Featured Speakers:

AARP-NRTA's Staying Sharp presents
Gene Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. on The Mature Mind

Gene D. Cohen, M.D., Ph.D. is the first Director of the Center on Aging, Health & Humanities (established 1994) at George Washington University (GW), where he also holds the positions of Professor of Health Care Sciences and Professor of Psychiatry. In addition, he is the founding Director of a think tank on aging .the Washington, DC Center On Aging (established 1994. During 1991-1993, he served as Acting Director of the National Institute on Aging (NIA). Before coming to NIA, Dr. Cohen served as the first Chief of the Center on Aging of the National Institute of Mental Health, the first federal center on mental health and aging established in any country. In addition, he also coordinated the Department of Health and Human Services' planning and programs on Alzheimer's disease. During his tenure with the federal government, he received the Public Health Service (PHS) Distinguished Service Medal (the highest honor of the PHS).

Dr. Cohen is a graduate of Harvard College and the Georgetown University School of Medicine and has a doctorate in Gerontology from The Union Institute. He is the first Editor-in-Chief of The American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. He is also the author of more than 100 publications in the field of aging, including several edited text books and his individually authored book The Brain In Human Aging (which, in addition to the English version, has been translated into both Spanish and Portuguese).

He is presently conducting research on creativity and aging as well as on innovative intergenerational interventions for Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Cohen also has major interests both in creativity and aging and in intergenerational programs involving older adults and children and has developed three new intergenerational board games.

Monika White, Ph.D., MSW, CMC President/CEO
Center for Healthy Aging

Dr. White earned both a Master's and a Doctorate in Social Work from the University of Southern California. She has extensive experience as a practitioner, educator, researcher, consultant and administrator. Since the mid-1970s, Dr. White has concentrated her work on coordinating health and community-based service delivery systems with an emphasis on care management for older adults and their families. A nationally recognized author and lecturer in the aging field, Dr. White is an Adjunct Professor at the Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

Stephen Happel, Professor of Economics

Dr. Stephen Happel is a Professor of Economics and the former Associate Dean of Undergraduate Programs at the Arizona State University College of Business. He received a B.A. in mathematics and economics from the University of Missouri and an M.A. and Ph.D. in economics from Duke University. He has held visiting appointments at North Carolina State University, the Australian National University and the University of Waikato in New Zealand.

Dr. Happel's research focuses on applied microeconomics and demographics. His writings appear in both professional journals and popular outlets, including The Wall Street Journal and American Demographics. His work ranges from the impact of snowbirds on the economy to free-market arguments for ticket scalping to market solutions for handicap parking spaces. He serves as a consultant to state government agencies and private firms on various population issues.

Steve has received many teaching awards, including the ASU Alumni Chapter Distinguished Teacher and the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education Professor of the Year for the State of Arizona. In addition to his ASU responsibilities, he has been an instructor at the Pacific Coast Banking School, the Banking Administration Institute, and the Institute for Real Estate Management. Steve speaks frequently to professional organizations on the state of the economy, paying particular attention to demographic trends and federal reserve policy. He is as free a free-market economist as you are ever likely to encounter.