Meet Our Team

Laura is a gerontologist who started her career in media. She served on Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro’s transition team, and is now advising the launch of Age-Friendly Pennsylvania. Before her current position, Laura led older adult initiatives at United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania and wrote a column for AARP.org about intergenerational solidarity. During her graduate work at Miami University in Ohio and Mahidol University in Bangkok, Thailand, she studied aging and demographic change from Western and Eastern perspectives. Laura elevates the global age-friendly network through speaking engagements nationally and locally, including her TEDx Talk Reimagining Communities for All Ages.

Cassandra is a community organizer and champion for intergenerational connection. She leads Age-Friendly’s Age Inclusion Campaign, a regional media and learning campaign that celebrates aging in our region. Cassandra is a member of the FISA Foundation’s Beyond Disability Learning Cohort and serves on the Board of the Oakland Planning Development Corporation. She previously led community engagement at ACCESS Transportation and the Alzheimer’s Association and has presented across the country on age-inclusive programming. She holds dual Bachelor’s degrees in History and Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dan is a writer and educator with a passion for sharing stories that inspire people and create communities. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of Rochester and has authored journal articles and book chapters on film and media theory. He taught film studies at the University of Iowa and currently teaches older adults through the University of Pittsburgh's Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.

Susan’s initial career was in theatre, media and the arts including as the Executive Director for Discovery Theater at the Smithsonian Institution and Education Director of the Museum of Television and Radio in Beverly Hills, CA. In Pittsburgh, Susan has worked as a teaching artist, teaching youth, adults with disabilities and recent refugees in various community venues. Susan's passion for community engagement includes serving as Education Coordinator for the ReNew Festival, and her current role as the Community Outreach Chair for the Fiberarts Guild of Pittsburgh.

Randi has more than 20 years of management experience in organizational leadership and relationship building. She has previously worked as the Director of Cultural Affairs at the Baltimore Office of Promotion and the Arts and the Executive Director of the Martha’s Vineyard Chamber of Commerce. Randi also works part-time at UPMC St. Margaret. Randi has a BA in Studio Art from Connecticut College and an MA in Arts Administration from Goucher College.

Rafael Engel is an Associate Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Social Work. He received a PhD in social welfare from the University of Wisconsin as well as an MSW from the University of Michigan and a BA from the University of Pennsylvania. Engel coordinates the School of Social Work’s Gerontology Certificate Program and is the principal investigator for the John A. Hartford Practicum Partnership Program in Aging Education. With Jeff Shook and Sara Goodkind, he oversees the Pittsburgh Wage Study. He has authored journal articles on a variety of topics including poverty in later life, welfare benefit levels, and depressive symptomatology, and has written monographs reporting agency-based evaluations.

Daniel Hyung Jik Lee is a Research Associate in the School of Social Work at the University of Pittsburgh. He received a PhD from Pitt School of Social Work, following his studies at Yonsei University and Sogang University in Seoul, South Korea. His work, which focuses on social work program evaluation and advancing evidence-based practices to improve community outcomes, has supported various community-based research projects, including the Allegheny County Jail Needs Assessment and a study on Utilization of Human Services in Allegheny County. Daniel also collaborates with local Children, Youth and Families (CYF) agencies. His commitment to fostering impactful social work interventions reflects his passion for creating sustainable, inclusive communities.