2023 Symposium Speaker and Panel Information

Recording is available here.
Department of Consumer Protection’s 7th Annual Cross-Cultural Communications Symposium

Talking About My Generation:

Challenges and Opportunities of Generational Communication

Is there more opportunity than challenge?
Our keynote speaker, Professor Bobby Duffy writes:

“… although it is possible to learn something invaluable about ourselves by studying generational dynamics, we will not learn these lessons from a mixture of manufactured conflicts and tiresome clichés. …the real problem isn’t warfare between the generations, but a growing separation between young and old. …the resentments people may have for other generations have more to do with growing economic, housing, and health inequities. I have no particular interest in the naming of generations – the real value is not the label but what the trends show us about the experiences of different groups in the past, and what they suggest about our future.”

Many of us have learned the power of storytelling in our work, and the importance of listening to community. It may be time for new stories – stories that allow us to abandon assumptions, resentments, and generational defensiveness – and allow us to find a way to bridge that separation between young and old.

This year’s symposium gives us an opportunity to listen and learn from the stories of advocates, activists, program managers, community leaders, and national and local policy experts who believe that by working together we can understand how generations are more similar than different, and inspire us to develop ways in which we can connect intergenerationally to improve the lives of all of the state’s residents.

Meet the Keynote: Professor Bobby Duffy
Meet Featured Speaker Tracie Hall
Panel Descriptions 
Itinerary

8:30 a.m. — Registration and breakfast

9:00 a.m.  — Welcome and Opening Remarks

9:45 a.m. — Keynote: Professor Bobby Duffy, author of The Generation Myth

10:45 a.m. — Featured Speaker: Tracie Hall, Executive Director of the American Library Association

11:45 a.m. — Lunch and networking

12:30 p.m. — Panel Discussion: The Art of Advocacy: Ages, Assumptions, and Agency

Moderator: Mairead Painter, Connecticut State Long Term Care Ombudsman

Susan Cullman, Women’s and Social Activist

Cesar Aleman, Director of CT Urban Opportunity Collaborative

Deb Bibbins, Founder at For All Ages, Intergenerational Programs & Social Health Champion

Edmundo D. Lijó, Assistant City Attorney with the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota

Ocean Le, Program Coordinator, Diverse Elders Coalition

2:00 p.m. — Break

2:30 p.m. — Panel Discussion: Diversity and Inclusion: Expanding the Margins

4 p.m. — Closing remarks

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Keynote: Professor and Author Bobby Duffy

Bobby Duffy is Professor of Public Policy and Director of the Policy Institute at King's College London. He has worked across most public policy areas in his career of 30 years in policy research and evaluation. He was formerly Director of The Policy Institute and Global Director of Ipsos Social Research Institute.

Duffy sits on several advisory boards including Chairing both the Campaign for Social Science and the CLOSER Advisory Board, is a member of the Executive of the Academy of Social Sciences, a trustee of British Future and the Centre for Transforming Access and Student Outcomes in Higher Education (TASO) and a Senior Fellow of the Munk School of Global Affairs & Public Policy, University of Toronto.

His first book — The Perils of Perception – Why we’re wrong about nearly everything — was published by Atlantic books in several countries, drawing on a set of global studies on how people misperceive key social realities. His latest book — Generations - Does when you’re born shape who you are? — challenges myths and stereotypes around generational trends, seeking a greater understanding around generational challenges.

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Featured Speaker: Tracie Hall

Over the years she has worked at the Seattle Public Library, the New Haven Free Library, Queens Public Library and Hartford Free Public Library. She served as the director of ALA’s Office for Diversity in the early 2000s.

Most recently, Hall directed the culture portfolio at the Chicago-based Joyce Foundation. A civic leader in Chicago, Hall was appointed to serve on the City of Chicago’s Cultural Advisory Council at the beginning of 2020. Hall has also served in multiple roles in academia, including as assistant dean of Dominican’s Graduate School of Library and Information Science in River Forest, IL.

In addition to her MLIS from the Information School at the University of Washington, Hall holds an MA in International and Area studies with an emphasis on Sub-Saharan Africa from Yale University and dual bachelor’s degrees in Law and Society and Black Studies from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Hall has also studied at the Universities of Nairobi and Dar es Salaam in East Africa.

