Kristin Bodiford, Ph.D, brings experience and knowledge working with systems, communities, organizations, groups, teams, and individuals addressing opportunities for learning, innovation, and transformation. She is a Health Advisor with HelpAge USA developing global health strategies and building corporate and foundation partnerships to support the work of HelpAge International. In this work, she leads teams in data digitization and collection, global analysis and visualization, and human-centered design of program and policy responses working to improve the health of over 50,000 older persons and their families in low- and middle-income countries.
Kristin also serves as a representative to the United Nations’ Committee on Non-Governmental Organizations of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSC) for Generations United and Council Leader, Network on Environments, Services and Technologies for Maximizing Independence (NEST) Constituent Group, American Society on Aging. She serves as faculty at Dominican University School of Social Work and designed a course for students to collaborate in community action research in Uganda.
In addition, Kristin served as a principal investigator for a national study Improving the Health of Older Persons in Uganda: Developing intergenerational community based responses through action research; developed and provided training and technical assistance to an initiative in Kibaha, Tanzania to strengthen intergenerational and family-centered community based responses to improve health across the life course; and was a core project team member for the scaling up of the Social Gerontology Manal is Uganda.
She has a passion for intergenerational work and has published several resources about how to strengthen intergenerational relationships and collaboration. Her research interests focus on how we can tap into and strengthen relational resources to propel social innovation and co-create generative possibilities in people’s lives and in the world.
Kristin holds a Ph.D. from Tilburg University and an MBA from University of California, Davis. Kristin has extensive experience working to create more age-friendly and livable communities for all ages including producing Creating Aging-Friendly Communities, an international online conference and community of practice in partnership with UC Berkeley School for Social Welfare.