International Council on Active Aging
866.335.9777 
Join ICAA Now!
Whether you are an organization, or an individual professional, ICAA has the right membership for you.
Press release
Experts in healthy aging initiatives to advise ICAA
VANCOUVER, BC (July 8, 2005)-The International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA), the world's largest trade association for the senior fitness and wellness industry, recently welcomed the following industry experts to its board of advisors: Brenda Loube, president and co-founder of Corporate Fitness Works, Inc., in Montgomery Village, Maryland; and Mary Swanson, founder, president and chief executive officer of HealthCare Dimensions, based in Tempe, Arizona.
Brenda Loube brings more than 30 years' experience in wellness and fitness programming to the ICAA board. Her company provides customized health promotion and fitness management services to a wide range of clients throughout the United States, including retirement communities.
"Celebrating aging and helping individuals reach their health potential is a priority for me and Corporate Fitness Works," says Loube. "Our goal is to help prevent unnecessary health issues by early detection, education and empowerment for all seniors. My hope is to help keep everyone strong, balanced and able to fulfill daily needs." She adds, "It is my pleasure to be surrounded by distinguished professionals to increase awareness on how the aging population can take control and reach maximum health benefits."
Mary Swanson, a 20-year veteran of the healthcare industry, pioneered the award-winning SilverSneakers® Fitness Program. Her company, HealthCare Dimensions, works with Medicare Advantage health plans and Medicare Supplement carriers to offer the SilverSneakers program to older adults in select fitness centers and class sites across the United States. Today, almost 1.8 million Medicare beneficiaries in 31 states are eligible for the program.
"I'm honored to be a part of the distinguished group that comprises the ICAA's advisory board," says Swanson. "We all share the same goal of encouraging physical activity to empower our aging adult population to take greater control of their health and their lives. I look forward to collaborating with the diverse members of the board to help the council further its mission and goals."
"We are delighted that Brenda Loube and Mary Swanson have joined the ICAA's advisory board," says Colin Milner, the organization's chief executive officer. "These industry leaders are passionately committed to providing older adults with physical activity programs to improve health and well-being," states Milner. "They have also created innovative ways to encourage active aging, making a difference to the lives of many older Americans and their families, as well as reducing healthcare costs." He adds, "Their expertise and experience in physical activity initiatives for this population will be great assets to the ICAA membership."
Other renowned experts on the ICAA advisory board include Steven Blair, PED, the Cooper Institute; William Evans, PhD, University of Arkansas; Wojtek Chodzko-Zajko, PhD, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign; Jessie Jones, PhD, and Debra Rose, PhD, Center for Successful Aging, California State University Fullerton; Mary Sanders, PhD (C), the University of Nevada-Reno; Gary Applebaum, MD, Erickson Retirement Communities; and Katherine Hamlin, MBA, Health Fitness Corporation.
About Brenda Loube
Brenda Loube, MS, is the president and co-founder of Corporate Fitness Works, Inc. (CFW), which provides customized health promotion and fitness management services to corporations, hospitals, government agencies, office park developers and retirement communities throughout the United States. Loube has 30 years' experience in wellness and fitness programming for all age groups. She earned a bachelor's degree in Physical Education from Towson State University, Maryland, and a master's degree in Physical Education, with an emphasis in Cardiac Rehabilitation, from the University of Wisconsin.
Loube desires to help her clients establish wellness initiatives, so employees and residents can achieve their optimal health and reduce preventable healthcare costs to the community or business. She has been on the board of Women Business Owners of Maryland, was appointed chairperson of the Maryland Advisory Council on Physical Fitness, and presently sits on the American Breast Cancer Foundation's board of directors. Loube was recently recognized as the American Association for Health Education's Health Educator of the Year. In addition, CFW and Loube were recognized as the outstanding Women Business Enterprise in Washington, DC, for 2004.
About Mary Swanson
Mary Swanson, BSc, is founder, president and chief executive officer of HealthCare Dimensions (HCD), based in Tempe, Arizona. An advocate of managing cost and preventing disease, Swanson started HCD on a unique business model of accountable, population-based physical activity programs that she has blended into managed care and insurance companies throughout the United States. A 20-year veteran of the healthcare industry, Swanson has been a visionary at every level of the healthcare system. Her experience includes executive positions with Abbott Laboratories, Baxter HealthCare, Option Care, Inc., and New England CriticalCare.
Swanson serves on the committee for the National Blueprint: Increasing Physical Activity Among Adults Aged 50 and Older. She is also a member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the Fifty-Plus Fitness Organization, America's Health Insurance Plans, the National Council on the Aging, and Women in HealthCare, Phoenix Chapter. Swanson was named the 2003 Health Care Heroes Innovator by the Business Journal of Phoenix.
About the International Council on Active Aging®
The International Council on Active Aging® (ICAA) is the world's largest association dedicated to changing the way we age by uniting and working with professionals in the retirement, assisted living, recreation, fitness, rehabilitation and wellness fields. It connects like-minded professionals who share the goals of changing society's perceptions of aging and improving the quality of life for aging Baby Boomers and older adults within the six dimensions of wellness. The council supports these professionals with education, information, resources and tools, so they can achieve optimal success with this growing market.
- 30 -
Media contacts:
Colin Milner, International Council on Active Aging
Toll-free: 1-866-335-9777 (in North America)
Telephone: 604-734-4466; cell: 604-763-4595; fax: 604-708-4464
colinmilner@icaa.cc
