Ryan Ribeiro, Board Member
At Little Brothers- Friends of the Elderly, we have a Highlight of the Week series where we shine a spotlight on members of the LBFE community including board members, older adults, volunteers, students, staff, CitySites (and more!) to learn about them and their experiences with LBFE. This week’s highlight is of one of our newest board members, Ryan Ribeiro.
Please tell us a little about yourself- what background/professional experience do you have?
I was born and raised in the Northeastern region of Brazil where I went to college and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Communications. Shortly after graduation, I moved to Boston where I have been for the last twenty years. I started my career as a High School teacher and upon completing my graduate studies transitioned to a career in Non-Profit management. For the last 13 years, I worked as a Public Health Director for a Boston-based Non-Profit where I oversaw Grants Management, Program Development and Evaluation and Strategic Partnership Development among other things. I just recently left that job to focus on Teaching, Consulting and my volunteer work in the community. I currently teach in schools of Human Services and Professional Programs at Quincy College in Quincy, MA. I am super excited to bring some of that background to LBFE in my capacity as a Board Member.
What motivated you to get involved with LBFE?
I have always felt a strong connection to seniors. I believe that is mostly because I was raised by my grandmother and witnessed firsthand all the struggles that can come with aging. Conversely, I also got to fully experience how much seniors still have to give and how much value they bring to a community. I relate to the mission of the organization as it relates to our efforts to keep seniors engaged and to value them as contributing members of society. With all that being said, I think the easiest way to answer this question is that I want to be there for our seniors now while I can and I hope that when I get to that age others will be there for me as well.
What has been your favorite memory so far of working with LBFE and why was it so meaningful to you?
I have only been on the board for a couple of months but so far being out in the community and doing programming has been my favorite thing and I hope to do a lot more of it. I am also excited about A Taste of Grandma’s Kitchen, a future LBFE fundraiser (on September 27th, 2018) and getting involved in planning that.
How would you describe characteristics of an age-friendly community and why is it important to create those spaces?
I like the framework established by the World Health Organization with the eight domains of livability. I think it makes it really easy to understand how to make communities more livable for seniors. Within that framework, I think that Social Participation, Respect and Social Inclusion are the ones that speak the most to me. Seniors can be active and valuable members of society and they still have a lot to contribute. A lot of the work of LBFE focuses on these domains and aims at reducing isolation and promoting inclusion and creating meaningful bonds across generations. As our populations ages, it is important that we continue to think of ways to keep them healthy and engaged.
What quote or piece of life advice do you live by and why is it valuable to you?
I follow the teachings of Paramahansa Yogananda and the Fellowship of Self Realization, there is so much from that I could share here but I will share this quote which is one of my favorites: “Forget the past, for it is gone from your domain! forget the future, for it is beyond your reach! control the present! Live supremely well now! This is the way of the wise…” I try to practice mindfulness, live fully in the moment and enjoy what life is bringing me right now. For me, meditation and mindfulness really changed my life. I used to be a big worrier and coped with that by extreme planning which got to be very life consuming at times, the skills and knowledge I gained through meditation really changed my life. I highly recommend it 🙂
Remember to check out next week’s blog to see who will be highlighted then!
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