Living Longer and Healthier: Blue Zones and Aging in the U.S. and Japan Speakers

Dr. Jean Accius is a passionate champion and catalyst for changing how the world sees and values aging. He is an internationally recognized thought leader on aging, longevity, equity, health systems transformation and modernizing the delivery and financing of long-term care. With tri-sector experience and deep knowledge, he has a strong track record of building high-performing teams, managing cross-functional operations and processes, and developing innovative and actionable solutions, policies, and programs to close the opportunity gap so that everyone can live longer, healthier and more productive lives.

As Senior Vice President of Global Thought Leadership at AARP, he leads a team in positioning AARP as a global thought leader by identifying emerging trends around the world, cultivating and elevating new ideas, forging global strategic alliances that become the foundation for collaboration and sparking bold solutions to change systems and improve the lives of the global population as it ages.

Lauren Dunning is a director at the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging, where she develops strategic partnerships and initiatives that advance healthy, productive, and purposeful aging. In her role, Dunning oversees the Leadership Council and the Academic and Policy Council, a group of global leaders from across sectors that provides advisement, expertise, and collaboration to maximize the impact of CFA’s work.

Before joining the Milken Institute, Dunning served in key policy leadership roles over ten years at the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, where she was most recently the director of Government Affairs. She has written and presented on a variety of public health policy topics related to both chronic and communicable disease prevention. Dunning holds a JD from Georgetown University Law Center, a master of public health from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and a bachelor’s degree from George Washington University. She works at the Institute’s Santa Monica office.

David Janes is Senior Advisor to the President for Institutional Development at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Graduate University (OIST) and Managing Director of the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology Foundation in New York.

In these roles Mr. Janes leads OIST’s strategic development efforts in the United States and Japan, assists OIST in fostering relationships and building networks with leaders in U.S.-Japan relations, scientific and technology focused foundations, and cutting-edge corporations in both countries, and provides strategic advice to OIST’s President and senior leadership. Aiming to be among the world’s top science and technology universities and one of the most innovative educational institutions in the Asia-Pacific region, OIST is poised to make significant contributions to the sustainable development of Okinawa, to scientific research in Japan, and to science and technology globally. With a dynamic tech transfer program and incubator, the University is also focused on enhancing entrepreneurship in Okinawa and other areas of Japan.  

Paul Pass is Executive Director of the Japan-America Society of Dallas/Fort Worth, where he oversees board governance, fundraising, operational management, organizational strategy, programming, and relationships with 200+ Japanese companies in North Texas. He previously worked at Asia Society Texas Center, the World Affairs Council of Houston, the United States House of Representatives, the Delegation of the European Union to the United States, Indiana University, and the Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center.