Hebrew SeniorLife’s EngAGE Event Features Governor Maura Healey and Host Andy Cohen
Event raised funds to power Hebrew SeniorLife’s health care, communities, research, and teaching that transform the experience of aging.
Hebrew SeniorLife, New England’s largest nonprofit provider of senior health care and living communities and the only senior care organization affiliated with Harvard Medical School, celebrated its 11th annual EngAGE event on October 1 at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston.
The event presented a mixed-media program with dynamic guests, focused on the need for affordable housing for older adults in Massachusetts and the creative solutions that Hebrew SeniorLife is offering. Event proceeds, totaling more than $1 million, benefit Hebrew SeniorLife’s health care, communities, research, and teaching, which transform the experience of aging.
“What I admire most about Hebrew SeniorLife isn’t just the work you do, but how you do it,” said Governor Maura Healey, who attended the event with First Lady Joanna Lydgate. “The programming — lectures, science, art, health care, and workforce development — supports a generation of caregivers prepared to meet today’s challenges. You’ve redefined aging as a positive, well-supported, and communally valued experience.”
“EngAGE is our annual signature event to showcase the innovative ways that Hebrew SeniorLife lives its mission of redefining the experience of aging,” Hebrew SeniorLife Board Chair Richard J. Henken said. “As an organization, we recognize the significant and urgent need for more affordable housing for seniors, and understand that high quality, safe, service-enriched senior housing allows our residents to enjoy better health outcomes and to age comfortably and happily in place.”
The event also included Andy Cohen, an Emmy Award-winning television and radio talk show host, producer, and writer best known as the host and executive producer of “The Real Housewives” franchise and Bravo’s late-night talk show “Watch What Happens Live!” Tonya Mezrich, contributing editor to Boston Magazine, interviewed Cohen and conducted a virtual chat with his 87-year-old mother, Evelyn Cohen, whom fans know from her appearances on Cohen’s shows.
Other speakers included Louis J. Woolf, president and CEO of Hebrew SeniorLife; Deb Morse, vice president of real estate at Hebrew SeniorLife; Stephanie Small, executive director of the Simon C. Fireman Community; Amir Baniassadi, PhD, assistant scientist at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research; and Jennifer Molinsky, PhD, director of the Housing an Aging Society Program at the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University.
Howard E. Cohen, board member and former board chair of Hebrew SeniorLife and founder and board chair of Beacon Communities LLC, was honored at the event for his long-standing service to Hebrew SeniorLife. Beacon Communities manages a portfolio of 19,000 apartments for predominately low- and moderate-income families. “Working with the governor and lieutenant governor to increase the supply of housing in the Commonwealth is both a great opportunity and a challenge, and it couldn’t come at a better time in my life,” said Cohen.
Since 2021, EngAGE has raised a combined $5.5 million.
About Hebrew SeniorLife
Hebrew SeniorLife, an affiliate of Harvard Medical School, is a national senior services leader uniquely dedicated to rethinking, researching, and redefining the possibilities of aging. Hebrew SeniorLife cares for more than 4,500 seniors a day across campuses throughout Greater Boston. Locations include: Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-Boston and Hebrew Rehabilitation Center-NewBridge in Dedham; NewBridge on the Charles, Dedham; Orchard Cove, Canton; Simon C. Fireman Community, Randolph; Center Communities of Brookline, Brookline; Jack Satter House, Revere; and Leyland Community, Dorchester. Founded in 1903, Hebrew SeniorLife also conducts influential research into aging at the Hinda and Arthur Marcus Institute for Aging Research, which has a portfolio of more than $98 million, making it one of the largest gerontological research facilities in the U.S. in a clinical setting. It also trains more than 500 geriatric care providers each year. For more information about Hebrew SeniorLife, follow us on our blog, Facebook, Instagram, Threads, and LinkedIn.
