The SCAN Foundation

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Can you tell us a bit about The SCAN Foundation and your role there?

The SCAN Foundation (TSF) is a California-based, independent public foundation that catalyzes bold and equitable approaches to creating a society where every older adult can age well. We were created in April 2008 and since 2021, TSF has been led by President and CEO Sarita A. Mohanty, MD, MPH, MBA. The rest of the Executive Team, my fellow VPs and I, joined Sarita in 2022.

I serve on TSF’s Executive Team as Vice President of Programs, Equity, and Community Impact and work to ensure that community engagement, diversity, equity, and inclusion are at the center of each of the Foundation’s grants. My primary area right now is leading our recent initiative to advance health equity. We seek to reduce health inequities and improve the lives of older adults, with an emphasis on communities of color as well as those communities where race and ethnicity intersect with other factors, such as age, gender, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, geography, language, immigration status, and other identities that experience inequities. We will establish and activate a sustainable, broad, diverse, cross-sector movement. The work is currently taking shape and I cannot wait to share more about it later this year.

What are your current funding priorities and where do you fund?

We will be unveiling our new strategic plan later this year. TSF engages in policy, convening, impact investing, cross-sector partnerships, and grantmaking to effect real change – in California and nationally. TSF’s funding priorities seek to strengthen the health and aging infrastructure for aging; enhance financial stability to age in place; and ensure equitable aging for all. This is everything from evolving models of care and financing, driving representation in data collection and analysis, improving financial security for older adults by addressing root causes, and reducing health inequities.

A little bit about who we help – we emphasize communities that have been historically marginalized. Specifically, this means older adults with lower incomes (duals, near duals, and lower-middle income — below 400 percent of the federal poverty level), older people of color, and older residents of rural communities/geographies that are underserved. We know that if we improve the aging experience for these priority populations and their networks of support, we will improve it for everyone.

TSF supports our Multisector Plans for Aging (formerly Master Plans) Funders Community. Can you tell us about TSF’s role in California’s Master Plan for Aging initiative?

TSF has been an influential leader throughout the inception, development, and implementation of California’s Master Plan for Aging (MPA) – now in its third year. Through polling, human-centered design work, listening sessions, and public events across the state, TSF led the charge for an MPA through the We Stand With Seniors campaign in 2018-19 and in its development following the governor’s MPA executive order. Our efforts ensured that momentum for the MPA was rooted in the experiences, needs, and preferences of older adults. In 2019, we provided philanthropic leadership by convening California-based foundations. We raised $640,000 in initial funds to support the state’s MPA development – instrumental to the plan’s timely evolution. In January, California announced 95 new MPA initiatives. State leaders remain dedicated to implementation with a focus on results, fostering public- and private-sector engagement to advance MPA goals and initiatives. Movement of this magnitude takes time and requires continued philanthropic engagement.

We’re all aging personally, but how did you get involved in aging professionally?

Thanks for asking. I am grateful for my 30 years of experience in the aging field – including shaping public policy, leading diversity outreach, and designing direct services – but for me, it all started with my love for my grandparents! I had a heightened interest in their aging and well-being in their latter phases of life, which partially motivated me to become a gerontologist. I took a few elective courses in aging during college. Those beginnings led to my enrolling in a gerontology certificate program and landing my first job out of college on the U.S. House of Representatives, Select Committee on Aging. I am fortunate for my long arc in the field of aging and all the support I have received along the way.

As one of our new Board members and member of our Task Force on Equity in Aging Philanthropy, what about GIA’s mission really motivates you?

Many aging-related matters are complex and require a multifaceted approach. I am motivated to support grantmaking that addresses aging-related equity issues because I believe that philanthropy can have a powerful impact on advancing equitable outcomes for older adults and their families. GIA is committed to collaborating with its partners to identify and fund the most effective aging-related equity projects, and I believe that we can have a transformative effect on the way aging is addressed in our communities.

For some fun insight, can you share with us what you’re currently reading, binge-watching, or listening to on repeat?

This is a fun question. I am binge-watching “Severance” on Apple TV+. It’s an eerie, thrilling psychological series, following the employees who work for a biotech company, Lumon Industries. They have chips implanted in their brains that divorces their personal and professional consciousnesses. With its dark humor and unexpected twists, the show keeps me on the edge of my seat and wanting to see what’s next.

With what character from a cartoon, book or movie do you most identify?

I hope nonfiction is OK! Over the course of my career, I have pursued equity and social justice on behalf of historically marginalized communities and thus, I’ve sought to tackle the significant, deeply entrenched barriers that stand in the way of progress. One individual I most identify with is Daniel Eugene “Rudy” Ruettiger whose life inspired the 1993 feature film “Rudy.” Rudy was a determined underdog who overcame all odds to achieve his dreams and play college football at the University of Notre Dame. It’s not the football playing where I identify (although I’m a huge fan!) but rather his never-give-up attitude to overcome barriers and reach goals. His relentless determination is profoundly moving.