EngAGE Blog

We are pleased to announce the addition of John Feather, PhD, to our esteemed EngAGE California Board of Directors. You can see the entire list of dedicated members here.

John Feather, PhD, is Chief Executive Officer of Grantmakers in Aging, the national association of grantmaking foundations and other organizations that work to improve the lives of older people.  Prior to beginning that position in 2011, he was Executive Director and CEO of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, the national membership organization of pharmacists who specialize in care of older persons.  Until 2002, he was Director of the AARP Andrus Foundation, the research and education charity of AARP.

For the 17 years prior to that appointment in 1995, Dr. Feather held several positions at the State University of New York at Buffalo including Clinical Associate Professor of Medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology, Executive Director of the Primary Care Resource Center, and Director of the Western New York Geriatric Education Center. 

Dr. Feather is Past Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Society on Aging and a former officer or Board member of 13 other national non-profit organizations.  He received the ASA Award, the highest honor of the American Society on Aging for his work in policy, practice and education, and was elected a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.  He was selected as one of the “50 Influencers in Aging” by Next Avenue, PBS’ national information source on aging, and received the Ophelia Rinaldi Lifetime Achievement Award from National Hispanic Council on Aging and was elected to the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Dr. Feather is an organizational sociologist by training and received his undergraduate education at the University of Texas at Austin and his masters and doctoral degrees at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor.  He has earned the designation of Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) and Certified Association Executive (CAE).

Charmaine Atherton is moving on to a new position at Bank of America, and so has resigned from our Board of Directors in Southern California. EngAGE would like to express our sincere gratitude for her many years of service on the Board.

As the Senior Vice President, Bank of America Merrill Lynch Community Development Banking, Charmaine led the company’s efforts dedicated to lending and investing in low and moderate-income underserved communities. She was instrumental in securing funding for our EngAGE in Wellness program which partners with several large food banks to provide onsite delivery of tons of free food each month to thousands of low-income residents living in the apartment communities we serve in Southern California. We are continuing that vital program now, even under our current challenging circumstances.

We send Charmaine our very best wishes for the future!