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Our Contributors & Experts
Caring’s team of experienced writers and editors is responsible for creating high-quality content that helps seniors and their families find the answers they need, regardless of where they are in their search.
We work with expert contributors and others in our industry network to simplify the caregiving and care-finding experience. We also lean on proprietary and industry data to help inform our content — all to advance our mission of helping seniors and their caregivers through empathetic, expert guidance.
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Top resources for seniors and caregivers
We have thousands of expert-written articles to help you learn more about care options.
Editorial Team
Our editorial team leads our efforts to provide seniors and their families with high-quality resources during their search for senior living and care, including in-depth guides, surveys and more.
Daniel Cobb began his career as a freelance writer over five years ago writing for websites such as TheSimpleDollar.com and Reviews.com. Since then, he has specialized in writing, editing, and managing the content team for Caring.com and other senior living websites. Over the last five years, he’s developed a deep understanding of the senior living industry and has enjoyed creating exceptional content that reaches millions of visitors every month.
Daniel’s experience with caregiving began when his grandmother, who suffered from dementia, moved in with his family when he was a teenager. During that time, he grew to appreciate both the joys and stresses of caregiving as he helped his family take care of her. Fast forward to today, and Daniel is learning about the challenges of caregiving for his mother long-distance. He uses both experiences to empathize with the caregivers he seeks to support when creating helpful resources and articles on Caring.com and other senior living sites.
For more on Daniel’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Rachel Lustbader is a writer and editor with a background in healthcare and technology. Her work has been published on websites including HealthCare.com, BiteSizeBio.com, BetterHelp.com, Caring.com, and PayingforSeniorCare.com. She studied health science and public health at Boston University.
Both of Rachel’s grandmothers had very positive experiences in senior living communities, and Rachel saw firsthand the impact that kind, committed caregivers and community managers can have on seniors’ and their family members’ lives. With her work at Caring, Rachel hopes to help other families find communities, caregivers, and at-home products that benefit elderly loved ones and make life less stressful for family caregivers
For more on Rachel’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Expert Contributors
We collaborate with subject matter experts to create helpful, relevant, and accurate resources. We work with seasoned experts in the fields of geriatrics, care management, and various medical specialties to encompass the many facets of caregiving and senior living. Our collaborators review and contribute to our content to ensure its validity and relevance, helping us provide guidance and support for our audience. Experts have various degrees of involvement in our content creation, but all provide invaluable expertise and industry knowledge.
Dr. Viorica Stavarache is a highly skilled physician specializing in elderly care, with expertise in Family, Emergency, and Internal Medicine. She holds a medical degree from Romania and has completed her Family Medicine Residency, followed by a Fellowship in Emergency Medicine. With international experience, including Canada, she continuously enhances her skills to meet professional standards. Dr. Stavarache actively contributes to Gerontology articles and engages in senior care audits.
For more on Viorica’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Kristi Bickmann, a licensed Long-Term Care Specialist, represents top-rated "Traditional" & "Hybrid" LTC companies. Serving associations such as the American Nurses Association, she's a licensed insurance agent in 27 states. Specializing in insurance products for seniors, Kristi helps hundreds of families every year protect assets, retirement, and loved ones. She understands aging concerns firsthand, having assisted her own parents. Kristi ensures accuracy on topics about senior long-term care and its consequences.
For more on Kristi’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Carina has over a decade of experience as a lawyer and legal advisor. She has assisted clients with family and elder law matters, including estate planning, wills, medical care planning and division of retirement assets in divorce. Her expertise extends to litigation, nursing home abuse and Medicare laws. Carina holds a law degree from the University of Colorado and has completed additional courses in estate planning, family and healthcare law.
For more on Carina’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Frank has the second longest tenure with the Stearns Retirement Group. As a fiduciary and investment advisor representative he plays an important role when it comes to preserving the longevity of your dollars. He is a certified Medicare and Social Security specialist as well as a financial advisor. There is a great amount of confusion over Social Security and healthcare in retirement, but they play a critical role in retirement planning. That’s why Frank has dedicated himself to understanding the “rights of passage” that every retiree experiences.
