Prepare to Care: Understanding the Cost of Caregiving

Katherine Brown has worked at AARP for over 18 years. Currently, Katherine is a Senior Advisor on the Programs Caregiving team. In this position, she is leads efforts related to caregiving and financial issues, faith based activities and healthcare. Previously, she was a Senior Manager in the My Home & Family Portfolio where she’s responsible for setting the strategic direction of the Association around issues related to caregiving, technology, family, home and community. Between 2002 and 2005, Katherine Brown was part of AARP’s Health education team where she played a key role in the strategic planning and implementation of AARP’s integrated campaigns to produce social and behavioral change on a range of long-term care issues. Prior to joining AARP, Katherine worked at a communications and public relations firm and specialized in creating and implementing campaigns that directly impact visibility, public opinion, growth and profitability for consumer, health, and technology companies.

Jessica Allen, AFC grew up in McMinnville, TN. After graduating high school there, she attended Kentucky Wesleyan College in Owensboro, Kentucky. She graduated in December 2000 with a BS in both Political Science and History. While home on summer break from college, she met Chaz Allen, a solider with the 101st. The two became engaged before his first deployment to Kosovo in Fall 2000. Through the course of their marriage, Chaz and Jessica added two daughters, Deryn and Ryann, to their family and endured deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. Jessica began working at H&R Block in 2001. In 2008, she left Block and began her own tax preparation company. She won a Military Spouse Fellowship to earn her Accredited Financial Counselor’s license in Fall 2010. On January 22, 2011 Chaz was on a dismounted patrol in the Zhari district in Afghanistan and stepped on a 40 pound IED. He instantly lost both legs and the blast took pieces of his elbow. Chaz and Jessica were reunited at Walter Reed Army Medical Center a few days later. Months later, when Chaz was quite a bit more mobile the girls joined their parents and the family resided in Maryland until Chaz medically retired from the Army. In 2012, the Yellow Ribbon Fund, a non-profit based just outside of Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, noticed all of Jessica’s advocacy work and invited her to be the Director of their Family Caregiver Program. She assisted and advised caregivers all across the nation. In 2013, she was asked to become an Elizabeth Dole Fellow and represents the state of Tennessee for that foundation. She has worked with the White House, Congress, the Pentagon, and various other non-profits to institute positive changes for military families since Chaz’s injuries. Chaz medically retired from the Army January 2013. Jessica left Yellow Ribbon Fund in 2016 to return to private practice. In January 2017, Jessica opened her Financial Counseling practice in McMinnville, Tennessee. The Allen family currently resides in McMinnville, Tennessee on their 10 acres of happily ever after.

Janae Wheeler is an experienced trainer delivering workshops nationwide. She educates consumers on AARP’s social mission topics to include digital literacy, work and jobs, caregiving and smart driver technology. She is passionate about working with people and connecting them to the resources and information that can make a difference in their lives and the lives of those around them.