Collaborators & Contributors
Tech-enhanced Life is a platform where experts, evaluators, makers — and others interested in improving the quality of life as we age — share their learnings.
This page celebrates the individuals who have generously shared their learnings and expertise with the Tech-enhanced Life community. It includes people who have authored content on this website, and experts who have helped guide our research by participating in "advisory panels" that guide our research.
If you visit the "profile" of any of the individuals below, you can see their contributions to Tech-enhanced Life.
Contributing Experts, Collaborators, Evaluators, & Makers
Majd Alwan
Majd Alwan, Ph.D., a noted researcher and authority on aging-services technologies, is LeadingAge’s senior vice president of technology, and executive director of the LeadingAge Center for Aging Services Technologies (CAST).
Dr. Alwan is responsible for creating and leading a network of ...
Rhonda Bonecutter
Founder of Zero Barriers Inc.
Specialized in identifiying the right equipment and home modifications to help people overcome the barriers that prevent them from living independently.
Lisa Brinkmann
Lisa Brinkmann is currently Executive Director of Marin Villages, a non-profit organization dedicated to assisting and enriching the lives of older adults who want to live independently in their own homes as they age. Lisa has a M.Sc. in Gerontology from USC. As her LinkedIn profile puts it " ...
Richard Caro
Scientist turned entrepreneur. Strategic adviser to emerging growth companies. Occasional angel investor. Oxford D.Phil. (Physics). Co-founder: Tech-enhanced Life.
Marlena Chu, OD, FAAO
Dr. Marlena A. Chu received her optometry degree from the University of California School of Optometry, and then completed her Low Vision Residency under the mentorship of Drs. Robert B. Greer and Ian L. Bailey. She is one of 71 Low Vision Diplomates worldwide in the American Academy of ...
Bev Cobb
Am currently a caregiver for my 96 year old Aunt (Mom' s sister) who is aging safely in her home. Had been caregiver for my legally blind Mom for 8 years who resided in a facility and died as the result of an accident. Retired after preparing taxes for 17 years as an Enrolled Agent.
...
Scott Code
Scott assists with shaping and executing LeadingAge CAST’s strategies and work plans to expand and lead CAST’s network. He is responsible for increasing CAST’s exposure and coordinating technology initiatives that aim to identify barriers and opportunities to facilitate the use of technology in ...
Emma Davis
As the Director of Programming and Counseling at Rhoda Goldman Plaza, an assisted living and memory care facility in San Francisco, CA, Emma is instrumental in developing and implementing diverse and inclusive community programs in both Assisted Living and Memory Care. She provides a focus on ...
Elizabeth Depoy
Elizabeth DePoy is a disability theorist, professor of interdisciplinary disability studies, social work, and cooperating faculty in mechanical engineering at the University of Maine and also senior research fellow. Ono Academic College, [2] Research Institute for Health and Medical ...
Charles Durrett
Frank Engelman
I graduated with a MSEE from California State Sacramento in 1974 and started working at a local ultrasound company that was acquired by GE Medical Systems in 1979. I spent the next 10 years working on medical ultrasound doing hardware design and software programming. When GE decide to move the ...
Expert Insights Team - Fall Avoidance
This Expert Insights team consists of "citizen analysts" from the Longevity Explorers and Tech-enhanced Life, guided by a volunteer "expert panel" with deep domain expertise relating to older adults and fall avoidance.
Richard Freedland
Both my parents were the youngest of a large number of siblings. Because of this wonderful family situation, I've been an caregiver for my entire life. After a successful career in Silicon Valley, I've devoted my efforts to helping the older adult community by looking at areas needing more ...
Michelle Fritsch
Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D., BCGP, BCACP is a board certified geriatric clinical pharmacist with a passion for healthy aging and education. She is a specialist in medication use in people over 60. She is founder of Retirement Wellness Strategies and Meds MASH, LLC. She works with a broad ...
