Our board

Sarah Harper is the Clore Professor of Gerontology at the University of Oxford, and Director of the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing.  A long time research collaborator with HelpAge, Sarah’s research focuses on population change, and she has worked extensively in Asia on this topic. She is particularly interested in the interaction of societal and individual ageing, and the interaction of populations with their  environment.

Sarah was appointed a CBE for services to Demography in 2018 and served on the UK Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology. She is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and of the Royal Anthropological Institute and has published widely. 

Helen Mealins is an institutional development practitioner with over 20 years’ experience of working with politicians, government officials, civil society practitioners and private sector executives in a variety of leadership and consultancy roles, to advance social change in Africa, Asia and Europe.

She is currently Chief Executive at INTRAC, a UK based charity that builds the skills and knowledge of civil society to be more effective in addressing poverty and inequality.

Previously, she worked in Uganda heading the Democratic Governance Facility, and before that at DFID as Deputy Head of Finance and Strategy and Head of Office for Southern Africa.

Sandra Aponte holds a number of posts which reflect her commitment to the wellbeing of older people.

She is the CEO of NTD Ingredientes based in the Dominican Republic and Mexico. Amongst her various roles, she is also the Chairperson of INIA’s (International Institute on Ageing UN-Malta) Satellite Centre for Central America and the Caribbean, President of CABIMEX-RD, Vice President of the Advisory Council of World Vision in the Dominican Republic, Vice President of the Board of the Dominican-Mexican Chamber of Commerce and Investment, and serves in the Sustainability Committee of American Chamber of Commerce of the Dominican Republic (AMCHAMDR).

In 2010, Sandra established the NTD Foundation (a HelpAge network member) to raise awareness of the needs of older people in the Dominican Republic.

Graham Bennett has had a diverse global career working to address poverty, injustice and marginalisation; and promote community and caring.

He has held senior roles for Amnesty International and One World Action, the international development agency. More recently, he has worked as a consultant and evaluator for agencies such as Action Aid, CAFOD, Sightsavers, Sense, Womankind, and Plan, and with rights holders such as disabled people, children, women survivors of sexual violence, and communities affected by large-scale natural disasters.

Mika Marumoto is a business executive and certified nonprofit advisor. Currently based in Washington DC, her work focuses on business strategy, policy and governance as it impacts sustainability and healthy ageing. She is a Director on the board of the Hiroshima-based Tsuneishi Shipbuilding Company which is committed to implementing its roadmap to become carbon-neutral. She serves as HelpAge International’s Chair of Governance.

Previously, Mika Marumoto worked as an economic development and strategy consultant for a number of organisations including the AFPPD, Asian Development Bank, UNDP, the World Bank Group – International Finance Corporation, and McKinsey and Company.

Cecilia Mbaka is currently Head of the National Social Protection Secretariat in Kenya’s State Department of Social Protection. She previously served as Head of the Division of Social Welfare and Older Persons and as founding Director of the National Council for Persons with Disabilities.

Ms Mbaka has more than 25 years’ experience providing strategic leadership and engagement of civil society and research stakeholders to advance policy development and strengthen service delivery to vulnerable persons. In recognition of her achievements in advancing the rights of the poor and vulnerable, including older people, she was in December, 2017 awarded the Order of Grand Warrior (OGW) by the President of Kenya.

Dr. Alexandre Sidorenko is an expert on national and international policy on ageing who advises governments across Europe and Central Asia on developing and implementing policy, organising and conducting training programmes.

Previously, he served as the Chief of the Population Unit, UN Economic Commission for Europe, and over two decades as Head of the United Nations Programme on Ageing, during which he coordinated the UN International Year of Older Persons 1999, and the Second World Assembly on Ageing, including drafting the Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing (MIPAA) and global follow-up activities.

Victoria Márquez-Mees, a Mexican economist, resides in London, and is currently serving as the first Chief Accountability Officer of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development .

Previously, amongst other roles, she worked at the Inter-American Development Bank Group in Washington, D.C, as Director of the Independent Consultation and Investigation Mechanism (MICI) covering the LAC region.

With over 30 years of professional experience, Ms. Márquez-Mees has dedicated a significant part of her career to international cooperation and the institutional strengthening of civil society organizations in the areas of health and the environment.

She recently became a member of the International Women Forum, Mexico Chapter.

Based in the USA, Peter is currently the President and CEO of Next50, where he brings more than 20 years of experience leading mission-driven organisations.  

Prior to joining Next50 in 2023, Peter served as the CEO of the American Society on Aging, where he guided the organisation through the challenges of the pandemic and launched ASA Rise, a social justice and leadership academy for emerging leaders of colour. His leadership also includes working in economic development at JPMorgan Chase & Co., and he served as an economic policy advisor to President Barack Obama. 

