M.T. Connolly is a leading expert on elder justice, a MacArthur Foundation fellowship awardee, and author of the 2023 book, "The Measure of Our Age: Navigating Care, Safety, Money, and Meaning Later in Life." She was the architect of the Elder Justice Act (enacted with the Affordable Care Act), founder of the Department of Justice Elder Justice Initiative, and lead author of the Elder Justice Roadmap, shaping federal, state, and local research, policy, and practice. In addition to her writing, she builds multidisciplinary teams that design and pilot more holistic, hopeful, and effective ways to empower people, reduce harm, and promote connection and justice in aging for individuals, families, and society (like the community-based "RISE" model). A USC Center for Elder Justice fellow and adjunct faculty at USC's Davis School of Gerontology, she graduated from Stanford University and Northeastern University School of Law, and lives in Washington, DC.