Ms. Schmitz is the Head of Principal Investing and Fund Management at Ziegler and the Chief Administrative Officer of the Ziegler Link•age Funds, a venture capital fund family with an investment policy designed to support innovation, collaboration and growth among entrepreneurs and senior living and healthcare providers.

With over 10 years of operating and investing experience, she oversees both operations, and development and execution of the Ziegler Link•age Fund’s strategic value proposition. She also manages the funds’ investment pipeline and leads investment execution, including holding investment committee seats in four venture funds representing, in aggregate, over $150mm in commitments. As a strategic investor, Ms. Schmitz takes an active role with many of the companies in which the Ziegler Link•age Funds have invested, including holding seats on four portfolio company Boards of Directors, Smartcare Software, Cosan, LifeSite, and Embodied Labs.

Ms. Schmitz has a strong foundation in US GAAP, internal controls, and mergers and acquisitions through her experience working in the Audit and Transaction Advisory practices of Grant Thornton. She earned a BBA in accounting and Masters of Accountancy from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, is a Wisconsin Certified Public Accountant and maintains Series 7 and 24 securities licenses.

Scott Collins is the CEO of Link•age and is responsible for its strategic direction and growth. Link•age is comprised of three integrated entities: Link•age Solutions –providing cost containment services to more than 600 senior living providers, Link•age Ventures –investing in companies with products, services and technologies for the aging population and Link•age Connect –delivering market research and insight for organizations seeking to better understand the older adult demographic. Prior to joining Link•age, Scott was a vice president and senior account executive with GE Capital Commercial Asset Funding and held senior management positions in the commercial real estate as well as textile industries.

Mary Furlong, Ed.D., President and CEO of Mary Furlong & Associates (MFA), is a leading authority on the longevity marketplace. Successful social and serial entrepreneur, (SeniorNet (1986), ThirdAge Media (1996), and MFA (2002)), Mary has secured over $150 million in venture financing and corporate sponsorships for companies with products and services to serve the needs of the boomer/senior marketplace. Next Avenue named Mary one of its “2016 Influencers in Aging,” she is also a past winner of the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s “Top 100 Women of Influence” award, and the author of Turning Silver into Gold: How to Profit in the New Boomer Marketplace.

Mary produces the industry-leading What’s Next Boomer Business Summit and the Silicon Valley Boomer Venture Summit and Business Plan Competition. She has appeared on NBC, CBS, and NPR and is an advisor to the Ziegler Link•age Longevity Fund, L.P., the Thrive Center, and the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation.

CEO of LifeSite, Chris Wong is a proven executive and highly-regarded strategist in the enterprise software industry. A Silicon Valley veteran, Chris is an experienced tech entrepreneur and operator.

Over the past 35 years, Chris has held a variety of senior management positions and helped chart and participate in the execution of some of the most successful technology companies. Chris has extensive M&A and business development experience, leveraging a vast network of business partners and resources.

Before co-founding LifeSite, Chris served as SVP Corporate & Business Development for Ooyala, CEO for PathConnect, a new media company; EVP and Chief Product Officer for Agile Software, which was acquired by Oracle in July 2007; and VP of Products and Technology Strategy at Peoplesoft. His startup credentials began with SkillsVillage, Inc. as the Chairman, CEO, and Founder of a company which he led from inception to acquisition by PeopleSoft in June 2001.

Chris has and continues to serve as an advisor to several companies and organizations including Garage Technology Ventures, the Make The Difference Network (MTDN), the Joint US-China Cooperation on Clean Energy (JUCCCE), ThinOptics, Avellino Labs and is a Senior Fellow for The Atlantic Council’s GeoTech Center.

Carrie Shaw, MS, is a medical illustrator, public health educator, and CEO & Founder of Embodied Labs, an immersive caregiver training platform.

Founded in 2016, Embodied Labs serves 200+ subscribing organizations including senior services providers, government agencies, hospital systems and corporations to train students, healthcare workforce and informal caregivers. Embodied Labs has been recognized globally for their work by the AARP and Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and has been featured in Oprah Magazine, CBS - The Doctors, The New York Times and CNN International Tech for Good.

Through her work building Embodied Labs, Carrie's mission is to accelerate global behavior change for healthier aging at scale by positively impacting the health of self and others through immersive learning experiences.