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Panel Discussion: The Art of Advocacy: Ages, Assumptions, and Agency

Panelists will examine the challenges and opportunities of creating messages that resonate and inspire community to action, introduce innovative national and local programs that use the power of intergenerational connection to combat isolation and disconnection in all ages, introduce new research, and provoke us to think differently about how we approach generational communication.

Moderator:

Mairead Painter, Connecticut State Long Term Care Ombudsman

Mairead is the Connecticut State Long Term Care Ombudsman, Co-Chair of the Coalition for Elder Justice in Connecticut, Co-Chair of the Connecticut Medicaid Long Term Services & Supports Rebalancing Initiatives Steering Committee, and 1st VP of National Association of State Ombudsman. She is a graduate of the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, CT. Prior to becoming State Ombudsman, Mairead was a Social Worker in long-term care facilities, Child Protective Service Social Worker, Regional Ombudsman, and Social Worker at the Department of Social Services (DSS). While at DSS, she became a Program Manager within the Community Options, Strategic Planning Unit.  In that position, Mairead was responsible for overseeing several initiatives including nursing home diversification grants and Right-size Rebalancing.

As the State Ombudsman, she promotes and protects residents’ rights, quality of life and person-centered care, while overseeing the Program’s advocacy work.  She serves individuals residing in skilled long-term care nursing facilities, residential care homes, and assisted living/managed residential communities. Ms. Painter has an extensive background working on Connecticut’s long-term care continuum.

As State Ombudsman, Ms. Painter identifies issues, develops policies, regulations, and legislation to improve quality of life for residents receiving long-term services and support services. Ms. Painter is committed to advocating for person centered care and informed choice across the continuum. She is the 1st VP of the National Association of State Long Term Care Ombudsman, Co-chair of the Connecticut Elder Justice Coalition, Co-chair of the CT Rightsize Rebalancing Steering Committee and actively participates in a variety of stakeholder workgroups, legislative task forces/committees and National Consumer Voice. 

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Panelists:

Susan Cullman, Women’s and Social Activist

Susan Cullman is a Managing Member of B. Bros. Realty, LLC.

Since 2001, Ms. Cullman has served at the Joseph F. Cullman, Jr. Institute for Patient Care at Mount Sinai Hospital, which seeks to enhance the patient’s experience from the moment the patient arrives at the hospital until the patient is discharged. Previously, she served as the Co-Chair of the Republican Pro-Choice Coalition, co-founded the National Alliance to End Homelessness, and directed the Human Resources Committee of President Reagan’s Task Force on Private Sector Initiatives. She also ran “Call for Action”, a national radio/television hotline staffed by volunteers.

Ms. Cullman currently serves on the Boards of the Mount Sinai Hospital, the Citizen’s Committee for New York, the Avon Theater, and 812 Park Avenue her co-op board.

She has also served on the Boards of the American Lyme Disease Foundation, the Choate Rosemary Hall School, the National Cathedral School, the New York Women’s Foundation and the Center for Reproductive Law and Policy. Ms. Cullman graduated from Wells College.

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Cesar Aleman, Director of CT Urban Opportunity Collaborative

Cesar Aleman is a dynamic racial equity leader fighting for justice who had devoted his career to contribute towards dismantling structural and institutional racism and bringing about systems change. He is a team-builder, curriculum developer, speaker, and facilitator, with excellent communication and evaluation skills. After serving as Associate Director of Enforcement and Investigations for the National Fair Housing Alliance in Washington, DC, he returned to Hartford to work at the Center for Leadership and Justice as an organizer before becoming Director of the Connecticut Urban Opportunity Collaborative, an aligned action network consisting of the Hartford Foundation for Public Giving, The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven, Fairfield County's Community Foundation.

In his free time, he enjoys walking his dog, Miles, with his partner, Matthew. They explore the neighborhood and eat in as many of the local restaurants in the area. He is on a journey to re-imagine and create a world and a society that values and maintains racial and social justice.

