Engaging our Aging Population
Age: 32
Founder & CEO
Organization: ConnectCareHero
Osvaldo Montelongo’s passion is to enhance experiences for older adults to keep them healthy and socially engaged through immersive and relevant activity programming. Being a first-generation Latino and having personally experienced senior living with his aging father with dementia, Montelongo knew there had to be a better way to engage older adults in nursing homes with more culturally relevant activities like Latino-focused activities such as mariachi music or cooking classes. “My dad needed more than just bingo and more activities relevant to what he grew up with as a farmer in Mexico.”
He quickly realized how underserved brown and black older adults were when it came to great activity programming whether it’s in a nursing home or their own homes. The effects of poor engagement lead to social isolation & loneliness which puts older adults at 50% higher risk to develop dementia and 31% higher risk for mortality. The COVID pandemic has only amplified this.
That’s why Osvaldo founded ConnectCareHero, a digital social platform that combats social isolation by bringing engaging and diverse virtual activities to adults 65+ wherever they are.
Today ConnectCareHero serves thousands of adults in nursing homes, homecare organizations and looks to expand their reach in coming years to other organizations looking to engage their older senior populations with enhanced virtual programming.
Prior to ConnectCareHero, Montelongo worked as a global marketing manager for eight years for consumer goods companies, ranging from oral care to paint and coatings categories, where he managed strategy, product development and brand rollout into new markets and categories.
Osvaldo is an active member in the Chicago Tech Ecosystem and focuses on diversity inclusion. He’s currently part of 1871, LatinX Incubator, IHCC, Entrenuity MoxE, Alzheimer’s Association of Illinois and most recently Techstars + Melinda Gates’ Pivotal Ventures whose focus is on the future of longevity.
Words of wisdom: “Nunca serás capaz de cruzar el océano hasta que pierdas de vista la costa.” – Spanish proverb
