The Communities for All Ages National Offfice is housed at The Intergenerational Center at Temple University.
History & Mission
Founded in 1979, The Intergenerational Center at Temple University strengthens communities by bringing generations together to address critical concerns and creating opportunities for lifelong civic engagement. The Center achieves its mission by developing effective and sustainable intergenerational models, providing training and technical assistance to organizations and state/local governments, conducting research, and developing materials to facilitate replication of successful models. It serves as an international resource for organizations and communities.
For over 30 years, the Center has mobilized thousands of older adults and youth to serve as resources to each other and their communities. Older adults have served as literacy tutors, youth and family mentors, parent outreach workers, and oral historians. Young people have provided respite services to frail elderly and their families, helped older immigrants and refugees learn English and prepare to become U.S. citizens, and provided chore services to older adults living at home. The Center’s National Training and Technical Assistance Division has helped hundreds of non-profit organizations, foundations, and government agencies infuse intergenerational strategies into their programs and services.
National Office Staff
Nancy Henkin, Ph.D: Founder and Executive Director of The Intergenerational Center at Temple University.
Dr. Henkin received her B.S. from Simmons College and her Ph.D. from Temple University. Over the past 29 years, she has developed a wide range of cross-age initiatives and has consulted with numerous local, national and international organizations in the aging, youth and educational fields. A leading authority in the fields of intergenerational programming and civic engagement, she frequently presents at conferences sponsored by national organizations such as the American Society on Aging/ National Council on the Aging, Generations United, Grantmakers in Children, Youth, and Families, AARP, the Rosalyn Carter Institute, Neighborhoods USA, and Search Institute. She has also given presentations in Japan, China, Finland, Singapore, and Europe. Dr. Henkin has produced a variety of audiovisual and written materials and published articles in aging, social work, and education journals. She was co-editor of the Winter, 1998-99 issue of the American Society on Aging’s Journal, Generations, Linking Lifetimes: A Global View of Intergenerational Exchange, Connecting Generations…Strengthening Communities: A Toolkit for Intergenerational Program Planners, and Sustainable Communities for All Ages: A Viable Futures Toolkit. She also serves on the editorial board of the International Journal on Intergenerational Relations and the Mayor’s Commission on Aging in Philadelphia. Dr. Henkin is the recipient of numerous awards, including the Jack Ossofsky Award from the National Council on the Aging (2005), the Maggie Kuhn Award from the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (20030 and the Gray Panthers (1988), and the Professional in Human Relations Award form the Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations(2003). In 2006 she was elected to Ashoka, an international fellowship of social entrepreneurs who are recognized for their innovative solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems.
Corita Brown: Assistant Director, Communities for All Ages
Corita comes to Communities for All Ages with expertise in youth leadership development, adult learning, teamwork, and organizational change. As an independent consultant, Corita has provided training, facilitation, coaching and curriculum development to a broad range of non profit organizations including: AIDS and Adolescents Network of New York, Citizen’s Committee of NYC, Covenant House, Department of Youth Services, Fifth Avenue Committee(FAC), HIV Center for Clinical and Behavioral Studies, New York City Public Schools: Queens Division of Student Support and Pupil Personnel Services, PACE University Upward Bound Program, Victim Services, and Youth Enrichment Services. In 2001, Corita moved to Barcelona, Spain where she founded and directed a community based holistic health center. She is bilingual, and works in both English and Spanish.
Corita is a former recipient of Echoing Green’s fellowship for social entrepreneurship and holds a Masters in Education from Teachers College, Columbia University.