For more on Frank’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Dr. Reisman is a licensed Audiologist and Hearing Aid Dispenser in New York State. She holds certification by the American Speech and Hearing Association and is a fellow of the American Academy of Audiology. Dr. Reisman currently heads the Audiology department for Lenox Hill Hospital in NYC, and is a professor at the CUNY Graduate Center and Touro College. She has been recognized as the first audiologist to successfully fit the new Maxum Middle Ear Implant in the tri-state area and the first in the country to successfully fit a Cochlear Bone Anchored Hearing Aid device with the magnetic attract implant system. Her experience in the evaluation and rehabilitation of hearing and balance disorders is wide-ranged. Dr. Reisman’s research and methods in the assessment and treatment of hearing disorders in some of the most challenging cases have been awarded and recognized within the field of Audiology.
For more on Ruth’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Rachel is a skilled finance manager with a Master of Accounting and a Bachelor of Arts in English. With 10 years of experience in finance, she specializes in business, finance, law, real estate, and marketing. Rachel has worked in personal financial planning, wealth management, and tax accounting, serving senior clients, and has spent nine years in corporate financial planning and analysis. Currently, she manages finances for a Fortune 500 company in New York City.
For more on Rachel’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Nicholas is the Clinical Nurse Manager for the Center of Advanced Liver Disease at University Hospital in Newark, NJ. Nicholas specializes in transformational leadership and quality patient care with more than twelve years of experience in various specialties including adult critical care, cardiac disease, geriatrics and liver transplant. Nicholas began his career in acute care medical-surgical intensive care nursing and has since transitioned into outpatient ambulatory services where he focuses on improving patient care and staff development.
For more on Nicholas’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Gene Altaffer has a Masters in Gerontology from the University of Southern California and has worked in many avenues along the continuum of long-term care, assisting thousands of clients and their families since 1995. He also sold long-term care insurance from numerous carriers while also assisting families with retirement planning. Gene helps seniors navigate their Medicare plans, ensuring they understand their benefits and options.
For more on Gene’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Meet Kim, an expert in sales, estate sales, and antiques. As the former owner of a successful estate sale company, Kim worked diligently to ensure that the belongings of loved ones were honored and the home respected. With an exceptional eye for detail and a deep understanding of client needs, Kim is the go-to professional for families looking to navigate the complexities of estate sales. Trustworthy, knowledgeable, and compassionate, Kim is dedicated to providing guidance on selecting the right estate sale company and educating clients how to prepare.
For more on Kim’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
David is the founder of Stearns Retirement Group. He specializes on the particular needs of retirees and those approaching retirement for over 20 years. David’s approach to freedom and stability in retirement are both refreshing and realistic. He understands the anxieties that many are facing when they consider preserving and distributing their retirement funds.
Molli (Grossman) Rothseid, PhD, MSW, is an accomplished gerontologist and social worker. She has enriched the academic community with several peer-reviewed papers and shared her insights on caregiving, aging, and dementia through various blog posts. With hands-on experience supporting family caregivers and individuals with memory impairments, she now applies her expertise as a psychotherapist, specializing in aging and chronic illness.
For more on Molli’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Christopher Norman is a Board-Certified Geriatric Nurse Practitioner and Advanced Practice Holistic Nurse. Christopher holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from the State University of New York at Geneseo, a Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from Dominican College of Blauvelt, a Master’s of Science in Nursing degree with a Global Health Concentration from Yale University, and a Post-Master’s Certificate in Gerontology from New York University; he is currently considering doctoral programs.
Since graduating from Geneseo in 2004, Christopher has spent his Nursing career working almost exclusively with older people: first as a Nurse’s Aide (Mental Health Worker) on a geriatric unit in an inpatient psychiatric hospital, then as a Registered Nurse on a medical-surgical floor specialized for the elderly, and finally as a Geriatric Nurse Practitioner across all levels of care – home, continuum of care residences, assisted living facilities, inpatient hospitals, and skilled nursing homes. Christopher currently works as a GNP with a managed long-term care program in Central New York.
For more on Christopher’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Mandi Chambless graduated with her Doctorate of Audiology in 2006 from the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. She saw patients in both private practice and Ear, Nose and Throat clinics, offering hearing aid evaluations and balance assessments before spending ten years of her professional career working as a trainer for one of the top five hearing aid manufacturers on the market. During her time in manufacturing, she provided clinical support for hearing healthcare professionals and assisted in training providers on hearing aid technology and standards of care. Mandi developed and implemented the Remote Support Audiology program, the first of its kind, offering remote support to hearing healthcare providers and their patients. For the past two years, Mandi has worked as a Clinical Specialist for a cochlear implant manufacturer, providing clinical support and acting as a business partner to clinics in the Austin and San Antonio, Texas areas.
