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Who We Are

We are anchored by the Older Americans Act (OAA)

When the Older Americans Act was signed into law in 1965, it was largely considered the most significant piece of aging legislation to date. The OAA is reauthorized by Congress every few years. The 1973 reauthorization of the OAA created Area Agencies on Aging (AAAs) to oversee and deliver vital home and community-based programs. Today, there are over 600 AAAs throughout the US providing OAA programs to older adults in their communities. Federal AAA oversight and allocation of OAA-authorized funds is conducted through the Administration for Community Living (ACL). Within the commonwealth, the Pennsylvania Department of Aging (www.aging.pa.gov) allocates ACL funding and governs the 52 AAAs that serve Pennsylvanians locally.

We are Philadelphia County’s Area Agency on Aging

Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) has been an established AAA since 1973 and serves older adults and adults with disabilities in Philadelphia County. PCA provides vital programs that allow individuals to remain engaged in their communities and empowered in their homes. PCA is a private nonprofit, funded primarily through federal and state sources including Pennsylvania lottery funding.

We are who to contact first for person-centered programs and services for older adults and adults with disabilities in Philadelphia.

PCA is the first place for older Philadelphians and adults with disabilities to turn to for information and services to help maintain or improve the quality of their lives. One of the region’s largest nonprofits, PCA collaborates with approximately 200 contracted providers on over 30 person-centered programs and services to help older Philadelphians and adults with disabilities living in Philadelphia. In cooperation with aging advocates and AAA associations at the state and national levels, including Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging (P4A) and USAging, we also work to spotlight older Philadelphians and bring visibility to their needs.

This is who we have been for over 50 years. And this is just some of what we have accomplished: PCA Infographic>>

Najja R. Orr, DBA, FCPP

Najja R. Orr, DBA, FCPP

President & CEO

Najja R. Orr assumed the role of PCA’s President & CEO in 2020 as services to Philadelphia’s older adults had to quickly adapt during the COVID-19 pandemic. This included delivering more than 3 million meals to older Philadelphians through home-delivered and community-based meal programs. Prior to coming to PCA, Orr worked for the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging since 2002 and served as that agency’s director until 2011. In 2017, he joined PCA as the chief strategy officer, leading the agency’s planning department.

Orr has served on several boards during his tenure in the aging field and held a number of positions, including chair of the Pennsylvania Department of Aging Cultural Diversity Advisory Council and board secretary and southeast regional representative for the Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging. Orr has also served as a member of the Bucks County Area Agency on Aging Cultural Diversity Committee and the United Way of Greater Philadelphia and Southern New Jersey Vision Council.

Orr received his doctorate from Temple University in 2022. He also holds a master’s degree in business administration from Drexel University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Morehouse College. Orr was recently selected as one the 2022 nonprofit power 100 honorees by City & State Pennsylvania.  In addition to being a dedicated advocate for older adults, Orr is also a dedicated husband and father of four.

Laura I. Weinbaum

Laura I. Weinbaum

Chief Operating Officer

In January 2023, Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) announced that Laura I. Weinbaum, MBA, MGA, had been selected as its new Chief Operating Officer. As an executive leader with 25 years of experience in operations, organizational development, data and quality assurance, training, fiscal management, and advocacy, Laura comes to PCA from Project HOME, another Philadelphia nonprofit, where she spent more than 20 years. There, Laura helped lead the organization to empower adults and children to break the cycle of homelessness and poverty through housing, opportunities for employment, medical care, and education.

With a strong leadership legacy in non-profit, Weinbaum also spent a few years in technology consulting in New York and redevelopment in the City of Philadelphia.

As incoming COO, Weinbaum will work closely with President and CEO Najja R. Orr, MBA, DBA to take the 50-year-old PCA to the next level of accomplishment as an Area Agency on Aging, identifying new funding streams and developing pivotal strategic partnerships — guiding PCA into new arenas that will bring about long-term growth and opportunities.

During her extensive career, Laura has received numerous accolades including being featured in Philadelphia Business Journal’s “40 Under 40” and chosen as one of “101 Next Generation Connectors” by LEADERSHIP Philadelphia.

Weinbaum also has several publications to her credit including “Estimating the Local Economic and Fiscal Impact of Project HOME” and “Saving Lives, Saving Money: Cost-Effective Solutions to Homelessness in Philadelphia.”

She holds several leadership positions in the Philadelphia community: Board Chair, Commonwealth Housing Development Corporation; Leading for Change Fellow, Drexel University LeBow College of Business; and Adjunct Fellow, University of Pennsylvania Center for Public Health Initiatives.

Weinbaum has an MBA from Quantic School of Business, Washington, DC; an MGA from University of Pennsylvania; and a BA from Columbia University in New York City.

Monika K. Briggs, CPA

Monika K. Briggs, CPA

Chief Financial Officer

In August 2024, Monika Briggs joined Philadelphia Corporation for Aging (PCA) as Chief Financial Officer, bringing over two decades of diverse financial and operational expertise.

Prior to joining PCA, Briggs managed the embedded family office at a Philadelphia-area private equity firm, where she oversaw philanthropic initiatives and corporate sponsorships and served in leadership roles for five charitable organizations. Briggs also spent 11 years in public accounting at Deloitte and Ernst & Young, where she focused on tax services for investment management and private wealth clients.

Briggs is a Certified Public Accountant with a BBA from Temple University, a master’s degree in taxation from Villanova University, and a Financial Success for Nonprofits Certificate from Cornell.  She is active in the Not-for-Profit Leadership Committees of both the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants (PICPA) and the New York State Society of CPAs (NYSSCPA).  She is also a contributor to the PICPA’s CPA Now Blog on nonprofit matters.

Outside of work, Briggs is a mom of five who enjoys exploring the Philadelphia area with her family.

Board of Directors

Glenn D. Bryan

Glenn D. Bryan

Chair

Louis G. Colbert

Vice Chair
Satya B. Verma, O.D.

Satya B. Verma, O.D.

Immediate Past Chair

Denise Adamucci

Patricia Canela-Duckett

Wilmarie Gonzalez

Sandra McNally

Sandra McNally

Paul Nathanson

Norma D. Thomas, D.S.W.

Sharlene Waller

John J. Whitman

Jacqueline S. Zinn, Ph.D.

Jacqueline S. Zinn, Ph.D.

Emeritus: Arthur E. Helfand, D.P.M.

Arthur E. Helfand, D.P.M.

Emeritus

Advisory Council

Sandra McNally, Chair
Joseph J. DiMeo Jr.
Teresa Elliott
Florence Gallagher
Nida Imperial
Frederick Lewis
David Nevison
Susan Shifrin
Vera Tolbert
Linda Tyler
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