E. Douglas Beach, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer of Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging (WRAAA), has empirical leadership experience and expertise at the federal, state, and local levels. Having spent much of his childhood on family farms, it quite naturally followed Dr. Beach would pursue a doctorate in agricultural economics. Engaged in this pursuit at North Carolina State University, Dr. Beach found it necessary to return to Ohio to care for his ailing father. This circumstance led him to an awareness and interest in a different national resource: the senior population.

Dr. Beach began a career advocating for elders while serving as the Ohio Department of Aging's Deputy Director of Programs, and after many years at the Department of Aging, Congressman David L. Hobson (R-OH) asked Dr. Beach to come on board as a staff economist. Utilizing his assured background in education and economics, Dr. Beach drafted major long-term care insurance legislation working for Congressman Hobson; it was then that Dr. Beach's desire to promote and defend the needs of seniors was revitalized.

In September 1999, Dr. Beach was named the CEO of the Senior Resource Alliance, Florida's most prominent and industrious area agency on aging. Under his leadership, the Orlando-based organization's budget rose from $16 million to $25 million. Soon after, the Senior Resource Alliance became Florida's first Aging and Disability Resource Center (ADRC) and was honored as one of the nation's top 10 Information & Referral systems.

February 2007 brought a knock on the door from Governor Charlie Crist tapping Dr. Beach to be Secretary of the Florida Department of Elder Affairs. Although rough economic times ensued, the Department's budget matched in equal measure to meet the needs of Florida's seniors with the preponderance of funding allocated for senior community and healthcare needs.

One of the premier aging providers in the State of Florida, the Council on Aging of Volusia County (COA) welcomed Dr. Beach as its new Executive Director in June 2010. The COA provided traditional Older Americans Act (OAA) services but also emphasized private pay services and in-home Medicare services.

In October 2014, Dr. Beach became Chief Executive Officer of WRAAA. With his blend of skills, business acumen, and respect for older adults and individuals with disabilities, Dr. Beach continues to provide comprehensive leadership and panoptic guidance to future opportunities and anticipated challenges. Over the past decade, Dr. Beach has transformed an agency on the edge into the largest minority-dominated Area Agency on Aging in the State of Ohio.