For more on Mandi’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Heather Suri is a Registered Nurse with 20 years of experience primarily in geriatrics and hospice. She holds a Bachelors in Nursing from Western Governors University and is certified as a Care Manager through NACCM. She is a member of the Aging Life Care Association at the Advanced Professional level.
In addition to practicing as a Geriatric Care Manager, Heather is the Director of Nursing for Griswold Home Care NoVA West. Heather volunteers her time in the community through a program she developed called The Caregiver Resource Hour, as well as for Girl Scouts of America.
For more on Heather’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Dr. Brindusa Vanta is a health care professional, researcher, and an experienced medical writer (2000+ articles published online and several medical ebooks). She received her MD degree from “Iuliu Hatieganu” University of Medicine, Romania, and her HD diploma from OCHM – Toronto, Canada.
For more on Brindusa’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Dr. Diana Rangaves, Google Scholar, a distinguished board-certified pharmacist, brings extensive expertise in senior care, mental health, and finance. With a doctorate from the University of California and over 30 years of healthcare experience, she combines her academic prowess as a professor, teaching critical thinking, ethics, pharmacology, addiction, behavior patterns, pharmacy, and nursing. Dr. Rangaves is dedicated to improving the well-being of seniors through her profound knowledge and compassionate approach to health care.
For more on Diana’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Kevin is an experienced litigator with significant experience representing nursing homes and assisted living facilities in malpractice and senior abuse cases. Kevin also has experience in estate planning and probate litigation. His experience offers a uniquely diverse perspective into the world of senior life and senior care.
Marc Levesque is a Resource Coordinator who provides in-home assessments, connections to services and assists with long-range planning. Marc is committed to helping seniors and their families throughout the aging process. Marc is a team member at Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging and a trusted resource for families, many of whom he has worked with for nearly a decade.
Deidre has worked in the healthcare field for over 35 years and specializes in Geriatrics. Deidre is a nurse who holds a certification from the National Academy of Certified Care Managers and is a Certified Dementia Practitioner. She has worked across all healthcare settings, with a concentration on the community and helping older and disabled adults age in place. She has worked on NIH grant-funded program evaluation projects and considers herself a life-long learner. Deidre is a valued team member at The Hartford HealthCare Center for Healthy Aging in Hartford, CT.
Authors
Our content features experienced authors with backgrounds in areas including senior care, finance, and health care. Our authors are dedicated to ensuring that seniors and their loved ones have the most accurate and helpful information that enables them to make informed senior living and senior care decisions.
Tiffany Amber Stockton, an award-winning author and speaker, excels in crafting narratives on senior healthcare, with an expertise in memory care after helping her grandfather live with dementia. With twenty-six published books to her credit, she uniquely blends literary prowess with a compassionate understanding of the challenges faced by older adults. Follow her on LinkedIn for updates on her distinguished writing career in the realm of professional copywriting and copyediting.
For more on Tiffany’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Laure seamlessly blends a healthcare background, with a focus on senior living and heart health, with her passion for writing. Beginning as a nurse’s aide, she transitioned into crafting compelling written content after college. With experience in bedside caregiving and a dedication to patient well-being, especially in memory care, Laure bridges the worlds of healthcare and storytelling, offering valuable insights and compassionate perspectives to readers.
For more on Laure’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
With over a decade of dedicated experience, Andrea Miller boasts an extensive background in healthcare writing and editing. Her expertise spans various facets of the healthcare industry, with a particular focus on nursing, senior care, Alzheimer’s disease, and public health. Andrea has also contributed her editorial talents to reputable publishers in the Philadelphia region, complementing her extensive freelance work.
For more on Andrea’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Lauren Thomas is a seasoned writer that specializes in long-term care, with a special focus on dementia-related topics. She holds a degree in counseling and uses her knowledge and experience to create insightful content that gives seniors and families the information they need to make important care decisions.
For more on Lauren’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Lauren is an experienced copywriter with a passion for crafting impactful narratives in the senior care industry. Her work covers essential topics such as assisted living and dementia care, providing valuable insights to readers. Collaborating with leading senior care provider websites such as Caring.com, PayingforSeniorCare.com, and AssistedLiving.org has deepened her appreciation for senior living and elder healthcare. Lauren’s goal is to empower seniors and their families with the knowledge needed for informed long-term care decisions.
