50+ Lifestyles

Generations Names New Executive Director

By Peggy Dykes
Community Relations Director
GENERATIONS – Area Agency on Aging

Generations Area Agency on Aging Board of Directors has named Christa Merritt as the new Executive Director.

Merritt has served as the Interim Director of Generations as of mid-January, 2010, upon the retirement of Marvin Webb. As Director, Merritt will oversee the day-to-day management of the agency and programs along with the quality of services, long-term planning and community involvement.

Suzy Hartung, Board President, said, The Board respects Christas ability and performance, both in her former role as Assistant Director and more recently as Interim Director. We appreciate her calm, professional demeanor, as well as her commitment to working respectfully and collaboratively with staff, with other senior-service providers and with people from diverse racial and cultural communities. We are pleased with the progress of Generations during the past three months and look forward to continued growth and service under Christas leadership.

Christa Merritt

Merritt has been with Generations since 2008, in the Assistant Directors position, with responsibility in managing programs which include case management, family caregiving, nutrition and senior employment, along with budgeting, grant writing and preparation of the area plan.

Merritt graduated from the University of Northern Iowa with a bachelors degree in Social Work and St. Ambrose University with a masters degree in Criminal Justice. Her work experience includes 14 years in social work plus grant writing, reviewing and evaluating. She also was a Program Director for juvenile adjudicated delinquents and worked in public school settings to assist with programming for safe schools and assisting students struggling academically and behaviorally.

I am looking forward to the opportunity to take Generations to the next level in serving seniors. My goal is to make Generations a household name in the three-county area, commented Merritt on her new position. Visibility and promotion of our programs is of huge importance to me and the Assistant Director, Catherine Pratscher-Woods. I hope to lead Generations in this direction until my retirement. Merritt lives in Davenport with her husband and two children.

There are 650 Area Agencies on Aging nationwide, including the thirteen in Iowa that assist seniors in finding the services they need to age at home. The third-largest Area Agency on Aging in Iowa, Generations serves Clinton, Muscatine and Scott counties. Generations and its programs are funded through a partnership of federal, state and local governments along with private grants and individual donations. To learn more about the programs offered to seniors, visit www.genage.org.