Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising 

Grandchildren Meeting

November 16, 2021

Speakers Biographies

Administration for Community Living 

Alison Barkoff

Acting Administrator & Assistant Secretary for Aging

Alison Barkoff was sworn into office as the Principal Deputy 

Administrator on January 20, 2021, and currently is serving as 

Acting Administrator and Assistant Secretary for Aging. In this 

capacity, she provides executive direction, leadership, guidance 

and coordination for ACL programs nationwide and advises the 

HHS Secretary on issues affecting individuals with disabilities and older adults.

Ms. Barkoff comes to ACL from the Center for Public Representation, where she served 

as Director of Advocacy. In that position, she led policy advocacy with federal agencies 

and Congress and legal advocacy nationally to advance community living and inclusion, 

including in the areas of healthcare, Medicaid home- and community-based services, 

employment, housing, and education. She led and participated in numerous coalitions 

with disability and aging organizations, including as co-chair of the Long-Term Services 

and Supports Task Force of the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities. She has 

testified before Congress and the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights on disability rights 

and was appointed to serve on the federal Advisory Committee for Competitive 

Integrated Employment of People with Disabilities.

Ms. Barkoff previously served as Director of Advocacy at the Bazelon Center for Mental 

Health Law, where she worked on a range of disability, healthcare, education and civil 

rights issues. In earlier government roles, she served as Special Counsel for Olmstead 
Enforcement in the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, leading efforts to 

enforce the rights of people with disabilities to live, work and fully participate in their 

communities. She also worked with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services 

within the Department of Health and Human Services on policies related to Medicaid 

home- and community-based services and with the Department of Labor on issues 

affecting the workforce providing in-home services. She is a sibling to an adult brother 

with developmental disabilities and been involved in disability advocacy her entire life. 

She received her undergraduate degree from Cornell University and her Juris Doctor 

from Emory University School of Law.

Greg Link, MA 

Director of the Office of Supportive and Caregiver Services

Greg Link is the Director of the Office of Supportive and Caregiver 

Services with the Administration for Community Living/U.S. 

Administration on Aging, which oversees programs funded under the 

Older Americans Act (OAA), including Title III-B in-home supportive 

services, Title III-E National Family Caregiver Support Program as well 

as ACL’s Alzheimer’s disease programs. Greg and his team also 

provide general oversight and technical assistance to the aging network on a range of 

program areas, including Information and Referral, family caregiver support programs 

and policies, housing, employment, transportation, LGBT aging, and Holocaust 

Survivors. 

Before coming to ACL/AoA, Greg worked at the National Association of State Units on 

Aging where he provided technical assistance and training to states on family care 

giving, consumer direction, and transportation. Greg has also worked at the community 

level as a case manager and social services manager at Senior Friendship Centers in 

Fort Myers, Florida. There, he oversaw the social services staff and the delivery of 

services funded by the Older Americans Act, state funds and Medicaid waivers. 

Greg holds a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Central Florida and 

a Master of Arts in Government from Johns Hopkins University.
Jaia Peterson Lent

Deputy Executive Director at Generations United

Jaia Peterson Lent is the Deputy Executive Director at Generations 

United where she has worked since 2000. Generations United’s 

mission is to improve the lives of children, youth and older people 

through intergenerational collaboration, public policies and 

programs. Lent oversees the work of the National Center on 

Grandfamilies, a leading voice for families headed by grandparents 

or other relatives. She is a trusted voice on Capitol Hill on issues 

related to grandfamilies and intergenerational cohesion, having 

testified before the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging and in several briefings. 

She serves as co-chair of the federal Advisory Council to Support Grandparents Raising 

Grandchildren. She is a sought-after speaker, nationally recognized columnist and 

blogger and respected media resource who has been quoted multiple media outlets 

including the Washington Post, U.S. News and World Report, and the Associated 

Press. In 2017 Lent was named one of the Top 50 Influencers in Aging by Next 

Avenue.

National Technical Assistance Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families

Donna Butts 

Executive Director of Generations United

Donna Butts is the Executive Director of Generations United, a 

position she has held since 1997. Generations United’s mission is 

to improve the lives of children, youth and older adults through 

intergenerational collaboration, public policies and programs for 

the enduring benefit of all. Previously she served in leadership 

positions at several youth serving organizations including the 

YWCA, National 4-H Council, and Covenant House. An internationally known speaker, 

author and advocate, Butts frequently addresses intergenerational connections, 

grandparents raising grandchildren and policies effective across the lifespan. She has 

served on five United Nations expert panels on intergenerational and family issues. She 

served as an at large delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging and 

attended the 2015 conference. Butts is a graduate of Stanford University’s Executive 

Program for Nonprofit Leaders. She was recognized three years in a row by The 

Nonprofit Times as one of the Top 50 most powerful and influential nonprofit executives 

in the US. In 2015 she was named one of the Top 50 Influencers in Aging by Next 

Avenue. Butts serves on several boards including the Journal of Intergenerational 

Relations. Under her leadership, Generations United received the 2015 Eisner Prize for 
Excellence in Intergenerational. In 2017 she was honored by the International 

Federation for Family Development. 

Ana Beltran 

Director of the National Technical Assistance Center on 

Grandfamilies and Kinship Families at Generations United

Ana Beltran is director of the National Technical Assistance 

Center on Grandfamilies and Kinship Families at Generations 

United. For over twenty years, Beltran has worked with 

Generations United on the array of issues impacting 

grandfamilies, providing in-person technical assistance and 

training to state agencies, legislatures, nonprofit organizations, and legal providers in 

over 35 states and virtual technical assistance in almost all 50. She is also a prolific 

writer who has authored many articles, reports, and resources to support the families. In 

a joint collaboration, Beltran co-authored the first set of comprehensive National Model 

Family Foster Home Licensing Standards on which the federal government “relied 

heavily.” She obtained her undergraduate degree in Political Science from Indiana 

University, her law degree from Georgetown University Law Center, and is admitted to 

the bar in Maryland (inactive), Washington, D.C., and Washington State. Prior to joining 

Generations United in 1999, Beltran worked in all three branches of the federal 

government and was a practicing attorney. She found her true passion when she began 

helping support grandfamilies. Beltran credits this passion to her amazing grandma who 

helped raise her.

Virginia Bell

Senior Research Analyst

Civility Management Solutions

Virginia Bell is currently a Senior Research Analyst with Civility 

Management Solutions. She has eight years of project 

management experience as a consultant with a healthcare 

information technology vendor, where she directed many 

hospitals through the process of meeting quality requirements for 

CMS and Joint Commission. Before that Virginia, worked as a Health Information 

Manager/Director for several hospitals in the Baltimore area, leading numerous projects 

at the corporate level.