When Donna Fedus discovered the field of aging at age 23, she rearranged her life to be part of it, earning her Master’s degree in Social Gerontology in 1991 from the University of Pennsylvania. Now, nearly 30 years later, Donna is still inspired to create innovative programs, services, and training to benefit older adults and the dedicated family caregivers, professionals, and organizations that support them.
When Donna co-founded a new company in 2007 with producer Lauren Lewis, they named it Borrow My Glasses, reflecting their deep belief in the importance of bringing new perspectives to aging and caregiving. They combine their passion and expertise as teachers and storytellers utilizing Lauren’s background as a producer with Donna’s subject matter expertise.
Borrow My Glasses is an education company that designs and delivers customized workshops, videos, events, and comprehensive training systems. One special project in development is Living With Palliative Care, a documentary film and educational program depicting the way one woman’s end-of-life journey was transformed by palliative care.
As a Gerontologist Educator, Donna has developed a wide array of new programs and continuing education workshops. She is a frequent presenter at regional, state, and national conferences, and a guest lecturer at multiple Connecticut colleges. She is an adjunct professor at Middlesex Community College and Quinnipiac University, teaching Sociology of Aging (both online and on-ground), and a new course she developed called Social Issues in Family Caregiving at Quinnipiac. Donna has initiated three coalitions, 2 while at Yale University, and most recently the Connecticut Gerontology Consortium, comprised of professors of gerontology from colleges across the state.
Donna serves on the Board of Directors for the Connecticut Geriatrics Society, the Advisory Council for the Agency on Aging of South Central CT, and is a founding design team and faculty member of ECHO, a statewide dementia leadership program. Donna is a Contributing Editor for Grandfamilies: The Contemporary Journal of Research, Practice and Policy, and has reviewed manuscripts for Journeyworks Publishing and Health Professions Press.
Donna was honored with the Employee of the Year award at The Consultation Center, Yale University School of Medicine, where she served for nine years as Director of Elder Programs. She was honored with the Einstein Award at Albert Einstein Medical Center in Philadelphia, where she served for nine years, primarily as the Director of Premier Years, a hospital-based senior membership program that grew from 29,000 to 54,000 members under her leadership.
Lauren Lewis is a producer who is most interested in people and their stories. She brings experience as a project manager, writer, and attorney with a passion for teaching and learning to each endeavor. Projects range across the life span from teaching kids to read through the Emmy-winning PBS TV series Between the Lions, to creating innovative multimedia programs that Disrupt Aging with AARP CT.
Lauren co-founded Borrow My Glasses, a company that creates interactive programs offering a new perspective on aging and caregiving. Previously, she spent 10 years in television production, 10 years running a not-for-profit in the youth leadership space and over 10 years creating live corporate training events, e-learning initiatives and apps to track performance. In each of these worlds, Lauren focused on the most effective ways for people to learn. She and her teams utilized innovative storytelling techniques, multimedia approaches to engage audiences, effective materials, solid management, and fresh creative ideas.
In aging, Lauren is creating innovative Disrupt Aging curricula with AARP CT. She produced, wrote and directed two videos for Revolutionize Aging: A Call to Action, and co-produced the half-day event with AARP CT and Quinnipiac University, featuring Dr. Bill Thomas. Additionally, she is developing Living With Palliative Care, an educational program that shares stories of people with serious illness and educates people who could benefit from palliative care.
In television, Lauren produced, wrote and developed several Emmy award-winning PBS television series and multimedia brands. Typically, she spent half of her time on the business affairs and intellectual property side developing projects and ancillaries, and the other half on the creative side writing and producing videos. She also created a database for WGBH to track assets and pay union residuals to performers, musicians, writers and directors.
In not-for-profit, Lauren led the We Are Family Foundation founded by the legendary musician and producer Nile Rodgers. As Executive Vice President, Lauren amplified the voices of young people who are changing the world through two major initiatives: Three Dot Dash which empowers Global Teen Leaders from over 40 countries who believe peace is possible if basic human needs are met; and TEDxTeen which provides a platform for young people to share their ideas worth spreading. These projects have positively affected millions around the world.
In corporate training, Lauren produced high-level product launches, live training events, and e-learning initiatives for clients such as Hilton, Heineken, Sanofi, Lilly, Pfizer, and AstraZeneca, among many others. She also worked as a technical producer, creating training apps that increase engagement and measure performance.
Lauren earned her J.D. from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law and is admitted to practice law in New Jersey. She earned her B.A. in international relations from Lehigh University with double minors in law and philosophy.