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Deb Bibbins, Founder at For All Ages, Intergenerational Programs & Social Health Champion

Deb Bibbins is the founder & CEO of For All Ages, CT’s only nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the generations and inspiring action to end loneliness, reduce ageism, and improve health and well-being. Deb received her law degree with honors from the University of Connecticut after earning an MBA from the University of Massachusetts and a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from UConn. After enjoying success in the insurance industry for many years, Deb provided leadership and guidance to a variety of nonprofits. Deb’s passion for promoting intergenerational opportunities and her interest in combating loneliness and isolation led her to found a nonprofit that is simultaneously impacting current and future generations. Deb is a member of US Aging’s Intergenerational Community of Practice, the Commit to Connect Nationwide Network of Champions, and the University of Connecticut Aging Research Interest Group. Deb is also a certified Dementia Friend.

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Edmundo D. Lijó, Assistant City Attorney with the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota

Edmundo D. Lijó is an Assistant City Attorney with the City of Saint Paul, Minnesota where he is developing and managing the immigrant and refugee program for the city – a program dedicated to ensuring that Saint Paul is a welcoming city for all.  Prior to joining the City Attorney’s Office, Edmundo spent over twenty years practicing immigration law and was an Assistant County Attorney representing the El Paso County Hospital District in El Paso, Texas which operated a public hospital on the US-Mexican border.

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Ocean Le, Program Coordinator, Diverse Elders Coalition

As a first-generation student of two immigrant parents, Ocean has experienced the linguistic and cultural challenges that many diverse older adults face both in the U.S. and abroad. He hopes to combine his knowledge and experience to help incite change in the field of aging in both social and clinical settings. Along with a M.S. in Human Nutrition from Columbia University Medical Center – Institute of Human Nutrition, Ocean plans to continue his medical education to help diverse older adults across a variety of settings.

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Panel Discussion: Diversity and Inclusion: Expanding the Margins

Academics and policy makers agree that the contemporary understanding of diversity, equity and inclusion includes race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and identification, abilities and disabilities, gender, age, religion, and culture. Panelists will offer experience and programs that illustrate how the margins of diversity can be expanded to include less discussed prejudices such as size, weight, language access, neurodiversity, “invisible disabilities”, and a deeper understanding of age bias, both young and old. Understanding a more inclusive definition of bias and developing methods and tools to address it in our work will help us reach everyone in the state with our resources and programs.

Moderator:

Emanuela Palmares, New American Dream Foundation Vice President

Emanuela Palmares is a Brazilian-American, Editor and Partner of Tribuna Newspaper, a monthly publication in English, Portuguese, and Spanish founded by her mother and sister in 1999.

She is the co-founder and Vice- President of The New American Dream Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, created to serve as the philanthropic arm of Tribuna Newspaper, to promote our nation’s rich immigrant history, highlighting the cultural, social and economic contributions of all immigrants, and the core American values of equal opportunity, progress and freedom in the areas of education, health and civic engagement. Since 2015 over $70,000 has been awarded scholarships to undocumented students, $90,000 directed toward creating health access to uninsured and underinsured immigrants, and serving over 35,000 hot meals to those in need in Danbury, CT.

She has authored numerous articles on immigration and the Latino community. She has been an invited speaker at the esteemed Portuguese & Spanish Department of Yale University, the Philosophy & Humanities Department of Western Connecticut State University to speak on the topics The South American Immigrant Experience and Ethnic Media, as well as a recurring panelist for the CT Department of Consumer Protection Cross Cultural Communication Forum.

She was recognized by Fairfield County Business Journal’s “40 under 40” as one of the best and brightest business leaders under the age of 40, she was also recognized by Latinos United for Professional Advancement (LUPA) as one of the “50 Most Influential Latinos in Connecticut.” In 2016, she was honored with the Commission on Children’s Robert Haller Memorial Award for Outstanding Community Service, in recognition of her leadership on behalf of Connecticut’s children and families. In 2017 she was featured on Connecticut Magazine’s 40 Under 40 and was honored with United Way of Northern Fairfield County’s Hometown Hero Award. In 2018 she received the State Education Resource Center Parental Involvement Recognition Award and in 2019 she was honored at CT’s Immigrant Day at the State Capitol.

