Cinnamon St. John joins the Center for Medicare Advocacy as a 2019-2020 Health and Aging Policy Fellow through the American Political Science Association (APSA).
Ms. St. John is also Associate Director of the Hartford Institute for Geriatric Nursing (HIGN) at NYU Rory Meyers College of Nursing. She designs and manages programs that focus on ensuring optimal health and quality of life for older adults through interprofessional and patient education. Her work at HIGN has helped train over 2,000 Bronx seniors on wellness and disease self-management, has strengthened collaboration between a major NYC health system and community-based organizations, and has driven the national and international dissemination of elder care training modules. She has also led the development of a strategic partnership between HIGN and a New York-based long-term care provider as part of the state’s “Workforce Investment Organization” (WIO) initiative. This program is helping to build and support a robust training infrastructure that will enhance the skills and advancement opportunities of long-term care workers in the region. Prior to this placement, she was with the U.S. Senate Special Committee on Aging in the office of Chairman Susan Collins (R-Maine). For the Committee, Ms. St. John helped inform policy and drive the oversight of legislation focused on improving the support infrastructure for older Americans, with a particular focus on Alzheimer’s Disease.
As a former journalist, Cinnamon is passionate about increasing public awareness of the needs of older adults, the challenges that our society is facing in addressing those needs, and the opportunities we have to improve how we care for our aging population. Ms. St. John received a Master’s of Public Administration from the NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service and an MA in International Peace and Security from King’s College London.