For more on Lauren’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Lisa A. Koosis is an experienced copywriter, who has ghostwritten extensively for clients in the senior living and memory care arena. In recent years, she’s penned countless articles on topics ranging from Medicare to creativity for older adults. Lisa is also a traditionally published novelist and a prize-winning short story writer. She holds a degree in writing and literature from Long Island University.
For more on Lisa’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
In the past year, Theresa has authored nearly one hundred pieces of content on senior living and healthcare, with a particular emphasis on memory care. She is dedicated to rigorous research, consistently sourcing authoritative material to bolster the credibility of her work. Her prolific writing career includes 29 children’s and teen books, 7 romance novels, and numerous short stories.
For more on Theresa’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Karina is a seasoned content writer with a robust foundation in English and Political Science. With extensive experience in senior living projects, she specializes in assisted living and memory care topics. Her well-researched articles aim to empower older adults throughout the United States by providing informative and supportive resources.
For more on Karina’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Jackie Smart is an author and freelance content writer. For the past five years, she has written on numerous subjects, especially senior living, drawing on her own experiences of researching assisted living for an elderly relative. Jackie has since written extensively on the subject, focusing on how older adults can find help accessing services and the resources and programs in place to help them finance their long-term care.
For more on Jackie’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Leigh Morgan has more than 15 years of experience writing about senior care. She’s the author of “Financial Safety for Seniors: 77 Tips for Preventing Elder Financial Abuse” and has written hundreds of articles about Medicare, Medicaid, assisted living communities, nursing homes and memory care. Morgan developed an interest in senior care while recruiting home health nurses, certified nursing assistants and patient care technicians for a large health care system.
For more on Leigh’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Jennifer Gorman is a freelance healthcare and finance writer with a special focus on issues relevant to America’s seniors. She’s spent the past 5 years researching and writing about senior living options, from home care and adult day care to assisted living and nursing homes. Her financial writing often focuses on Medicare, Medicaid, and long-term care insurance, and how to use these options to pay for senior care.
For more on Jennifer’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Ashlee Shefer is a freelance copywriter, content writer, and digital marketer who specializes in senior care, mental health, health care, and other wellness-related topics. She has one year of experience writing both short- and long-form content related to senior resources, assisted living, nursing homes, and home care, including blog posts, research-based articles, resource guides, product reviews, facility blurbs, finances, and care costs.
For more on Ashlee’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Sarah has produced thousands of articles in diverse niches over her decade-long career as a full-time freelance writer. This includes substantial content in the fields of senior care and health care. She has experience writing about wide-ranging topics, such as types of care, care costs, funding options, state Medicaid programs and senior resources.
For more on Sarah-Jane’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Former Contributors
The experts listed below have previously helped our editorial team with prior articles and content projects. We appreciate all of our past collaborators for their assistance in helping millions of seniors and caretakers over the years.
Christina is a Certified Senior Advisor (CSA) and Geriatric Care Manager (GCM) who is passionate about seniors and their families. For decades, Christina has worked at all levels of the senior health care industry, serving as director of admissions and marketing for assisted living, nursing homes, memory care, and independent living communities. She also served as a support group facilitator for the Alzheimer’s Association. Her educational training is in Human Services Counseling.
Before taking her elder care services nationwide through Virtual Consultations, Christina Drumm-Boyd founded Care Connect of Hampton Roads (CCHR) in Virginia in 2006. More than a decade later, CCHR continues to grow in size and popularity as it provides comprehensive guidance and access to quality elder care services.
For more on Christina’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Lisa Gary is a solo practitioner with over 10 years of experience standing up for the most vulnerable members of our society. She has primarily focused her career on representing victims of abuse and discrimination, both young and old. Lisa has worked in small boutique litigation firms focused on injury, abuse, and elder law. They also have experience in larger global law firm settings. Lisa graduated summa cum laude from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and obtained their J.D. from Fordham University School of Law, where they were also in the top of their class.
For more on Lisa’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Kathleen, a dedicated freelance writer and content creator, excels in crafting informative content for seniors and their families. Her expertise helps guide them through the complexities of healthcare options, care facilities, insurance, and financial assistance. With numerous articles published by respected outlets such as Caring.com, Kathleen’s work stands as a valuable resource in making well-informed decisions for their unique needs.
