MASSACHUSETTS – David Aronstein
David Aronstein has been a leader in the growing national movement to build support for the older members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. David is the founder and now current board member of Stonewall Communities, a not-for-profit organization that builds community among older LGBT people by creating educational, housing, social, and support opportunities. While a volunteer, Aronstein organized the development of a residential community in Boston for older LGBT people and created the Stonewall Communities’ Lifelong Learning Institute at Wheelock College. The program was the world’s first and only one designed by and for LGBT people at age 50+. He also co-founded the LGBT Aging Project, which trains mainstream senior-service providers and advocates for policy change to ensure equal treatment and access to services for LGBT seniors. Prior to his volunteer work in aging, Aronstein was a consultant to nonprofits on program development and strategic planning and was founding member of the senior management team of the AIDS Action Committee of Massachusetts.
MICHIGAN – Robina Quale-Leach
Everything Albion College Professor Emeritus Robina Quale-Leach does as a volunteer is directed to address the needs of the people in her community. When Albion’s hospital and two large businesses closed, Robina helped the then-jobless to receive urgently needed services. She created a resource directory of agencies that could provide food, clothing, and other essentials. After joining AARP as a volunteer district liaison, she helped legislative staff write a bill designed to curb fraudulent mortgages. A powerful civic presence, Professor Quale-Leach is active in the AAUW, the Rotary Club, NAACP, her church’s governing board, and city and county health-care alliances and action teams. For Divided We Fail, she collected hundreds of petitions, confronted candidates and local public officials, and enlisted colleagues to ask college students to sign pledge cards. An extraordinary AARP advocate, she uses her analytical skills, her advocacy know-how, and her intense dedication to make a difference, especially for people who are struggling economically.
MINNESOTA – Richard Dohrmann
A resident of Eden Prairie, Minn., Rich spends hours nurturing the statewide AARP Driver Safety Program to ensure that it runs efficiently. He effectively supports the fellow DSP volunteers. As the Deputy State Coordinator for the DSP in Minnesota, Rich prefers to substitute for ill or indisposed instructors rather than canceling classes and letting down AARP members. Seemingly tireless, he has taught more than 47 courses in four years. He continues to recruit and train DSP volunteers. Rich has been instrumental in organizing and coordinating the first of many statewide CARFIT events. At these, he trains volunteers to help persons age 50+ make simple adjustments to their vehicles to maximize their road safety. Rich is currently working with the AARP Minnesota State Office to reduce the eight-hour DSP class to a four-hour program to accommodate boomer-age members.
MISSOURI – Janette Reese
Janette Reese took on a leadership role in building community support for the proposed Kingshighway Information Center in 2006. She presented the information-center concept to neighborhood unit leaders of the St. Louis Urban League and worked with the Senior State Director through the development process to identify, recruit, train, schedule, and reward volunteers. Janette’s leadership on the project has contributed greatly toward an AARP award. The organization gave one of its first Member Value Innovation Awards to the Kingshighway Information Center. Janette also served as an AARP chapter secretary for five years, beginning in 1992, and was appointed AARP coordinator for six chapters in 1997. She currently serves as the coordinator of three chapters, in addition to volunteering at the Information Center.
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