Trish Lopez is earning Hall of Fame status for her work in founding Teeniors, the Albuquerque startup that matches tech-savvy teens with seniors who need help managing smartphones and other devices.
Albuquerque-based Silver Horizons, a 35-year-old nonprofit that assists low-income seniors, named Lopez as an inductee into this year’s Hall of Fame Awards.
Silver Horizons opened its awards ceremony, which began in 1980, to non-seniors for the first time this year, making Lopez, 38, the youngest Hall of Fame inductee to date, said Silver Horizons board member and award ceremony chair Cecilia Webb.
“She (Lopez) has dedicated her life to helping seniors in an innovative fashion through Teeniors,” Webb said.
Lopez, a Belen native, launched Teeniors last year after pitching her idea at a startup weekend.
Teeniors has helped more than 300 seniors in the Albuquerque metro area and Santa Fe through one-on-one coaching and group sessions.
Dozens of teens have participated, earning $15 an hour for each session organized by Teeniors.
Lopez also earned a scholarship to attend Aging 2.0’s startup boot camp last month in San Francisco after Teeniors won the “people’s choice award” at an Aging 2.0 Washington, D.C., chapter event early this year. Aging 2.0 is a global organization that works to accelerate innovation to improve the lives of older adults.
