Our Advisers

We are deeply grateful for the tremendous wealth of knowledge and experience our Advisory Group brings to Villages NW.

With their support and guidance, we are confident we will be able to develop Villages NW into a truly effective vehicle for incubating and sustaining aging-in-place Villages throughout the region.

Jay Bloom
President/CEO, Bloom Anew

Since 1983, Jay C. Bloom has been providing executive and personal coaching to leaders, managers, and individuals in the private, philanthropic, and governmental sectors who are experiencing a transition in their lives or desiring to strengthen their professional skills and capabilities. Jay also provides leadership and management consultation with organizations that are undergoing transitions with a special expertise in helping them develop effective collaborations and partnerships. He has been described as a social entrepreneur stimulating change not only for individuals and organizations but for communities as well.

Jay is passionately promoting his concept of “returnment,” a term he created for aging boomers as an alternative to retirement. Returnment encourages older adults to spend their later years using their skills, resources, and knowledge to benefit the greater good. He’s also assisting organizations locally and nationally in finding ways to more effectively utilize this growing new resource. His recent article “Experience Making a Difference: the Secrets of Working Effectively in the Social Sector” contains a number of useful insights for those thinking of working and volunteering in the social sector.

Jay served as the director of the innovative Task Force on Vital Aging sponsored by then Multnomah County Chair Ted Wheeler in Portland, Oregon. The task force researched best practices for employing and civically engaging older adults and completed a report in March 2008.

He is a firm believer that unless you are engaged in your later years you are just dying longer not living longer. Jay works tirelessly promoting intergenerational interdependence and intergenerational equity and believes in building a State and community for all ages.

Gerald J. Cohen
State Director, AARP Oregon

Jerry Cohen has been AARP’s first State Director since 1996. He moved to Oregon from Kansas City, Missouri with his wife, Ruth, a social worker who is specializes in care coordination and management.

He holds a BA degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a JD degree from Washington University-St. Louis, and a MPA degree from the University of Missouri-Kansas City, with concentration in gerontology and health administration.

Alan DeLaTorre
Research Associate, Portland State University
Director of Operations, Jessie F. Richardson Foundation

Alan DeLaTorre is a self-described “urban gerontologist” who is interested in translating research into policy and practice. He has been a researcher  and project manager for Portland’s age-friendly cities project since its inception in 2006 and has been involved in local and regional issues  pertaining to older adults and people with disabilities since moving to Portland in 2002.

Alan is a firm believer in the importance of serving one’s community and has been teaching and coordinating service-learning courses at Portland State University for more than six years. Dr. DeLaTorre’s position with the Jessie F. Richardson Foundation includes coordinating education abroad programs to Nicaragua with Concordia, Pacific, and Portland State Universities. The programs specifically aim to improve the quality of life and well-being of older Nicaraguans through various projects, including direct health care assessment and interventions, public health education, and community development.

Alan currently serves as a Commissioner on the Portland Commission on Disability, as a member of and staff for Portland’s Age-Friendly Advisory Council, and as a board member for the Oregon Gerontological Association. He received his Ph.D. in Urban Studies and Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from Portland State University.

Debbie Durham
SERVE Program Manager, Life by Design NW

Debbie Durham joined Life by Design NW in Portland, Oregon in January 2009. Life by Design NW engages adults 50+ in redesigning their future, incorporating their skills and passions to make meaningful contributions to community. Through Life by Design NW, Debbie has created forums, a task force, and community-based discussions on aging in place and age-friendly Portland issues. Exploring alternatives for creating “home”, ranging from eco-villages to tiny houses on wheels is of great interest and concern as it is for others her age. She serves on the planning committee for the Healthy Aging Conference for Boomers, and the Family Advisory Council for Elite Care.

Prior to moving to Portland, Debbie’s career focus was international education – her former homes were located in France, Pakistan, DR Congo, and Senegal. True to the mission of Life by Design’s skilled volunteer mission of giving back, she is active with the local Dining for Women chapter, empowering women and girls living in extreme poverty in the developing world through fundraising and education.

Susan Stoltenberg
Executive Director, Impact NW

Susan joined Impact NW, www.impactnw.org, as their Executive Director in 2003. She is a recognized leader in the Portland community, having served as executive director within the non-profit sector for over 30 years.

During her tenure, Impact NW has quintupled their annual operating budget, diversified their funding sources including increasing unearned income by more than 500%, acquired five other organizations to strengthen existing programming, and provided fiscal sponsorship to more than 25 smaller nonprofits. Susan’s extensive networks have enabled Impact NW to vastly expand its collaborative partnerships and established Impact NW as an entrepreneurial and trusted partner to funders and service partners alike.

Susan attended Willamette University’s Atkinson Graduate School of Management.

 Dan Valliere
CEO, REACH 

Dan Valliere joined REACH Community Development as CEO in 2013. REACH creates healthier communities across the Portland region by  developing and managing affordable apartment communities and providing home repairs for older adults who own their own homes.

Prior to REACH, Dan was Executive Director at Chicago Commons, an historical social service organization that has grown to become one of the  leading community-based providers of In-Home Care and Adult Day Services for older adults in Chicago. He passionate about developing collaborative solutions to social challenges and helped found the non-profit Back Office Cooperative in Chicago. He is excited to help Villages NW.

Dan received a Masters in Public Affairs from University of Texas and BA from Carleton College.

Elaine Wells
Executive Director, Ride Connection

Elaine Well is the Executive Director of Ride Connection, a 25 year old organization that coordinates and provides a continuum of quality transportation options, services and resources primarily through a network of service partners in and around Portland, Oregon for older adults and people with disabilities, and those living on a low income. She has been with Ride Connection 23 years, first developing a system-wide safety and training program for all network partners, then becoming its Executive Director 19 years ago.

She comes to transportation from the social service arena, where she first worked in volunteer management and senior case management until the frustration of not having adequate transportation resources for her clients and volunteers led her to write a funding proposal to operate a volunteer transportation program in Washington County. She was recognized as Transit Manager of the Year by Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA), and as Outstanding Executive Director by Portland Monthly magazine’s Light a Fire Award.  She is currently a member of the Oregon Transit Association (OTA) Board of Directors, a Board member for CTAA (Community Transportation Association of America), and serves on various other transportation advocacy and service committees and commissions.