Why TrustedRiders Began

Stephanie Monroe Esq, is Vice President and Senior Advisor for Equity of Us Against Alzheimer's, a Washington DC based patient advocacy organization focused on bringing an end to Alzheimer’s Disease and Executive Director of African Americans Against Alzheimer’s (AAN) the first national network created specifically to respond to Alzheimer’s disease’s disparate impact on African Americans . An attorney with decades of federal public policy experience. Stephanie served as Assistant Secretary of Education for Civil Rights from 2005-2009. In that position, she was the Secretary of Education’s primary adviser on civil rights issues. Prior to serving in the Executive Branch, Stephanie ended her 25 years on Capitol Hill after holding a number of key staff positions in the United States Congress, including Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions and for 10 years Staff Director of the Senate Subcommittee on Children and Families under the Chairmanship of Senator Dan Coats (R-IN). Stephanie is also the President and founder of The Wrenwood Group, LLC, a Washington D.C. government relations firm where she advises clients on a wide range of matters in the education and health arenas, including early care and education, K-12 and postsecondary education, small business and workforce-related issues, and health care. She has decades of legislative and executive branch experience, most recently as Assistant Secretary of Education where she was responsible for the Office for Civil Rights which is the second largest division within the U.S. Department of Education. She currently serves as a member of the National Academy of Sciences Board on Children, Youth and Families as well as numerous other boards addressing health, education, and equity issues.

Christine Dodd, former Executive Director, The Center for Health Affairs, Member Programming, is a healthcare government relations and grant writing professional with over 30 years of experience handling public policy, advocacy and public relations. She is the founder and CEO of Guide4Care, a patient navigation service to help individuals traverse healthcare challenges. Dodd’s career began as a healthcare legislative aide in the U.S. House of Representatives, where she worked on the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) under Rep. Thomas C. Sawyer of Ohio. Dodd then worked as a legislative director for the late Sen. John McCain and Sen. Lamar Alexander, drafting legislation related to Medicare Part D, generic prescription drugs, healthcare privacy and electronic health records. She also served as a Subcommittee Staff Director on the Senate Health Education Labor & Pensions Committee. She worked at three top law firms, starting at Squire Patton Boggs, where she worked on health legal issues for The Cleveland Clinic and University Hospitals of Cleveland. After practicing law for several years, she decided her true passion was policy and returned to the Hill working in the U.S. Senate on key legislation which was enacted into law such as the creation of the 9/11 Commission to investigate the terrorist attacks. She has also worked as a government relations leader for two nonprofits and IBM as well as created two companies. She has a passion for seniors and the issues facing them and established a patient navigation company, Guide4Care, in 2022 to help both seniors and their caregivers navigate the complex U.S. healthcare system. She has been featured in Crain's Cleveland, the Akron Beacon Journal, NPR and Fox Channel 8 News. Christine served as a patient advocate and caregiver for her father when diagnosed with pancreatic cancer as well as a navigator for her mother, a two-time breast cancer survivor. J.D. University of Cincinnati School of Law.

Roy Earnest, M.S.W., has served as a gerontological social worker and program administrator since 1978 in a wide variety of community based non-profit senior services as well as a 15 year tenure from 2002 to 2018 at the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS)( AmeriCorps program). This broad range of experience has given him an in-depth perspective on the continuum of services for older adults in the United States. In 2018, he joined the staff of the Center for Age Friendly Excellence (CAFE) in August 2019 as Associate Director. CAFE assists cities to develop and launch Age Friendly Community initiatives that are designed to address unmet needs of older residents by tapping into community strengths and the talents of local organizations and citizen advocates. He also continues to give back to the community as a volunteer by serving as the Chair of Pacifica’s Age Friendly Community Task Force, an advisory council member for UC Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare’s MSW-Aging Services concentration, Treasurer and Board Member of Pacifica’s Environmental Family, the Director of the annual Kahuna Kupuna Benefit Surf Contest in Pacifica since 2000 and delivers Meals on Wheels to 10 homebound residents of Pacifica every Wednesday. BA Richard Stockton State University, MSW, U.C. Berkeley.