Ellen Hollander reflects on her work on issues related to aging and the wellbeing of older Americans during the years of the Obama presidency, during which she held various positions including executive vice president and chief people officer at AARP and, since 2013, president and CEO of Meals on Wheels America. Hollander outlines the effects of the financial crisis and economic recession on senior s and the work of AARP, and recounts her development as a policy advocate after her move to Meals on Wheels America. She focuses on the organization's work during the recession and amid congressional budget negotiations, providing details about issues including the prevalence of food insecurity among American seniors; the importance of Meals on Wheels deliveries to seniors' ability to live independently; the consequences of budget sequestration in 2013 on Meals on Wheels; the role of the Older Americans Act; and the relationship between Meals on Wheels America and local Meals on Wheels chapters. She also shares memories of her advocacy and engagement with members of Congress and Obama administration officials surrounding federal funding and sequestration. Also discussed are Hollander's June 2013 testimony before the Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging in the Senate HELP committee, the White House Conference on Aging in July 2015, the salience of economic arguments in favor of support for seniors, and the importance of the stories of individual seniors to Hollander's advocacy on behalf of the organization
Presidents--United States; Global Financial Crisis, 2008-2009--United States; Food security--United States; Older people--Social conditions--United States; Hollander, Ellen; Obama, Barack; AARP (Organization); Meals on Wheels Association of America; United States. Older Americans Act of 1965; White House Conference on Aging
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2022
Physical Description
56 pages
Note (Biographical)
Ellen Hollander is an American nonprofit executive. At the time of the interview, Hollander was president and CEO of Meals on Wheels America, and had served in that position since February 2013. Prior to her work at Meals on Wheels America, Hollander was chief strategy officer and executive vice president of business development at Good360 and executive vice president and chief people officer at AARP
Note
Interviewed by Dov Weinryb Grohsgal on August 2, 2022. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Ellen Hollander, Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2023