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Panelists:

Jennifer Leach, Director, Consumer & Business Education. Federal Trade Commission

Jennifer Leach heads up the Division of Consumer and Business Education (DCBE) in the Federal Trade Commission’s Bureau of Consumer Protection. Under Ms. Leach’s management, DCBE leads the agency’s education initiatives to give people the tools they need to make informed decisions, and to give businesses the tools they need to comply with the law. DCBE creates free, actionable, plain language information online, in print, and on video—often targeted to particular audiences like older adults, servicemembers, small businesses, or emerging readers. Before joining the FTC, Ms. Leach worked on AARP’s Consumer Protection Team, and while at the World Bank, she handled social development projects in Latin America, the Caribbean, and Eastern Europe. She holds an M.A. from the University of Wyoming and a B.A. from Washington College in Chestertown, Maryland.

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Mike Keo, Storyteller + Community Builder, CT Historical Society and founder of #IAMNOTAVIRUS

Mike Keo is a storyteller, public speaker, and photographer that weaves personal and community narrative to create local dialogue on equity, inclusion, anti-racism and collaboration. He is the founder of #IAMNOTAVIRUS, a co-op, that highlighted Asian American stories across the diaspora and successfully advocated for the No Hate Act. Through partnerships they created a coloring book of Asian American heroes that included Southeast Asian, South Asian, LGBTQIA+, and multi-racial from STEM, Public, and Art backgrounds and a mental health workbook for Asian Americans that have been utilized in over two dozen universities. Mike was a co-founder of Make Us Visible, where he helped successfully advocate for bills in CT in NJ for the inclusion of AAPI history and connected local communities with one another. He currently serves on the Governor Lamont's Hate Advisory Crimes Council and was recognized as 40 Under 40 for CT Class of 2023.

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Rep. Aundre Bumgardner, youngest person elected to CT House at age 20

Aundré Bumgardner is serving his second non-consecutive term as the State Representative of the 41st House District, proudly representing the people of Groton and Stonington in the General Assembly. Rep. Bumgardner works as a Customer Experience Specialist for Balfour Beatty Communities, the privatized military housing partner at the U.S. Naval Submarine base in Groton.

Rep. Bumgardner plans to use his political experience to help small businesses, tackle climate change, and cut taxes for working families. He is serving on the Finance, Revenue & Bonding, Planning & Development, Environment Committees. He also serves as Assistant Majority Leader and as the secretary of the legislature's Black and Puerto Rican Caucus.

Rep. Bumgardner has been involved in politics from a young age. He was only 20 years old when he was first elected to the house in 2014, making him the youngest state representative in state history. He later served as Outreach Coordinator at the Office of the State Treasurer.

Since 2018, he has served on the Groton Town Council and chaired the Personnel & Appointments Committee. He previously chaired the council’s Public Safety Committee, and served on the Rules Committee as well as the Long-term Recovery Committee established during the pandemic. He also served as a director for the Southeastern Area Transit District and previously served on the Groton City Planning & Zoning Commission.

Rep. Bumgardner is a lifelong resident of Groton and is married to his wife, Kayla.

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Andrew Arboe, self advocate and Teacher’s Assistant at FOCUS Center for Autism

Andrew Arboe is a self-advocate who worked in various settings for the autism community for over five years. His current work is with FOCUS Center for Autism as a teacher's assistant. 

Andrew has job coaching, outreaching, and even self-employment experiences that showcase his focus on transitioning to adulthood for individuals. Andrew is also known for talking throughout the New England area about autism and driving, having given talks about strategies and his personal experiences. He started an online program during 2021 called Driving with Autism, which he ran for a year, and it taught him various lessons. He also worked in various organizations like Autism Families Connecticut, Autism Services & Resource Connecticut, Planning Across the Spectrum, and Plainville Community Schools.  

Andrew graduated from Manchester Community College with an associate degree as a Disability Specialist. Andrew is attending Charter Oak State College for a bachelor’s degree in psychology. He hopes to get certified in autism fields.

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If you are joining us remotely, you will be sent a link prior to the symposium.

Department of Consumer Protection

450 Columbus Blvd.
Suite 901
Hartford CT 06103