A graduate of the University of Pittsburgh School of Law and Tufts University, Peter’s career also includes time as CEO of the South Florida Institute on Aging, where he spearheaded innovative programmes for older people. With his expertise in ageing and economic policy, Peter is a valuable addition to HelpAge’s Board of Trustees, and we look forward to his contributions to advancing our mission.

Dr. Samir Sinha is a Geriatrician and Clinician Scientist at Sinai Health System and the University Health Network in Toronto, a Professor of Medicine at the University of Toronto, the Director of Health Policy Research at Toronto Metropolitan University’s National Institute on Ageing, and a Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences.

A Rhodes Scholar, Samir is a highly regarded clinician and international expert in the care of older adults. In 2021, he was appointed to serve as a member of the Government of Canada’s National Seniors Council and recently led the successful development of Canada’s new National Long-Term Care Services Standard. Internationally, since 2014, he has served as a member of the American Red Cross Scientific Advisory Council and was recently appointed to serve on the Board of Trustees for HelpAge International.

After recently completing a long and successful tenure as the Director of Geriatrics for Sinai Health and the University Health Network, Samir is currently serving as a 2024-2025 Visiting Fellow at the University of Oxford and AMS Fellow in Compassion and AI exploring the ethical and other implications of leveraging AI and other technologies to enable healthy ageing and ageing-in-the-right-place.

Ben F. Belton is an experienced leader in ageing-related issues, with a background in both government and non-governmental sectors.

He held roles in the Biden-Harris and Obama-Biden Administrations, leading initiatives at the Social Security Administration and representing it on federal councils focused on elder justice and healthy ageing.

In the non-governmental sector, Ben worked with AARP’s Office of International Affairs to advance global thought leadership on ageing, and held roles at the Centre for Medicare Advocacy and the National Committee to Preserve Social Security and Medicare.

He has served on numerous boards and committees, and holds a degree in Sociology from Bowie State University.

Martine Najem is a public health and development professional with over 25 years’ experience in strategic planning, programme management, evaluation, advocacy and communication. Her expertise spans public health, ageing, gender equality, humanitarian response, and social development.

She has built strong partnerships across sectors and with public, private, UN, civil society and academic institutions in Lebanon, the MENA region and globally.

Since 2012, Martine has served as Instructor of Public Health Practice at the American University of Beirut, leading initiatives to inform policy, conduct research, and strengthen capacity in public health and humanitarian response.

A passionate advocate, she has served on national commissions on women and older people in Lebanon and is a founding member of the Center for Studies on Ageing.

Sonia Di Mezza is the CEO of Migrant and Refugee Settlement Services in Canberra, Australia, as well as a solicitor and human rights lawyer. She worked for eight years as the Deputy CEO of the ACT Disability, Aged and Carers Advocacy Service (ADACAS), providing bilingual advocacy to older people experiencing elder abuse, discrimination and ageism.

Sonia has given evidence and submitted recommendations to several Senate and state legislative inquiries, as well as to the Australian Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety, on matters relating to the human rights of older people. She has served as a board member of Elder Rights Advocacy, Victoria.

Among her qualifications, Sonia holds a Master of Human Rights and an MBA, and is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (GAICD accredited).

Jaco Hoffman (DPhil, Oxon) is Professor of Socio-Gerontology in the Optentia Research Unit at North-West University, where he leads the Ageing and Generational Dynamics in Africa (AGenDA) programme. He is also a non-stipendiary Professorial Fellow at the Oxford Institute of Population Ageing, University of Oxford, where he coordinates the African Research Network on Ageing (AFRAN). He is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Ageing in Africa, Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town; a past president of the South African Gerontological Association (SAGA); and a founding member of the South African Older Persons Forum. Jaco co-directs the International Longevity Centre (ILC) South Africa and is a director on the Board of the International Federation of Ageing (IFA). He is one of 15 Lancet Commissioners on Long-Term Care for Older Persons.

Rose Gahire is a public health expert with over 38 years of experience in improving access to quality, equitable healthcare at national, regional, and international levels. She holds a Bachelor’s in Business Administration, a Master’s in Public Health, and a certificate in Geriatrics and Gerontology.

Rose is the founder and Executive Director of the Palliative Care Association of Rwanda (PCAR) and a member of several key organisations, including the African Palliative Care Association, the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care, and the Palliative Care in Humanitarian Aid and Emergencies advocacy group.

Previously, she served as Country Program Manager for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) Rwanda and Executive Secretary at the Society for Women and AIDS Africa (SWAA).

Locally, Rose is the Vice Chairperson of the Rwanda Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (RNCDA) and a member of several boards, including the Rwanda Food and Drug Authority’s Pharmaceutical Pricing Committee and the Community-Based Health Insurance Health Benefit Committee (CBHI-HBP).

At the regional level, she is a board member of the East Africa Non-Communicable Disease Alliance (EANCDA), and globally, she is a Co-chair of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Older People (GAROP), advocating for the UN Convention on the Rights of Older Persons.