Dr. Jade Richardson, MBA, MS is a results-driven event producer and entrepreneur with over a decade of experience managing large-scale productions, brand activations, and strategic campaigns. As founder of The HAVN Agency, she blends creative vision and storytelling with operational expertise to deliver impactful experiences. Jade also holds a Doctorate in Business Administration, focusing her research on how the intersection of race, gender, and power shape the experiences of entrepreneurs, reflecting her commitment to equity, leadership, and impact.

Jade's video is not yet published to the official TEDx YouTube channel.

Julie Miller, PhD, is AARP's Director of Financial Resilience Thought Leadership, where she seeks to propel new conversations and cultivate partnerships that will challenge the status quo of longevity and empower people to have the financial and economic stability to live longer, healthier lives. A practiced public speaker and facilitator, she regularly presents to a wide spectrum of audiences across diverse industries.  Prior to joining AARP, Julie spent a decade as a social science researcher at the MIT AgeLab, where she led translational social science research across key topical areas of longevity planning, caregiving and wellbeing, housing and home logistics, and transportation and livable communities.

As a Rappaport Public Policy Fellow through Harvard University’s Rappaport Institute, Julie supported the Massachusetts Executive Office of Elder Affairs in its administration of the nation’s first statewide Governor’s Council to Address Aging. Over the past fifteen years, she has served as a lecturer and program coordinator at Northeastern University, Boston University, and UC Berkeley, taught adaptive yoga in a variety of settings, and produced two documentary films centering “Vibrant Aging.” Julie has served as a volunteer board member for several community and university initiatives elevating disability advocacy and financial social work, respectively.  

Julie's video is not yet published to the official TEDx YouTube channel.

Samantha Brady is a Research Scientist at the MIT AgeLab. Since joining the AgeLab in 2016, her research has spanned multiple domains including the impacts of caregiving on work and family, future decision-making and planning behavior, the impacts of physical fitness on the well-being of older adults, social isolation, student debt and its impact on retirement planning, and the role of artificial intelligence in the future of work.

Currently, her research focuses on the intersection of longevity and the changing nature of work, exploring how to best support, engage, recruit and retain talent in today’s more flexible and multigenerational workplace. This work also explores opportunities and challenges of the expanding role of artificial intelligence in the workplace and how it impacts employees across generations.

Samantha received her Ph.D. in sociology from Brown University, a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) degree from Indiana University, and a B.S. from Cornell University.

Sam's video is not yet published to the official TEDx YouTube channel.

Bianca Mulaney-Topkar, MD, MS, MPH is a vascular surgery resident physician at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School. Prior to residency, she had a career as a health policymaker and economics researcher, writing policy for the US Department of Health and Human Services, the 2016 Clinton Presidential campaign, and the UK Prime Minister’s Independent Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. She obtained an MSc in Economics from LSE and an MSc in Public Health from LSHTM as a Marshall Scholar. As a medical student at Stanford, she conducted health services research in primary care and surgery and managed the medical school’s free clinic. Currently, her work focuses on valuation of quality of life, caregiver burden, and comparative effectiveness of interventions in older patients with peripheral artery disease. As a surgeon-researcher, she hopes to bridge the gap between policy and practice of healthcare, with a particular focus on improving quality of life for patients with frailty or nearing the end of life.

Alex Wolfe is an Orthopaedic Physician Assistant in the Boston area and Rhode Isl.

Pamela Woo Williams, ANP-BC, ACHPN, is Lead Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner for Mass General Brigham's (MGB) Home-based Palliative Care Program and previously worked in primary care geriatrics at East Boston Neighborhood PACE. With 19 years of experience as a NP, Pamela provides palliative care in the homes of patients with serious illnesses.  She holds an MSN from Simmons University and a BA in Biochemistry from Bowdoin College.  She also lectures, precepts, and recently developed a telemedicine palliative care consult service for Home Hospital, an MGB partner program. A Massachusetts native, Pamela enjoys crocheting and beach days with her 7-year-old son.

Meredith Havard is a Massachusetts-licensed attorney at Wilchins, Cosentino & Novins LLP who specializes in estate administration, probate litigation, and estate planning.

Makieya Kamara, MSW, LCSW, is a licensed certified social worker (LCSW) and the Director of the Elder Services Department at Action for Boston Community Development, Inc.  She is responsible for developing programs and services that support the welfare and independence of older adults in Greater Boston. Her work emphasizes civic engagement among elders, with a particular focus on the needs of multicultural and multilingual older adults. Her interests include digital equity, storytelling, and intergenerational spaces/programming. Makieya is an alum of the American Society on Aging RISE Fellowship, a social justice and leadership program for rising leaders of color in aging. She received her Masters in Social Work from Wheelock College & firmly believes that all Social Work is aging work.

Zehra Abid-Wood is President of Lasell Village, a nationally recognized senior living community situated on a university campus and rooted in intergenerational, lifelong learning. With deep experience leading technological, cultural, and organizational transformation, Zehra’s mission is to change how we learn as we age. She has held leadership roles at MIT and AlerisLife, and currently serves on the senior management team of Lasell University, the LeadingAge MA board and the Belmont School Committee. An immigrant and lifelong learner herself, Zehra believes learning isn’t just how we grow our minds—it’s how we continue becoming ourselves.

This 99-Year-Old Local Legend was unfortunately hospitalized the week of our event. She remains a strong-willed fighter who still intends to submit her own talk via video.