Grandparents Advisory Board - Grandparents.com

The team at Grandparents.com turns to members of our Advisory Board for some of the same reasons that your grandkids seek you – wisdom and advice. Our Advisory Board helps generate ideas about fun and useful ways for grandkids and grandparents to interact, stay connected and forge even deeper relationships. Our board members share their thoughts and suggestions to help us develop content for the site, plan activities sponsored by Grandparents.com and guide the overall tone and direction of the site to ensure that we meet the needs and interests of modern-day grandparents. We learn from them to make Grandparents.com better every day. Our current Advisory Board members include:

Betty Woodward
Grandparent-in-Residence, Grandparents.com

Betty Woodward The "Aha" Moment for Betty Woodward came in November, 1999. She had just received the phone call she had been waiting nine months for — her first grandchild was about to be born. A resourceful long-time New York resident (via Des Moines, Iowa) Betty had her grandmother-to-be bag packed and was ready to fly to Chicago to be with her son and his wife to welcome her first-born grandchild. But barriers loomed in her way — as head of the PR group at a prestigious advertising agency, she had to gracefully exit a client meeting. Then there was the mad drive in traffic on a Friday night to LaGuardia airport. And the shuttle from the parking lot that was scheduled to stop at her airline last — till she begged the driver to make an exception. She and her husband got to the gate just as it was being closed. But they made it. And only a few hours later, her son placed a five-minute-old infant in her arms — "Mom, this is Louisa Elizabeth" — and from that moment on, everything else in her life took second place.

As Grandparent-in-Residence for Grandparents.com, Betty will be bringing her personal and professional experience to bear in many ways. She will serve as a member of the Grandparents.com Advisory Board, act as an ongoing special contributor to the site and regularly write "Betty’s Book Corner" where she can combine her lifelong love of reading with interesting and useful insights.

Betty is one of the founding members of the Foundation for Grandparenting, a non-profit organization dedicated to Grandparent Power. Her career includes being a freelance writer while a stay-at-home mom, managing the communications department at Save the Children, the international development agency, and holding executive positions as various marketing agencies.

Today, Betty carefully juggles her time as a communication consultant and volunteer — working with hospice and Volunteers in Medicine, a network of free health care clinics staffed by retired medical personnel — with family responsibilities as wife to Ken, mother of Kyle, Jeff and Todd, mother-in-law to Karen and Margaret, all to make sure her commitment to Louisa (age 8), Kaylin (age 8), twins Meg and Audrey (ages 6), Luke (age 6), Henry (age 3) and Hattie who recently celebrated her first birthday is never, ever compromised.

Betty is testament to the fact that a grandparent can have it all.

Betty and her husband of 48 years reside in Westchester County, NY.

David Sable Now a new grandparent to Henry Aaron, David Sable brings his insatiable quest for originality, the power to see solutions and opportunities differently, and an astute grasp of what drives local consumers in a global marketplace to Grandparents.com.

As Chief Operating Officer of Wunderman's since January 2006, David is charged with managing the world's largest global marketing services network and overseeing its operational infrastructure to deliver service excellence and growth.

One of the advertising industry's most innovative thinkers, David is a frequent speaker at industry events, including the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, Venice Festival of Media, Direct Marketing Association, Australian Direct Marketing Association and the Israel Policy Forum, among others. His provocative viewpoints are regularly featured in global marketing press including Advertising Age, Ad Week and Campaign.

As an entrepreneur, David was a founding partner and chief marketing officer of Genesis Direct, which was instrumental in helping the National Hockey League, Major League Baseball, National Basketball Association and National Football League develop innovative direct-to-fan, integrated Internet, brick & mortar, event and catalog-based sports retail businesses across all marketing channels.

David was appointed by the Mayor of the City of New York, Michael Bloomberg, to serve as a member of the Cultural Advisory Committee of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. In April 2006, David was named chair of the Mail Industry Task Force for the United States Postal Service and a member of the Independent Mailing Industry CEO Task Force. David is a member of the Executive Board and chairman of the Marketing Committee of the United Jewish Federation's (UJA) New York chapter, one of the largest philanthropies in the country. In 2006, he was the recipient of the UJA's Maxwell (Mac) Dane Award for Humanitarian Excellence. David also serves as marketing advisor to a number of charitable organizations and universities.

