Aspen & Elder

Laura Ambrosio

Founder + Executive Director

Laura Ambrosio holds a degree in social work and is a caregiver and mom of two. She founded Aspen & Elder to bring people back into community through every season of life. Years of caring for older adults showed her what the research keeps confirming, that generations are healthier when their lives are woven together rather than kept apart. Two years traveling solo around the world deepened it further, showing her how other cultures build support into everyday life in ways we have largely let go of here. She is bringing those values home, building Aspen & Elder as a holistic space where every age belongs and no one moves through the hard parts alone.

Kelly Conroy

President of the Board

Kelly Conroy is a speaker, author, Matrescence Educator, and mom. Her background in biological sciences, anthropology, and communications has guided her involvement in various non-profit organizations as a volunteer, staff, and Executive Director. She currently works to support women through their transition into motherhood and is deeply committed to building a world that centers women, mothers, and children. Kelly grew up in Sacramento and is thrilled to lead the Aspen & Elder Board as it grows into a beacon of community and care in her hometown and beyond.

Zainab Noah

Director of Fundraising

A Navy veteran and proud mother of a 13-year-old son, Zainab Noah is the Founder & Principal Consultant of ZEN Global Enterprises, where she guides nonprofits and small businesses through grant strategy, federal funding, and 501(c)(3) formation. Drawing on 15+ years as a federal contracting officer awarding and evaluating government funds across agencies like NASA, GSA, and the VA, she brings a rare “other side of the table” understanding of how funders think and decide. As Fundraising Director, she’s committed to building Aspen & Elder a sustainable, grant-ready funding foundation that helps the organization serve families for the long haul.

Halley Inez Miglietta

Secretary

Halley Miglietta is a social-emotional educator and curriculum designer who believes that meaningful relationships are at the heart of lifelong learning. Through her work as the founder of Love School, she develops workshops and educational experiences that foster self-awareness, emotional well-being, and authentic connection.

Serving as Secretary of the Aspen & Elder Board of Directors, Halley is excited to help cultivate a community where people of every generation can gather to learn, share wisdom, and grow together. She is especially inspired by spaces that bridge ages and life experiences, creating opportunities for curiosity, belonging, and mutual learning.

Clair Moore

Treasurer

Clair is a clinical herbalist striving to make herbalism available and accessible to the community. With both a brick & mortar apothecary and a traveling mobile shop, she brings her unique herbal formulations to Sacramento and beyond, encouraging folks to learn how to work with herbs. Running two small businesses has made her fluent in the everyday work of budgets, books, and cash flow, and she brings that same steady oversight to Aspen & Elder as Treasurer, keeping our finances clear and our records clean.

Wren Appleby

Director of Culture & Connection

Wren Appleby is passionate about cultivating community, connection, and belonging. A former elementary educator of 20+ years, she now welcomes people to Hawk + Horse Healing Sanctuary in the Mojave Desert for equine-facilitated healing experiences. As Director of Culture & Community, she brings a heart for creating spaces where people feel seen, inspired, and connected.

Erin Lane

Creative Program Director

Erin Lane is the founder of Swoon Studio + Co, a curated indie goods shop, creative workshop studio, and community events space. She has built exactly the kind of warm, inclusive, come-as-you-are space that Aspen & Elder aspires to, one that welcomes all abilities, celebrates every person’s creative voice, and lets people connect, try new things, and feel their feelings. She brings that lived experience of growing a real community gathering space to our board.

Riva Jean-Paul

Director of Inclusion & Safe Space Design

Riva Jean-Paul holds a degree in arts management and is currently working toward her master’s in art therapy and counseling. She is the founder of Winds of Change, where she works as a trauma-informed somatic practitioner and certified menstrual cycle coach, supporting women in becoming literate in their own cycles and living in a way that truly honors their bodies and histories. Since 2019, she has also worked closely with Clara E. School of Performing Arts as an arts educator and program manager. A deep commitment to creating safe spaces, especially for women and children, runs through all of her work, backed by extensive training in trauma-informed care. Her experience spans large organizations including CalPERS, UC Davis, and the Natomas Unified School District.