AARP Washington, District of Columbia

Rodney Harrell is a thought leader and change agent in the areas of aging, livable communities, housing, community revitalization, economic development, and strategic planning. His experience as a local, national and international issue expert, author, speaker, blogger, consultant, instructor, board member and mentor brings new perspectives to issues that we face and solutions to address them. He is an AARP enterprise lead, charged with developing and implementing the organization’s approach to address housing and livable community challenges along with his co-lead and teams across the organization. As VP, he also heads AARP Public Policy Institute’s team of issue experts on long-term services, family caregiving and livable communities. He is also lead creator of the award-winning AARP Livability Index™ platform, the world's first nationwide, neighborhood-based livability index, and a leader of other key innovations. He is currently Chair of the Champions Council of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, immediate past chair of the Board of Visitors for the University of Maryland School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, and a Trustee of the National Building Museum. He holds a doctorate in urban planning and design from the University of Maryland, dual master’s in public affairs and urban planning from the School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University, and a bachelor’s in political science from the honors program at Howard University.