Stephen Gilson
Stephen is Professor of Interdisciplinary Disability Studies and Social Work at the University of Maine. Along with his wife, Liz DePoy, Stephen teaches courses in disability as diversity, policy, human behavior from a legitimacy perspective, and biology from an integrative human behavior ...
Rebecca Helbraun
My name is Rebecca Helbraun and I am finishing my last year in the Ithaca College Occupational Therapy Masters Program. I am looking forward to becoming part of the amazing community of Occupational Therapists around the world to increase individuals' independence, help change lives, and grant ...
Tom Hilton
Retired Navy Captain, psychologist, NIH scientist, retiree. In 2012, we retired to Happilyeverafter on the Central Florida beach. I spent the bulk of my career in the DC Metro area but I lived in Ft. Worth 7 years as a student, lab manager, and med school academic, another 7 managing a lab in ...
Mary Hulme
Founder, Moonstone Geriatrics. Licensed clinical social worker and geriatric care manager with 18 years of experience helping Bay Area seniors and their families as they transition through the later stages of life. Specialist in keeping older people safely at home for as long as possible.
Jeff Johnson
Jeff Johnson is an Assistant Professor of Computer Science at the University of San Francisco. He is also President and Principal Consultant at UI Wizards, Inc., a product usability consulting firm. After earning B.A. and Ph.D. degrees from Yale and Stanford Universities, he worked as a UI ...
Jim Kimzey
I started Tender Rose Home Care in 2009 based on my personal experience with my mother's Alzheimer's disease. The type of home care my family was looking for did not exist. We wanted caregivers who were experienced, trained, and who specialized in taking care of people like my mother.
...
Patricia Knight
Pacific Coast Health Advocacy LLC founder Patricia Knight is a lawyer and a former registered nurse. Her knowledge of both the medical and the legal world gives Patricia the perfect combination of skills and insight to be a patient advocate. She understands the confusion and frustration many ...
David Knitter
Attorney David G. Knitter practices in the area of trusts and estates litigation. He is a member of the Executive Committee for the Trusts and Estates Section of the State Bar of California (TEXCOM). He is a Past President of the Solano County Bar Association (SCBA) and was honored as Attorney ...
Bob Kolock
Dr. Bob Kolock has over 35 years of experience in healthcare delivery. After completing his Internal Medicine post-graduate training at Georgetown University Hospital, he began the practice of Internal Medicine in 1977. After about 14 years of practice, he decided to move into ...
Marc Kriessmann
Marc is managing director of Hatch Retirement Advisors. Beyond wealth management, the “Hatch Plan” incorporates advance planning for the important health, family and lifestyle decisions that inevitably arise through the distinct phases of retirement.
Prior to his current role Marc was a ...
Walt Maclay
Walt Maclay, President of Voler Systems, is committed to delivering quality electronic products on time and on budget. Voler Systems provides the integrated design, development and risk assessment of new devices for medical, industrial, semiconductor, and instrumentation applications. Voler is ...
Shannon Martin
Shannon Martin is an occupational therapist with over 15 years of experience. Her clinical experience is primarily in inpatient rehabilitation and hospital-based settings working with adults and older adults with physical disabilities and chronic conditions. Shannon Martin is board certified in ...
Tom Maxwell
I am a writer and musician. I was a member of the Squirrel Nut Zippers between 1994 and 1999, and his song “Hell” peaked at Number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100, propelling the band to multi-platinum status. My songs have appeared in dozens of movies and television shows, a Super Bowl commercial ...
Marie Mika
I'm a Sociologist who taught for years at The Ohio State University - Sociology of the Family, Marriage and Society and Social Gerontology were some of my favorite classes. Now I'm applying my years of experience with qualitative methodologies - interviews, focus groups and ethongraphy - ...
Candiece Milford
Candiece Milford has over 17 years in Sales and Marketing experience and has founded, and been co-founder, of two businesses: Integrated Marketing Design, which provided graphic design and marketing services to Fortune 500 companies and Planetpoint, one of the first websites to host portfolios ...
