You have an interesting background. Has your unusual upbringing been a motivating factor in the work that you do?
Absolutely. I was raised on the Navajo Indian Reservation in New Mexico, born to an interracial couple with “hippie leanings,” as I like to say. When he was my age, my father was an organizer in Martin Luther King’s Chicago campaign to eradicate slums. And my mother is the most compassionate, moral person I’ve ever known. So when you couple their influence with my being raised on the Reservation—a place where poverty, alcoholism, and depression abound—then it’s no surprise that I dedicated myself to social change at an early age. Much of the work that I do today is directly motivated by those early experiences.

As a senior policy analyst for the United Neighborhood Houses of New York, what are your core responsibilities?
United Neighborhood Houses is the membership organization of 35 settlement houses and community centers throughout the City. Our members provide neighborhood based social services and activities to over half a million New Yorkers each year. I see my role as working to foster communities in which elderly residents have the support they need to thrive and can stave off nursing home placement or hospitalization for as long as possible. I mainly focus on the issues of mental health and social isolation among the elderly. For obvious reasons, aging alone or with a mental illness such as depression can threaten healthy aging. So I work to combat these problems by analyzing the impact of public policy on seniors, advocating for sensible solutions, and advancing effective community based program models that help older adults remain in their neighborhoods.

Can you share a little bit of background on settlement houses, for those not familiar with their rich history?
The settlement house movement began in the late 19th century and introduced a new social reform approach to serving the urban poor. It challenged people to actually live among and work closely with those in need. This community based approach is commonplace today, but it was truly revolutionary for its time. In fact, settlement house workers, in their efforts to find more effective solutions to poverty and injustice, actually pioneered the profession of social work. During the early years, settlement houses helped immigrants make the transition into a new society by providing much needed community services. Today, settlement houses continue to offer programs and services to people of all ages and backgrounds in welcoming community centers. They work to meet the changing needs of their neighborhoods and play a vital role in mobilizing residents to address complex social issues.

Being a policy analyst, what are some of the challenges you face, and what are some of the highlights?
I really enjoy dissecting a complex issue and putting it into a form that normal people can actually understand. I love providing the public with information they can use to get involved. But there are some challenges too. There is a lot of cynicism out there about the political process, some of it well deserved. It’s not apathy because people really do care, but they think their efforts won’t matter. Many people think that the world is the way that it is and it will never change. It’s difficult to inspire the hopeless to act, but I haven’t given up on them yet.

You have been a United Way Junior Fellow and a Princeton Project 55 Fellow, among others. Professional and personal development seems to be an important factor for you. How has this impacted you and your career? My parents have always pushed me to prepare myself for the unknown. They want me to be ready to rise to any occasion that arises in this fast-paced world, just as so many young people did in the 1960s. So I pursue opportunities wherever I find them, recognizing that I’m not limited to my job responsibilities. Sometimes they work out and sometimes they don’t, but either way I’m always trying to move myself – and therefore the causes I care about -- toward something greater.

From your experience where do you see the issues of the elderly headed, and what would you like to see happen?
We all know that the Baby Boom generation is on the verge of retirement. Our world is changing. In a few years, 20 percent of the U.S. population will be over the age of 65. It’s unprecedented! We have the opportunity to redefine what it means to be an older person in our society. Instead of equating the aging process with deterioration and decline, we can look at the issue in a totally new way. Seniors are a social resource with a lot to offer. I have no doubt that Baby Boomers will reshape our society’s view of aging, just as they have done at every stage of their lives.

What changes would you like to see occur in your line of work and in the sector?
Well, as in most professions, young people are often seen as amateurs who need to pay their dues. While there is definitely something to be said for experience and educational attainment, I believe that the fresh, new ideas of younger people are vital. I wish there were more leadership and entrepreneurial opportunities in the nonprofit sector for all the mature young people out there with good ideas.

For those who want to become involved in policy and advocacy work, what insight can you offer them?
Do something. Find an issue that makes you really mad and try to change it. I know it sounds corny and trite, but it really is true. And you don’t have to wait until you land an advocacy job to take action. Even when I was fresh out of college and doing corporate work, I was trying to improve the affordability and availability of healthy food in my neighborhood. If you don’t do it, no one will. On my office wall hangs a quote by Desiderius Erasmus; it reads: “There are some people who live in a dream world, and there are some who face reality; and then there are those who turn one into the other.” You hold the power to make this the world you want it to be.