For more on Kathleen’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Katy Hebebrand, based in Pensacola, FL, boasts over a decade of writing experience, including five years in the healthcare sector. She has contributed her expertise to WebMD and currently applies her skills in a marketing role at a local hospital. Beyond her professional endeavors, Katy is an avid reader, methodically ticking titles off her extensive reading list, and enjoys quality time with her husband and three children.
For more on Katy’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Kaia Koglin has been writing professionally since 2011. She creates informative content about health care and senior living. She’s explored mental health, senior finances, assisted living and other care options, and government aid programs, and loves knowing her work helps people access the assistance they need.
For more on Kaia’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Alicia, a University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee graduate, is a dedicated writer with a strong track record. Based in Los Angeles, she has secured contracts with prominent companies such as Coalition Technologies, Vivial Media in New York, SimpleTense Education, and EatNiketo. Her writing spans diverse clients, including CVS and Cirque du Soleil, and she specializes in senior health topics, covering everything from care to resources.
For more on Alicia’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Bethany Grace Buchanan RN, BSN, BSW owns and operates a nine-bed Memory Care Home for Seniors with Alzheimer’s and other forms of Dementia. She works closely with her staff, families and healthcare professionals to improve and optimize care for seniors with various forms of dementia living in her home. She has more than 20 years of experience working in healthcare including 8 years as a hospital staff nurse.
She received her degrees in Nursing from Excelsior College in Albany New York and her degree in Social Work from Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Bethany also provides consulting services nationwide to help others set up Residential Assisted Living Homes for seniors.
For more on Bethany’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Linda Ackerman, R.N., has clinical experience focused in oncology, women’s health, and medical nursing. She has been practicing for more than 20 years and is a licensed RN in both Florida and Wisconsin. In addition, she serves as a board member of Breast Cancer Recovery and the Wisconsin Cancer Council.
Ackerman currently works full-time for a nonprofit insurance company. She manages a staff of seven medical professionals who consult by telephone with clients to help them acquire the most accurate information about standard treatment options.
She and her staff educate clients about their diagnoses and help clarify interpretations of medical services and tests provided by their physicians and other health care providers. She and her staff support these people throughout treatment.
Ackerman is committed to enhancing patient advocacy both in her professional role and as a community volunteer, helping elders and others get the information they need to make informed decisions regarding their health.
Rabbi Richard F. Address, D.Min., serves as the Union for Reform Judaism’s only consultant and specialist on spiritual and programmatic issues concerning older adults and baby boomers. He created the award-winning program known as Sacred Aging. He teaches classes in this and related subjects in the rabbinic and doctor of ministry programs at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, and he speaks on these issues across North America. His interest in this area was motivated by his previous work in developing programs for congregations on the subject of family concerns and caring communities.
Rabbi Address has authored numerous articles and book chapters on issues of aging and spirituality. His writings include That You May Live Long: Caring for our Aging Parents, Caring for Ourselves, which he coedited with Hara E. Person; and To Honor and Respect. He founded and edits the website www.jewishsacredaging.com and contributes to sites such as www.silverplanet.com.
Rabbi Address was ordained at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati (1972) and received his doctor of ministry from the same institution ion 1999. In 1998 he received a certificate in pastoral counseling from the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health in New York City.
Linda Adler received graduate training in both health education and health communication. As the manager for the Shared Decision Making Project at Kaiser Permanente, she learned the value of assisting patients in designing treatment plans that reflect their personal values and preferences. Her extensive training in decision support while working at Stanford University helped her understand that every person undergoing a healthcare challenge and every caregiver who supports them must find their individual way through the crisis.
Jane Andersen, DPM, is a podiatrist in private practice in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. She obtained her undergraduate degree from Indiana University at Bloomington. She then attended the California College of Podiatric Medicine in San Francisco, California, followed by a three-year advanced surgical residency at Stanford University Medical Center and DVAMC in Palo Alto, California. She is board certified in foot surgery by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery.
Dr. Andersen provides care to all types of patients and especially enjoys seeing the geriatric population in her area. As a podiatrist, she uses conservative care and surgery to treat all aspects of foot and ankle pathologies, including foot pain, deformities, injuries, and skin diseases, as well as bone and joint diseases. She also values preventative care, especially in patients with diabetes or vascular disease.