Phyllis Sandler Phyllis Sandler has called Boca Raton home for more than thirteen years and during this time, has made it a priority to use her time, energy and resources to make an enormous difference in the lives of her grandchildren, family and throughout the community. With 11 grandchildren, she often finds herself in a constant state of motion dividing her time among them.

After a career in the life insurance business, where she was 20th in earnings in the United States, Phyllis and husband Harvey founded The Sandler Foundation, which has benefited over 100 charitable institutions. These include Boca Raton Community Hospital, Jewish Federation of South Palm Beach County, Crohn's and Colitis Foundation, Museum of TV and Radio, National Center for Disability Services, JAFCO, Camp Excel for Underprivileged and Troubled Children, The Alzheimer's Foundation, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Congregation B'nai Israel and cancer and lupus research organizations. In addition to their philanthropic and business endeavors, Mrs. Sandler is especially proud of her large family including five children, five spouses and eleven grandchildren:

Brittany – 21 years old
Jordan – 21 years old
Michael – 19 years old
Allison – 15 ½ years old
Jonathan – 12 ½ years old
Evan – 12 ½ years old

Carly – 12 ½ years old
Ryan – 11 years old
Justin – 8 years old
Jake – 6 years old
Jordyn – 4 years old

Beverly Beckham Beverly Beckham began her writing career in 1979. Her articles and essays have appeared in newspapers and magazines around the world. Beckham wrote columns and editorials for the Boston Herald for 19 years and currently writes a weekly Sunday column for the Boston Globe. An advocate for people living with disabilities and victims of drunken drivers, Beckham's award winning articles often give a voice to people who cannot speak for themselves. But most of all, Beckham is known for her reflective words and her ability to make her reader appreciate the extraordinary joys in everyday life.

Beverly is also the author of "A Gift of Time," a collection of personal essays, "Back Then," a memoir of childhood and has contributed to "A 6th Bowl of Chicken Soup for the Soul," "A Second Chicken Soup for the Woman's Soul," and "Chicken Soup for the Mother's Soul 2." She is a frequent guest on radio and TV, as well as a keynote speaker for organizations nationwide.

She lives in Canton with her husband, has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Richard C. Bane Richard C. Bane, President and CEO of Bane Care Management LLC is a Massachusetts native. Mr. Bane is a graduate of Dartmouth College (A.B., Economics, summa cum laude) and Harvard Business School (M.B.A. with Distinction).

Mr. Bane currently serves as Chairman of the Massachusetts Extended Care Federation, that state’s largest professional provider association, and is responsible for advocacy, research and education programs across Massachusetts and the country. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the national publication, Briefings on Long Term Care Regulations. Mr. Bane also serves as the Chairman of The Aurum Network, the largest alliance of independent post acute providers in New England. He has lectured nationally and is considered a thought leader in the industry.

Mr. Bane is also involved in a wide range of corporate and community service activities. He serves as a director of Eastern Bank, a $6.5 billion mutual bank, where he is a member of the Executive Committee and chairs the bank’s Risk Management Committee. He is active as a trustee in a number of Partners Healthcare (Boston, MA) organizations, including North Shore Medical Center, PCHI, and Partners Continuing Care. He is a trustee and member of the Executive Committee of the Pingree School. Recently, he completed a ten-year term as a trustee at Salem State (MA) College, the last three years of which he served as Board Chair. He also led the college’s 2007 Presidential Search Committee.

In addition, Mr. Bane served two years as a Town Selectman in Swampscott, MA, and has been a Rotarian since 1987. In 2006, Mr. Bane was honored with the Community Leadership Award by the Anti-Defamation League, and in 2007 was named “Person of the Year” in his hometown of Marblehead, MA.

Mr. Bane and his family (wife Tami and their two children, Harry - Middlebury ’08 and Haley - Cornell ‘09) reside in Marblehead, MA, and Boca Raton, FL.