Council on Aging is pleased to announce that Senior Innovation Designer Jai’La Nored has been named to the Business Courier’s Forty Under 40 Class of 2022. The annual awards program recognizes young leaders and professionals from across Greater Cincinnati.
Jai’La and her 39 fellow Class of 2022 members are among the best and brightest Cincinnati-area young professionals who represent a range of businesses as well as nonprofits and arts organizations. See all the 2022 honorees here.
Not even 10 years into her career, Jai’La is uniquely accomplished both professionally and personally. Professionally, she has a passion and drive to identify and develop better, more efficient ways to help older adults in our community age in place, rather than prematurely enter a nursing home.
In her role as Senior Innovation Designer at COA, she has managed development – in conjunction with the University of Cincinnati’s LiveWell Collaborative – of two notable original, technology-based solutions designed to address common challenges related to supporting older adults to stay in their homes – where they prefer to be. These technologies are one-of-a-kind and have the potential to be scaled and adopted for statewide or national use.
- AddnAide Mobile and Web App. AddnAide was developed to help lessen the impact of a nationwide shortage of home health aides, which is also affecting southwestern Ohio. Older adults often rely on aides to provide critical care needed to remain in their homes. AddnAide broadens the potential pool of aides (beyond those who work for traditional agencies), by matching, via the app, older adults who need aide services with someone interested in working as their aide. Learn more about AddnAide.
- EVRTalk. More than one in five Americans is a family caregiver, often called upon to perform critical caregiving tasks without training. EVRTalk is a virtual reality (VR) experience designed to help family caregivers feel more comfortable in that role. It presents caregiving realities from both the caregiver’s and the care recipient’s points of view, helping to encourage empathy and understanding of what older adults may experience when being cared for. Participants wear a VR headset and are immersed into a complete environment equipped with digital conversations and graphics. Learn more about EVRTalk.
The need for the work in which Jai’La is engaged will only become more urgent as the population in southwestern Ohio – and the United States – continues to age. For example, in Hamilton County, it is projected that almost 25 percent of the population will be 60 or older by 2040. This work will not only make a notable impact in the lives of older adults and their caregivers, it will also positively impact the business community. Assistance from a home health aide and confidence in caregiving skills make for more engaged employees when they do not have to worry about whether aloved one is safe and healthy.
Personally, Jai’La has been actively engaged in organizing and advocating on behalf of those whose needs aren’t being met and at-risk individuals and communities for a decade.
Congratulations, Jai’La!
Career Achievements section (10 points); List position(s) held and organization name(s) for the duration of his/her career.•Community Matters Intern, Community Matters (Lower Price Hill Community School), May 2014 – August 2015 •Community Organizer – Intern, Greater Cincinnati Homeless Coalition, August 2015 – May 2016 •Quality Analyst, Council on Aging, June 2016-January 2019 •Innovation Coordinator, Council on Aging, January 2019-September 2020 •Senior Innovation Designer, Council on Aging, September 2020-PresentDescribe specific examples of how the nominee has moved to higher positions over his/her career. Include any professional development he/she has been involved in.Jai’La began her career as a Quality Analyst at COA in June of 2016, immediately after receiving her bachelor’s degree in Social Work with a minor in Gender and Diversity Studies from Xavier University.She worked in this position for two years and eight months. Recognized for her creative problem-solving, application of data to solve business challenges and dedication to Council on Aging’s mission, Jai’La was tapped in January of 2019 as Innovation Coordinator, becoming the first employee in COA’s newly created Innovation Department. Over the next year and a half, Jai’La built COA’s relationship with the University of Cincinnati’s LiveWell Collaborative, a partnership that has resulted in development of two innovative and potentially game-changing apps intended to benefit older adults, caregivers, and the community at large – AddnAide and EVRTalk (described in Question 1).As a result of this partnership, LiveWell has tapped COA as a subject matter expert to inform their other endeavors, including a project with Procter & Gamble related to older adults, hygiene and personal care.In addition, learnings from the development of EVRTalk were used to help inform the Consumer Technology Association’s Best Practices for Limited Mobility in XR.Jai’La has also led the development and implementation of COA’s employee intranet and other projects that have touched all COA’s programs in some way.With these successes, Jai’La was promoted to Senior Innovation Designer in September of 2020. She hasbecome a sought-after resource within COA when a creative solution is required to fix a problem or launch a new service.Jai’La is a Lean Six Sigma White Belt and is a certified Family Resource Builder Trainer.Community Involvement section (10 points); List board/membership/volunteer activities with dates and positions held.Jai’La generously volunteers her time to a number of community organizations: •Social Work Advisory Board Member, Xavier University oAugust 2016-Present
•Secretary & Chairperson of the Board, Community MattersoApril 2019-Present •Advisor on Civil Rights and Social Action, Rosemary’s Babies Co.o January 2018-Present •Volleyball Sport Coordinator and Coach for Girls with Grito Jan 2019-Present Previous volunteer and leadership roles include:•Co-Chair, Dissent Sisters (Empowerment) Sub-Committee, Hamilton County Commission on Women and GirlsoDecember 2017-December 2018 •ACE Matters, Secretary Community MattersoJanuary 2018- January 2019 •President, Student Social Work Organization, Xavier UniversityoAug 2015-May 2016 •President & Vice President, Commuter Council, Xavier UniversityoAug 2013-May 2015•University Planning and Resourcing Council Student Member, Xavier UniversityoEnvironment Committee: August 2014-May 2015 oParking Committee: Aug 2015-May 2016 Describe specific projects (outside of the candidate’s profession) the nominee has been involved with that go above and beyond usual involvement.In addition to her work with Council on Aging and as a volunteer, Jai’La has worked in leadership roles for individuals’ campaigns for seats within local boards and commissions: •Campaign Manager for Mike Moroski for Cincinnati Public School Board, February-November 2017 oCampaign resulted in a position on the board, and Moroski continues to serve in this capacity•Operations and Political Director for the James Wolf for Hamilton County Commissioner campaign, February-May 2018 •Field Director for the Jill Schiller for OH-2 campaign, May-September 2018 Awards and recognition section (5 points); List dates and award/recognition names the nominee has received (either professionally or personally) with a brief description of what it was for and who it was given by.As a student at Xavier University, Jai’La received several high-profile awards:1.National Association of Social Workers Region 6 Social Work Student of the Year, 2016 a.Award recognizes social work students in southwestern Ohio who have demonstrated great passion and aptitude for the field of social work.2.Xavier University Unsung Hero Award, 2014 a.Award recognized service to student organizations. 3.Outstanding Contribution to Commuter and Off Campus Students Award, 2015 and 2016
a.As a commuting student, Jai’La worked to develop programming specific to these students. Prior to that, most university programming was mostly directed only toward students living on campus. b.Jai’La co-lead an effort to develop and implement an inclement weather policy. When she began as a commuting student, there was no blanket policy for class cancellations due to inclement weather. Professors made their own decisions about whether to hold class, often at the peril of students who could not safely get to campus