We're all familiar with routine health checks like mammograms, colonoscopies, and blood pressure tests. But what about a check-up for your brain? While cognitive tests have recently gained attention due to the presidential election, they're an often-overlooked yet crucial part of preventive healthcare.

Sunday Health, a new virtual medical practice in the DMV area, advocates for early cognitive testing. This approach establishes a baseline of brain health, enabling patients to monitor changes in their memory and thinking abilities as they age.

Cognitive tests aren't just for presidential candidates – they're valuable for all older adults. Join us to learn:

1. Why cognitive assessments are important for everyone
2. How these tests are conducted
3. What information they provide
4. How understanding your cognitive health can empower you

Discover how cognitive screenings can help you take control of your brain health, regardless of whether you're running for office or simply running errands.

Maria Thomas, a seasoned digital business leader and CEO (and a resident of Friendship Heights!), has a track record of building innovative companies in commerce and media. Recognizing the growing needs of the U.S. older adult population, she shifted her focus to creating tailored products and services for this demographic in 2019. Before founding Sunday Health, Maria contributed to launching DUOS, which supports independent living for older adults, and collaborated with Camino on developing a modern, "smart" rollator. She holds a Master in Healthcare Innovation from the University of Pennsylvania and an MBA from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management.

Maria will be joined by Kelly O'Connell, Sunday Health’s Director of Clinical Operations, and Sarah Borchelt, a board-certified Adult Geriatric Acute Nurse Practitioner.

Kelly is a board-certified nurse with over a decade of clinical experience, and has served as a clinical instructor, preceptor, and guest lecturer at the University of Virginia School of Nursing. She earned her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Nursing from the University of Virginia. Sarah has over a decade of clinical experience and received her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Nursing at the University of Virginia.

Dr. Naomi Collins spent over 40 years visiting and observing Russia and witnessed firsthand the immense changes the country has gone through. Her book Through Dark Days and White Nights: Four Decades Observing a Changing Russia is an insightful and intimate eyewitness-account, giving glimpses of what life was like in the Soviet Union through the lens of an American woman. This account is singular, among other aspects, because it portrays everyday life in the USSR and Russia over the timespan of four decades, through the eyes of a woman who started as a graduate student in Moscow State University and ended up as the wife of the American Ambassador to Russia.

Rather than retracing the economic and political events of the period, Collins focuses her narrative on daily life as it changed over the years. She offers fascinating anecdotal snapshots that reveal rare insight into the evolving state of the nation.

Naomi F. Collins is a writer and consultant to cultural and higher education organizations. She has served as Executive Director (and before that, Chair) of the Maryland Humanities Council, the Maryland affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and then as Executive Director of NAFSA: Association of International Educators. Her book Through Dark Days and White Nights: Four Decades Observing a Changing Russia was recently featured on The Passenger podcast.

Dr. Collins has served/serves on the Board and Executive Committee of the Arts and Humanities Council, the Literacy Council of Montgomery County, The Writer’s Center, and the Bethesda Metro Area Village.

Ambassador James Collins, a retired career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, served as U.S. Ambassador to the Russian Federation from 1997 to 2001. Prior to that assignment, he held positions as Ambassador-at-Large and Special Advisor to the Secretary of State for the New Independent States in the mid-1990s, and as deputy chief of mission and chargé d’affaires at the American Embassy, Moscow from 1990 to 1993. In addition to three diplomatic postings in Moscow, he also served in the American Embassy in Amman, Jordan and the Consulate General in Izmir, Turkey; positions in the European and Near East bureaus and the executive offices at the Department of State; and on the National Security Council Staff at the White House.

Following retirement from government service, Ambassador Collins worked as Senior Advisor at the public law and policy practice group Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, L.L.P. prior to joining the Carnegie endowment in 2007. He has been active on the boards of non-profit organizations concerned with U.S. foreign policy and U.S. relations with Russia, East Europe and Eurasia, serving presently on the boards of the U.S.-Russia Foundation, the U.S.-Russia Business Council, and the Open World Leadership Center, and previously on the boards of the American Academy of Diplomacy, and American Councils for International Education.

He is the recipient of the Secretary of State’s Award for Distinguished Service; the Department of State’s Distinguished Honor Award; the Secretary of State’s Award for Career Achievement; the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, the NASA Medal for Distinguished Service, and the Woodrow Wilson Award for Public Service.

Daily we hear about the Presidential election, but what about other significant races on the DC ballot this November? The League of Women Voters produces a nonpartisan, online, interactive, voter guide to all DC races, including ANCs. Come learn about the “down-ballot” races, and the pros and cons of Initiative 83. Find out what the candidates have to say for themselves when they respond to questions posed by League members. Learn about the proposal for open primaries and ranked choice voting.

Kathryn Collison Ray is the past president of the DC League of Women Voters. In 2012, she and her late husband, Dennis Beaufort, created the first League online Voter Guide using Vote411 software. They produced Guides for each subsequent election. Kathryn holds a BA and Master’s in American Studies and a MS in Library Science. In 2003, she accepted a position at American University Library shortly after her retirement from the DC Public Library. Her previous work experience includes library positions at The Brookings Institution, The Washingtoniana Division of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library and the Tenley-Friendship Neighborhood Library where she was the manager for 13 years. She has written several book chapters, most recently contributing a chapter on Tenleytown to the book, Washington at Home, published by the Johns Hopkins University Press. She served two terms on the Council of the American Library Association. Kathryn is a docent for the National Park Service-Girl Scout C&O Canal History Program at Riley’s Lock. An active rower, Kathryn’s team is on the Potomac most mornings before dawn. A lifelong Washingtonian, Kathryn lives in American University Park.