
Featured speakers - 2017 aarp livable communities national conference
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Re-elected this year, Joe Chow is the two-term mayor of Addison, Texas. He previously served on the Addison City Council, for which he was first elected in 2002. Chow has served as a member
of the Dallas Assembly, North Dallas Chamber of Commerce and the Texas Association of Business. He has held leadership roles in the Addison Business Association as well as the Metrocrest
Chamber of Commerce. Chow received his bachelor’s degree from National Chung Hsing University in Taipei and completed his master of administrative studies degree at Southeastern Oklahoma
State University. A restaurant owner and insurance agent, Chow holds a real estate license and is on the board of the Greater Dallas Taiwanese Chamber of Commerce. Stephanie Firestone
_Senior Strategic Policy Advisor, AARP International_ As a member of the AARP Livable Communities strategy team, Stephanie Firestone collaborates with both national and international
organizations to further the Global Network of Age-friendly Cities and Communities, the Decade of Healthy Aging, the Global Campaign to Combat Ageism and other international initiatives. As
a 2015-2016 Health and Aging Policy Fellow, Stephanie worked with the American Planning Association and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, helping local leaders to create
more inclusive communities. As the director of livable communities at the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a), Firestone worked to create multi-stakeholder partnerships,
develop action plans and enhance their capacity to create communities that are livable for people of all ages and abilities. Resources developed by Firestone for local change-makers include
n4a’s Making Your Community Livable for All Ages: What’s Working!, which was downloaded more than 100,000 times in the first month after its 2015 release. Firestone holds a master's
degree in urban planning from the University of Virginia. Graciana Garces _Director of Community Engagement, BakerRipley _ Graciana "Graci" Garces brings nearly 20 years of
experience in the public sector, with an emphasis on grassroots initiatives, to her work with BakerRipley, a pioneering community development organization. Garces has experience in
constituent services, coalition building, neighborhood revitalization and community development and empowerment. As a former chief of staff to state and local elected officials in South
Texas, Austin and the Harris County region, Garces has led staff to maintain 24/7 constituent services and develop community response plans that consistently resulted constituent cases being
addressed and closed within a week. In 2007 she served as the lead staffer working on the expansion of a no-smoking ordinance in Houston, earning her a position as the grassroots director
for the Smoke-Free Texas (SFT) campaign. Garces is a graduate of Texas State University/San Marcos. Bob Jackson S_tate Director, AARP Texas_ An attorney by training, Bob Jackson joined AARP
as a legislative consultant in 2000 and has been the AARP Texas State Director since 2005. Previously, as a partner in Boyer and Jackson, P.A., Jackson practiced elder law in Sarasota,
Florida. Jackson has served as general counsel and legislative affairs director for the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and as an assistant general counsel for the Florida Department of
Business and Professional Regulation. He is an honors graduate of the Florida State University College of Law. Roger Millar _Secretary, Washington State Department of Transportation_
Appointed by Governor Jay Inslee in 2016, Rogar Millar oversees an agency of 6,800 employees, with responsibility for general aviation airports, passenger- and freight-rail programs, 18,600
lane miles of highway, 3,294 bridges and Washington’s state ferries, which is the nation’s largest ferry system. Millar is a second generation civil engineer with four decades of experience
in the transportation arena. He has worked in construction, design, planning, research, policy development, management and administration in both the public and private sectors, having
served as a public works director, city and county planning director, arterial streets manager and executive of a multi-national engineering firm, among other assignments. Prior to joining
Washington State’s DOT, Millar was the vice president of Smart Growth America, providing technical assistance to state transportation agencies. He also served as director of the National
Complete Streets Coalition. Millar is a registered engineer in six states. A member of the American Institute of Certified Planners and a certified floodplain administrator, Millar has
served as president of the Montana Association of Planners and the Oregon section of the American Society of Civil Engineers. Nick Mitchell-Bennett _Executive Director, Community Development
Corporation of Brownsville_ In the mid-1990s, Nick Mitchell-Bennett co-founded a business remodeling and selling historic homes in Brownsville, Texas. Prior to joining the city’s Community
Development Corporation in 1997, he served as the director of the Mennonite Partnership Building Initiative, a faith-based housing program also located in Brownsville. Mitchell-Bennett has
worked in South Philadelphia with the Point Breeze Community Development Corporation, helping to organize its first housing program. Mitchell-Bennett chairs the board of directors of the
Texas Association of Community Development Corporations and is on the board of the National Rural Housing Coalition and Proyecto Juan Diego. A graduate of the NeighborWorks Achieving
Excellence Program at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Mitchell-Bennett holds a master’s degree in economic development from Eastern University and a
bachelor’s in political science/international studies from Tabor College. Betsy Price _Mayor, City of Fort Worth, Texas_ A Fort Worth native, Betsy Price is the four-term mayor of Fort
Worth, which is the 16th largest city in the U.S. and one of the fastest growing. Under Price’s leadership, Fort Worth has become a foremost cycling community, adding miles of new bike lanes
and trails. Pedestrian-friendly urban villages are a staple of Price’s vision for rebuilding the city’s urban core and she continues to pursue her long-term goal of linking neighborhoods
and job centers with a comprehensive and convenient commuter rail system. Shortly after becoming mayor in 2011, Price launched several efforts to get people more involved in driving local
public policy. Her walking and rolling (i.e. bicycling) town hall meetings have received national attention for providing a casual and healthy way for citizens to connect with city leaders.
Seleta Reynolds _General Manager, Los Angeles Department of Transportation_ Appointed by Mayor Eric Garcetti, Seleta Reynolds is responsible for implementing Great Streets for Los Angeles,
a plan to reduce traffic fatalities, improve cycling safety, and expand access to integrated transportation choices. With nearly two decades of transportation experience from throughout the
United States, Reynolds has advised transportation technology companies (including WalkScore), served on the board of the Association of Pedestrian and Bicycle Professionals, mentored young
professionals through the Women’s Transportation Seminar and done research with various Transportation Research Board committees. Reynolds is the president of the National Association for
City Transportation Officials (NACTO).