John Milford
John opened and served as Executive Director of the San Francisco Towers (CCRC) for over fifteen years after a career in hospital and health care administration. He remains active as the founder of Heritage Consulting for Retirement Living, has supported non-profit work for seniors as Board ...
Caroline Mustard
I am a classically trained artist. In the last 5 years I adopted the iPad and iPhone as my canvas and sketchbook of choice. I have become the main educator for such in Silicon Valley, and have taught hundreds of people of all age groups how to use their mobile devices creatively. I am the co- ...
Mike Neises
Mike is early into his ‘second career’ as a research consultant for older adults and the aging infrastructure, and is currently wrapping up the requirements for his graduate certificate in gerontology at the University of Kentucky. Prior to that, he spent 29 years practicing the fine art ...
Kira Reginato
Owner of Living Ideas for Elders, Eldercare Managment firm since 2007. Author of "Tips for Helping Your Aging Parents. . . Without Losing Your Mind". Helped develop the Caring App for smartphones and tablets. Radio Host of The Elder Care Show and Call Kira ...
Mindy Renfro, PT, PhD, DPT, ECHM
Mindy is a geriatric physical therapist and retired Professor who taught in the School of Physical Therapy at Touro University Nevada in research and geriatrics. She was selected by the CDC as a fall prevention expert in 2009 and works closely with the National Council on Aging (NCOA), ...
Jim Schrempp
A software engineer by training, I worked at Hewlett Packard for 19 years - back when it was a great company. In 1999 I left HP to co-found Audible Magic, a media identification company. In 2016 I retired. Now I spend my time working on problems that interest me, like applying technology to the ...
Kim Schwarcz
I have been a Private Professional Fiduciary for over twenty years. During that time I was on the California state board of directors for four years, been California state conference chair a number of times, lectured on what a fiduciary does to the public, presented breakout sessions at various ...
Pam Sharkey
Pamela is a masters’ prepared nurse administrator and legal nurse consultant with deep expertise in fall morbidity and prevention in both residential and clinical settings. She is an expert for the California State Board of Registered nursing and has over thirty-five years of teaching ...
Ken Smith
Stanford Center on Longevity
Senior Research Scholar and Director, Mobility Division
Ken Smith directs the Mobility Division at the Stanford Center on Longevity, where he focuses on leveraging Stanford research to help individuals remain mobile and ...
Patricia Spilman
Patricia Spilman is Senior Scientist in the Drug Discovery Laboratory at UCLA and the Bredesen Lab at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, CA. She is a neuroscientist with over 20 years of experience in neurodegenerative disease research, including 12 years with world-renowned ...
Karthik Srivatsa
I am a tech professional in San Francisco in the medical device industry. Seeing what my parents are going through in their older age, I am passionate about deploying technologies to make their life more comfortable and independent. Contact me for any questions about my articles or my work in ...
Sylvia Stein
Sylvia Stein is an experienced veteran of brand consulting with an emphasis on ideation and innovation; as such she brings a fresh perspective to every project and client engagement. Building on her solid, 25-year background in developing new concepts and products, she reinvents processes and ...
Christian Thompson
Christian is an Associate Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of San Francisco and the owner of Thompson Fitness Solutions, LLC. Christian has published scientific publications on exercise programming for older adults in peer-reviewed journals such as Medicine and ...
Francine Toder
Francine Toder, Ph.D., is the author of The Vintage Years: Finding Your Inner Artist (Writer, Musician, Visual Artist) After Sixty.She is an emeritus faculty member of California State University Sacramento and is a clinical psychologist recently retired from private practice. ...
Peter G Zimmer
Founder of CogPro Cognitive Prosthetics Ltd. in 2015. Life-long communicator, inventor, designer, creative solution source, serial entrepreneur. Award-winning sculptor & furniture designer-craftsman; teacher; journalist and broadcaster; serial entrepreneur, founder of ZMR Designs Ltd (1979 ...