have been a partnering artist with Dance Exchange for a few years now, collaborating on/performing in intergenerational dance and performance works. For the Dance On Festival, I will be a part of an intergenerational teaching team facilitating a guided and creative movement session for festival participants on Saturday 5/15 that celebrates connecting across generations.”
Watch the trailer and get inspired!
