Our Vision, Mission, and Values
Our Vision
Every nursing home will be a community in which lives are nurtured, residents are empowered, and where people want to work.
Our Mission
We will make vital changes in policy and practice through the power of bringing diverse voices together now.
Core Values
From our earliest meetings and throughout all our work, we’ve committed to four core values:
Feasibility
Sustainable Impact
Equity
Collaboration
Our Leadership
Alice Bonner
Chair
Alice Bonner has been a nurse practitioner for over 30 years. She is currently senior advisor for aging at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) and chair of the Moving Forward Nursing Home Quality Coalition.
From 2015 to 2019, Bonner served as secretary of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. From 2011 to 2013, Bonner served as director of the Division of Nursing Homes in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in Baltimore, MD.
Jennifer Baker
Policy Director
Jennifer Baker, MPH, is the director of the Moving Forward Coalition, and has deep experience developing sustainable initiatives and cross-sector partnerships that drive social change. Jennifer brings nearly 15 years of leadership at the federal, state, and local levels, including serving in the Biden-Harris administration where she spearheaded the first-ever National Plan on Aging and with then-Chairman Bob Casey on U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging where she led aging policy. Her work has focused on bringing together diverse voices – including older adults, caregivers, policymakers, and advocates – to enhance quality of life among older adults through policies and programs. Baker earned her master of public health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She received an international fellowship focused on dementia care from Hendrix College where she earned her bachelor’s degree in social justice and sustainability.
Emily Willard
Program Manager
Emily Willard, MPA, is the Moving Forward Coalition's program manager. Emily has previously served as the program assistant and graduate assistant for the University of Georgia's Washington Semester Program, where she coordinated programs, facilitated events, and managed communications. Emily is passionate about improving housing quality and previously served individuals experiencing homelessness by providing direct street outreach, delivering social services at a homeless day shelter, and supporting coalition-building with the National Coalition for the Homeless. Emily earned her master of public administration, BA in political science, and BS in psychology from the University of Georgia.