Dr. Andersen is the past president of the American Association for Women Podiatrists, Inc. She is also a member of the Public Education and Information Committee of the American Podiatric Medical Association. She has been interviewed for and featured in many television shows, radio shows, and magazine and newspapers articles, including USA Today, the New York Times, Oprah Magazine, Better Homes and Gardens, Real Simple, and Working Mother.
Since 1996, Brenda Avadian, MA, has helped family caregivers for loved ones with Alzheimer’s and dementia gain knowledge and strength through hope and humor.
Her personal attention to caregivers catches many by pleasant surprise. And her energy and enthusiasm, combined with her detailed approach, keeps her in demand as a caregiver expert speaker.
A spokesperson for the full range of caring options — including in-home, adult day, residential, assisted, and skilled nursing care — Brenda Avadian advocates the Continuum of Care Options based on each family’s unique needs.
She writes over 100 articles a year for 4 websites including TheCaregiversVoice.com, since 1998. She is the co-author of a new book, STUFFology 101: Get Your Mind Out of the Clutter – a valuable resource for caregivers helping Mom and Dad downsize.
Maria Basso Lipani writes the popular website www.geriatriccaremanagement.com, where she puts her expertise as a Licensed Clinical Social Worker to good use answering care planning questions. Maria is a graduate of Columbia University School of Social Work and is licensed in California and New York. She worked with chronically ill older adults and their families for several years at Kaiser Permanente in San Francisco before becoming the manager of a federally funded caregiver support program in New York City. Today Maria oversees a program to reduce preventable readmissions at a hospital.
Shelly Beach, MRE, is a graduate of Grand Rapids Theological Seminary; a Christy Award-winning author of seven books; and national speaker on faith, writing, and caregiving issues. She is also a major contributor to the New International Version Stewardship Study Bible as well as The Holy Bible: Mosaic. Her caregiving releases, Precious Lord, Take My Hand: Meditations for Caregivers and Ambushed by Grace: Help and Hope on the Caregiving Journey, are drawn from her eight years providing in-home care for her father-in-law with Parkinson’s and mother with Alzheimer’s.
Beach is a host for roundtable discussions that address caregiving questions on the website Help for My Life. She presents seminars and conferences in medical, educational, religious, and support settings such as Gilda’s Clubs and the ALS Association. She appears regularly on radio and television across the nation. Beach is also cofounder of the Cedar Falls Christian Writer’s Workshop in Cedar Falls, Iowa, and the Breathe Christian Writer’s Workshop in Grand Haven, Michigan. Beach is a member of the Advanced Speakers and Writers Association, Christian Women Speakers, and the Christian Authors Network.
Bonita Lynn Beattie (usually known as Lynn Beattie) is the vice president for injury prevention for the [Center for Healthy Aging] (https://www.ncoa.org/center-for-healthy-aging/about-cha/), part of the National Council on Aging (NCOA). She directs the NCOA’s [Falls Free Initiative] (https://www.ncoa.org/healthy-aging/falls-prevention/falls-free-initiative/), which is developing and implementing a national action plan to prevent falls and fall-related injuries in older adults.
Beattie also serves on the task forces and advisory committees of numerous national health promotion initiatives and research projects, working on behalf of older adults to promote fall prevention, osteoporosis awareness, and aging eye health.
Beattie has her undergraduate degree in health and physical education from East Stroudsburg State University and master’s degrees in physical therapy and healthcare administration from Baylor University. In 1998, she completed the master’s level gerontology certificate program at the University of Maryland Center on Aging.
Helene Bergman, LMSW, is a certified geriatric care manager (C-ASWCM) and owner of Elder Care Alternatives, a professional geriatric care management business in New York City. She consults with nursing homes and daycare programs to develop specialized programs for Alzheimer’s patients.
Bergman speaks frequently on memory and aging, Alzheimer’s disease caregiving, and other eldercare topics for assisted-living facilities, nursing homes, and corporations. She has led many caregiver support groups for the Alzheimer’s Association and coauthored the book Guiding the Alzheimer’s Caregiver: A Handbook for Counselors.
Bergman received her master’s degree in social work from Hunter School of Social Work following a career in education. She was previously affiliated with the NYU Aging and Dementia Research Center, where she was a family counselor and research associate. She was on the advisory board of the Brookdale Center on Aging Certificate Program in Professional Care Management and taught the center’s seminar on home healthcare.
