AARP NY Welcomes Kinship Care and Elder Law Experts to Executive Council

Gerard Wallace of Delmar and Jeff Rheinhardt of Clinton Will Serve on Volunteer Board Advising AARP’s New York State Office

AARP NY volunteers advocate on behalf of the 50+ and are supported by the Executive Council and AARP NY’s staff. Those interested in volunteering, can contact Heather Joseph at hjoseph [at] aarp [dot] org.

Kinship expert Gerard Wallace and elder law specialist Jeff Rheinhardt have joined AARP New York’s Executive Council, a select leadership group of AARP New York members with an outstanding record of service and a commitment to the goals of the Association.

In their role on the volunteer board, Wallace and Rheinhardt will help shape AARP New York’s strategic priorities, build community partnerships with key decision makers and serve as volunteer spokespeople for AARP in New York.

“We’re excited to welcome these top professionals, who will bring their expertise to the table and fight for the 50-plus,” said AARP New York State President Leo Asen, who chairs the Council. “Their collective knowledge of elder law and kinship care issues make them vital for the work we do.”

“We’ve had a long relationship with both of these gentlemen and we’re thrilled to be working even closer with them,” added AARP New York State Director Beth Finkel. “AARP New York will be stronger as we all assess where we are post-pandemic and where we want to be. Their expertise will come in handy as we move forward.”

Wallace, an attorney, founded the NYS Kinship Navigator in 2006, directing the program for non-parent caregivers of children from 2006 until his retirement in the fall of 2020. Wallace collaborated with AARP NY many times over those years, especially for five years beginning in 2005 when he was a project consultant for the AARP Kincare Project. In 2019, KinCare Today declared him as New York’s “Kinship Champion.”

The Child Welfare League of America (CWLA) listed him as one of its 2020 CWLA 100th Anniversary Champions for Children Awardees. He is also a Public Service Professor at the State University at Albany School of Social Welfare and continues as the legal/education advisor for the NYS Kinship Navigator. Wallace lives in Delmar, New York.

Rheinhardt is a Certified Elder Law Attorney and president of Rheinhardt and Bray, P.C., a leading Central New York elder law and estate planning firm with offices in Ilion and Rome. For 39 years, Rheinhardt has focused his practice in the areas of elder law, retirement and estate planning, business succession planning, and asset protection. He is one of about 500 Certified Elder Law Attorneys in the country, and one of only a few in upstate New York. Rheinhardt is a frequent presenter on topics involving disability and elder law, and estate planning.

Rheinhardt has served as district delegate to the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and as board member of the New York Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is also a member of the Herkimer and Oneida County Bar Associations, the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and ElderCounsel. Rheinhardt is the father of five grown children and lives in Clinton with his wife, Brenda.

Media contact: Jordan McNerney, jmcnerney [at] aarp [dot] org.