Brief biographies of our experts and some thoughts on the work that they do.

Mary Ellen Geist, Reporter and Caregiver

Mary Ellen Geist is an award-winning radio anchor and reporter who has traveled the world to cover such big news stories as Princess Diana’s death, the Clinton impeachment hearings, the Florida 2000 election controversy and the Japanese hostage crisis in Peru. She was most recently an anchor at WCBS Newsradio 880, but left the station to help take care of her father, who is in the final stages of Alzheimer’s disease. From the Detroit area, where her parents make their home, she produced an online journal for WCBS880 documenting the emotional effects of her father’s disease. She was featured prominently in a November 24, 2005, New York Times article entitled “Forget the Career. My Parents Need Me at Home” by Jane Gross.

Gail Gibson Hunt

Gail Hunt is President and CEO of the National Alliance for Caregiving, a non-profit coalition dedicated to conducting research and developing national programs for family caregivers and the professionals who serve them. Prior to heading NAC, she was president of her own aging-services consulting firm for 14 years. She has conducted corporate eldercare research for the National Institute on Aging and the Social Security Administration and developed training for caregivers with AARP and the American Occupational Therapy Association. In May of 2004, she was appointed by the White House to serve on the Policy Committee for the 2005 White House Conference on Aging.

On the biggest challenge to caregivers in the future:
"I see a lack of financial support for long-term care expenses, which can bankrupt a family. On average, caregivers are spending $200 per month and long-distance caregivers are averaging nearly $400 per month. While tax bills to help caregivers have been introduced in Congress, they do not seem to have a lot of traction. Since we have no long-term care policy in this country, we need more advocacy to focus on how much caregiving is costing people."

Carolyn McIntyre, LCSW-R, CEAP

Carolyn McIntyre, Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Employee Assistant Professional, has been providing counseling, support groups, coaching and seminars for large and small organizations for over 18 years. She facilitates caregiver support groups and has spoken at conferences about the stresses of working and caregiving for loved ones with chronic illnesses. A wife and mother of two daughters, she is the caregiver for her own mother, who has suffered from Alzheimer's disease for over 10 year.

Why I do the work that I do:
"What keeps me being a social worker helping others in times of distress is the awareness of the person I've become in this career. I think of other jobs and careers I could be doing and wonder if I would have the patience, the empathy, the focus on relationships and the ability to use the power of a universal love to make a positive difference. Sometimes I think that I have the best job in the world. I listen and peek into the lives and souls of others and connect in ways that transcend race, religion and status. I am always learning about relationships and ways to improve the quality of people's lives. In the process, my personal life benefits, too. "

Peter J. Strauss, Esq.

Peter J. Strauss, Esq., is a partner in the law firm of Epstein Becker & Green, P.C., in New York City. The firm has offices in numerous cities across the United States. He has extensive experience in all aspects of estates and trusts, including planning, probate, estate and gift taxes as well as estate and trust administration. His special expertise in the legal problems of aging has earned him a national reputation in this field. He is a frequent lecturer on estate planning.

The best advice I give to my clients:
"Medicine and science are dramatically extending life expectancies of Americans. The over-80 cohort is the fastest growing segment of our population. But living longer does not necessarily mean living well; 50 percent of persons over the age of 85 will need significant assistance in daily functioning. As an attorney specializing in estate planning and elder law, the best advice I can give to my clients is to plan ahead, devise systems for the management of financial affairs in the event of incapacity and to make plans to finance long-term care if it is needed. Remember, seniors are at risk because Medicare fails to pay for long-term expenses."

Sandra Timmermann, EdD.

Dr. Sandra Timmermann has been the director of the Mature Market Institute at MetLife in Westport, CT since 1997. There she is responsible for MetLIfe's information and policy resource center for issues concerning aging, retirement, long-term care and the mature market. Prior to joining MetLife, she held senior staff positions with several aging organizations including the American Society on Aging, AARP and SeniorNet. A nationally recognized gerontologist, she writes the Financial Gerentology column for the Journal of Financial Service Professionals and is a frequent speaker at conferences and seminars.

The biggest challenges in the years ahead:
"As the baby boomers age and longevity rates increase, many more of us will be caring for aging parents or other loved ones. As is true now, most caregivers will be employed, needing to juggle work and family responsibilities. We often rely on paid caregivers to supplement family care while we are at work. A challenge in the future will be finding enough qualified paid caregivers to meet this growing need. Because the wages are relatively low and there are few career opportunities for those who provide care, as a society we will need to come up with creative recruitment, training and advancement strategies. We also will need to educate family caregivers about financial planning for their own future long-term care needs. The increasingly high cost of care at home, in assisted living facilities and in nursing homes could easily deplete a family's retirement nest egg."

Donna L. Wagner, PhD

Donna L. Wagner, PhD, is professor of Gerontology at Towson University in Towson, MD, where she directs the Center for Productive Aging and the academic programs in gerontology. Before joining Towson, she was the vice president for Research and Development of the National Council of the Aging in Washington, DC. Since 1985, she has been involved in conducting research, writing and teaching about a wide variety of issues concerning working caregivers. She is a Fellow of The Gerontological Society of America and active in the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.

The biggest change I have seen in the last decades:
"I have been teaching and conducting research in the field of gerontology for 24 years now. The biggest change I have seen during this time was a change that we were only beginning to discuss when I started in the field-the growth of the older population. There is a lot of good news associated with the increasing number of elderly, including the fact that there is a growing proportion of elderly who are going through their 80s and 90s with vigor and good health. Another important part of this change has been the response to it. Increasing numbers of students are choosing to study gerontology at the undergraduate and graduate level, businesses are recognizing that the elderly are a terrific and diverse market and communities are benefiting from sophisticated contributions made by their older citizens. We all have a lot to learn from these pioneering elderly who are living longer and better and redefining what it means to be old. They are caregivers for their less fortunate peers and spouses, educators and inspirations for their neighbors-and trailblazers for those of us who will follow them into late life."