Catherine is a trailblazer in Aging in Place initiatives. She has tackled the challenges older adults face when remaining independent in their homes as they age, an issue that is increasingly important as the region’s demographics skew older. With expertise gained from a successful 35+ year career in public health planning and social policy, community/home health administration, and healthcare, she galvanized partners and resources to create Aging in Place programs and services which have collectively served thousands of older adults in the region during the past 15 years.

In 2006, after co-founding the Westchester-Fairfield Aging in Place Coalition, Catherine was tapped by the Westchester Commissioner of Senior Programs & Services (DSPS) to help lead the County’s Livable Communities initiative, and took on the role of coordinator, Northeast region. In 2007, she founded and served as president of the membership organization Active Living Over Fifty (ALOFT). Then, invited to work with the Aging Advisory Council to the County’s transportation commissioner, she led a number of research projects to address transportation challenges and create solutions for older adults, caregivers, and homecare workers. In 2011, she founded The Boxwood Alliance, a free, online resource for Aging in Place in Westchester and Putnam counties.

Understanding that older adults are at the greatest risk of premature disability and decline if they choose to skip medical appointments, Catherine sought to address this critical and unmet need. She set out to secure foundation, corporate, and federal funding, and in 2011, founded WestFair Rides, a collaborative, nonprofit organization providing medical transportation services for older adults and adults with vision impairment in Westchester County and the region.