Annual Report Foundation 2009

Bruce Corson, MBA, of Chicago, Illinois, has owned and managed companies for 30 years in a variety of industries, supplying consumer products from footwear to frozen foods. This self-described “eclectic entrepreneur” has devised creative solutions to the innumerable challenges confronting executive managers. He co-founded PeerHQ, a nonprofit that assists companies in engaging with their customers and business cohorts in informal advisory board settings. In addition to his entrepreneurial activities, he served for six years as chair for TEC International, an organization of senior executives who meet in small groups around the world to capitalize on the power of peer learning.

J. David Nelson

J. David Nelson, MBA, is a business leader from Old Greenwich, Connecticut. He serves on the AARP Board of Directors and its Audit and Finance Committee. In 2009 Mr. Nelson was appointed executive vice president of VaporStream, Inc., a Chicago-based software company. Previously, he was chief operating officer of the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship following an extensive career with IBM that spanned 33 years. As a volunteer, he serves on the advisory board of Envision EMI, which creates unique experiences for high achieving young people, and is a mentor to graduate students at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.

Thomas C. Nelson

Tom Nelson, PhD, is AARP’s chief operating officer. He is responsible for key AARP operations, including membership, social impact, communications, people strategy and community service and field delivery capabilities. Since joining AARP in 1980, Mr. Nelson’s many contributions include expanding AARP’s state capacity, strengthening the advocacy team, developing the volunteer ranks and growing AARP’s community service efforts. Previously, Dr. Nelson was at the University of Southern California Andrus Gerontology Center. As a staff member at the Federal Trade Commission in the 1970s, he investigated the funeral industry, nursing homes and other consumer issues facing older persons.

Fernando Torres-Gil

Fernando Torres-Gil, PhD, of Los Angeles, California, is a renowned expert in health and long-term care, social policy, ethnicity, disability and the politics of aging. He is acting dean and associate dean of academic affairs, professor of social welfare and public policy, and director of the Center for Policy Research on Aging at the School of Public Affairs, University of California at Los Angeles. As the first assistant secretary for aging at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, Dr. Torres-Gil played a key role in consolidating and enhancing federal programs for seniors. He serves on several boards, including the California Endowment.