Cynthia Stuen is the Main Representative to the United Nations on behalf of the International Federation on Ageing and is Chair of the NGO Committee on Ageing/NY. Dr. Stuen is active in advocacy for the protection of the human rights of older persons and monitoring of inclusion of older persons in the UN’s Agenda 2030 and support of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing.
Serving in various capacities at Lighthouse International during her 24 year tenure. She was Director of its National Center for Vision and Aging developing public and professional education on age-related vision and hearing loss for older persons. Her last position was as Senior Vice President, Chief Professional Affairs Officer that involved advocating for policies to support older sensory impaired persons at the national, state and local level while also maintaining involvement and education in international environments to preserve sight and prevent excess disability resulting from vision and other sensory impairments.
Her numerous publications, presentations and research endeavors cover topics of age-related sensory loss, evidence-based electronic records, access to environments for older adults with impaired vision and contributions older persons make to society.
Dr. Stuen is a past Chair of the American Society on Aging (ASA) She is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and also the NY Academy of Medicine. Her entire professional career has been in the field of aging.
Dr. Stuen received her Bachelor’s Degree from Valparaiso University, her Master’s Degree from the University of Chicago and her doctorate from Columbia University School of Social Work.