Area Agency on Aging
Mary Lynn Kasunic is the President & CEO and Executive Director of the Area Agency on Aging, Region One, which provides more than 50 programs and services to over 127,000 people each year in Maricopa County, Arizona. In 2008, the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging (n4a) presented Ms. Kasunic with its Excellence in Leadership Award, selected from among the directors of 622 area agencies nationwide. In 2006, after a rigorous, 2-year application process, the Agency became the first free-standing area agency on aging to earn accreditation by the Council on Accreditation, and it has maintained its accredited status ever since. The Agency is licensed by the Arizona Department of Health Services as a behavioral health provider for clinical services and is certified to bill both Medicare and Medicaid. All of the Agency’s 24-hour Senior HELP LINE staff are certified by the Alliance of Information & Referral Systems (AIRS).
Under Ms. Kasunic’s leadership, the Agency has grown and diversified to serve not only older adults and adults with disabilities, but also many special populations such as individuals with HIV/AIDS, elder refugees, and victims of late-life domestic violence, elder abuse and sexual assault.
Ms. Kasunic is nationally recognized for her expertise in the fields of elder abuse and late-life domestic violence. Ms. Kasunic has trained organizations across the country to develop effective local elder abuse prevention coalitions as part of a multi-year project with the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA), funded by a grant from the HHS/Administration on Aging. Fifty (50) local coalitions in 29 states were developed as a result of this project.
Ms. Kasunic is involved in a variety of national, state, and local organizations and is a Board member of AZ4A (Arizona Association of Area Agencies on Aging) and n4a (National Association of Area Agencies on Aging). In December 2001, Ms. Kasunic was awarded Piper Fellow status by the Virginia G. Piper Charitable Trust through a program established to recognize the contributions of the community’s nonprofit leaders and to help them maintain their professional vitality and effectiveness. Ms. Kasunic earned an M.S. degree in Nutrition from Pennsylvania State University. She is a Certified Public Manager and has completed the citizens academies for the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Arizona Department of Public Safety, and the Phoenix Police Department.
