The 2026 OPEN MINDS Aging Services & Supports Summit

Stephen Samuels is Vice President of Innovation & Impact Investing at the national office of Volunteers of America (VOA), one of the nation’s largest and most experienced nonprofit providers of housing, health, and human services. In this role, he leads market-driven growth and multi-sector partnerships to expand VOA’s housing and value-based health initiatives.

Stephen also directs VOA’s Futures Fund, an impact investing subsidiary, which has deployed more than $3 million in catalytic capital to advance innovation and entrepreneurship both within the organization and among early-stage founders across the country. Under his leadership, VOA tests and pilots emerging technology solutions that improve the quality of life for clients nationwide. Some of the most successful have been in the areas of financial security, agetech, workforce development and maternal health.

Most recently, Stephen oversaw the research and publication of Residents First: Technology for Connection and Healthy Living in Affordable Senior Housing—a study which provides a people-centered roadmap for effective technology and health integration in older adult resident communities.

Before joining VOA, Stephen served as Executive Director of Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) in Greater Kansas City, one of the country’s leading community development financial institutions. He recently served on the national Advisory Research Council for Catalyzing Community Investment for Health Equity, a collaboration of the Build Healthy Places Network and the Association for Community Affiliated Plans; and is an Advisory Board member for CareAxis, a new service coordination platform for housing operators.

Stephen holds degrees in Urban Planning and Business Real Estate from the University of Cincinnati. Although his office is in Alexandria, VA, he works remotely from his home in Sacramento, CA.

Kari Evans is a results-oriented monitoring, evaluation, and research expert with over 15 years of experience generating data-driven insights to enhance domestic and international community development programs. She specializes in approaches that center local voices and shared ownership, ensuring that evidence generation is grounded in community priorities and leads to meaningful, actionable change.

Kari is skilled in designing and implementing participatory monitoring and evaluation frameworks that combine qualitative and quantitative approaches to capture the depth of lived experience. She brings a human perspective to data and insights, using interviews, focus groups, participatory mapping, and other qualitative methods to center the stories behind the numbers. Her work emphasizes co-creation with stakeholders, integrating community knowledge with rigorous research design to enhance program effectiveness, equity, and sustainability.

Her technical expertise spans public health, governance and human rights, water and sanitation, and gender and social inclusion. She holds a master’s degree from The George Washington University’s Elliott School of International Affairs, where she focused on gender and development in the Middle East, and a bachelor’s degree with distinction in Foreign Affairs and a minor in Middle East Studies from the University of Virginia.

Dr. Yeh is a passionate advocate for healthcare transformation and healthy aging.  Her career has spanned the industry: providers, payers, tech companies, nonprofits, and the government. Roles have included Chief Medical Officer, AARP Services Inc.; Regional Administrator, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; and emergency department chief.

Dr. Yeh received an MD from Northwestern University Medical School. She has extensive board experience and has garnered many honors for her work.