Meredith Hanley is the director of community capacity building with the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging in Washington, DC. In this role, she is the project director for Dementia Friendly America, which fosters dementia-friendly communities across the country and raises public awareness through the administration of the Dementia Friends USA initiative. Hanley also serves as the project director for two initiatives funded by the US Administration for Community Living (ACL). The Information and Planning initiative, funded by ACL, gathers and disseminates information on Area Agencies on Aging and Title VI Native American aging programs through surveys, topical polls, research and analysis. The engAGED National Resource Center, also funded by ACL, promotes the Aging Network's social engagement of older adults by identifying, developing, and disseminating best practices, toolkits, and other resources. Prior to joining n4a, Hanley worked for the Arlington County, VA, Aging and Disability Services Division as the quality and development supervisor. She oversaw program performance metrics and quality improvement for the Division and worked on a variety of special projects, including managing referrals and quality assurance at a County-funded assisted living residence, implementing a staff training initiative and providing staff support to the County Commissions on Aging and Long-Term Care Residences. She has a master's degree in social work with a focus in gerontology from Washington University in St. Louis.