She served as the president of the Greater New York Chapter of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers from 2000 to 2004. Bergman presently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers (NAPGCM).
Dr. David Blende, DDS, has more than 20 years’ experience providing dental care in hospitals and private practices in Switzerland, Beverly Hills, and San Francisco. He specializes in complex dental rehabilitation cases using sleep dentistry, as well as in aesthetic crown and bridge work.
His private practice, the Blende Dental Group, serves the phobic, disabled, geriatric, and medically compromised by providing full-mouth rehabilitation. The practice is nationally known for its One-Sleep-Visit dentistry. A division of his San Francisco practice, Bay Area House Call Dentists, delivers dental services to those in senior communities and private homes who cannot obtain services in traditional dental offices due to physical, cognitive, or emotional limitations.
A graduate of the University of Southern California, Blende has served as chair of the California Dental Association’s Council on Scientific Affairs and Research and as president of the French Foundation for Medical Research and Education. He is currently the chief of the dental division at California Pacific Medical Center Hospital and at Kaiser Permanente Medical Hospital in San Francisco. He is an active member of the American Dental Association, the California Dental Association, the Special Care Dentistry Association, and the American Society for Geriatric Dentistry.
Julie Kardachi, M.A., has been an occupational therapist for more than 30 years and has worked in the U.S., the U.K., and Australia with adults of all ages in nursing homes, rehabilitation centers, and hospitals, with a focus on neurological and orthopedic injuries. For the past 11 years, she has been on the faculty of the occupational therapy and occupational therapy assistant programs at Touro College in New York City. She is particularly interested in helping people remain as independent as possible so they can continue to pursue their interests.
Celeste Carlucci is a fitness expert and former dancer who received her dance training at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance. She has performed nationally and internationally as a dancer with many notable choreographers, among them Bob Fosse. For more than 30 years, she has taught movement and full-body strengthening, with a primary emphasis on senior fitness. Her background in dance equips her to focus on correct alignment and posture. Her mission is to give seniors the strength and confidence to stay active in their lives and communities.
Rebecca Boxer, MD is a board-certified internist and geriatric heart failure specialist. She completed her undergraduate studies at Barnard College and received a medical degree from the University of Pennsylvania. She was trained in internal medicine, primary care at the University of California, San Francisco, and completed a geriatrics fellowship at the University of Connecticut and a heart failure fellowship at Case Western Reserve University. Since 2005, Boxer has been an attending physician and assistant professor of medicine at the Harrington-McLaughlin Heart and Vascular Institute, Case Western Reserve University. Boxer conducts clinically focused research on improving physical function of older adults with cardiovascular disease. Her current research examines the role of vitamin D in heart failure and is funded by the National Institutes of Health. Dr. Boxer speaks for the National Heart Failure Training Program and the American Heart Association and has published articles in numerous medical journals.
Ann Cason is a geriatric care manager based in Portland,Oregon. She helps families find solutions to issues related to the care of their aging loved ones. She is a pioneer in bringing mindfulness and awareness into caregiving and aging and is the author of Circles of Care: How to Set up Quality Home Care for Our Elders (Shambhala Publications). Website: www.anncason.com.
Laura Cheney, a physical therapist who specializes in geriatrics, graduated with honors from the University of California at San Francisco in 2000. She earned her undergraduate degree in comparative literature from the University of California, Davis, graduating Phi Beta Kappa. She most recently worked as the Director of Rehabilitation and sole physical therapist at a premier life-care facility in San Francisco. Beginning her career in pediatrics, Laura soon found her niche working with seniors and has experience in all levels of care, from hospital to home care. She has written articles and lectured extensively on fall prevention and other issues relevant to the aging experience. As a registered yoga teacher, she teaches yoga, meditation, and other mindfulness techniques to seniors — helping them expand their repertoire for coping with stress, pain, and illness in the later years.
She now lives in Menlo Park with her husband and new baby daughter, Emily Viola–named after Laura’s grandmother. Although she continues to teach and consult, for the time being she is focusing on raising her daughter. Laura was very close to both of her grandmothers and feels that their love and support continue to inspire her and to motivate her to care for seniors as if they were her own family.
Linda Hawes Clever, MD, MACP is founding President of RENEW, a not-for-profit aimed at helping devoted people maintain (and regain) enthusiasm, effectiveness and purpose. She is also a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, Associate Dean for Alumni Affairs at the Stanford University School of Medicine, Clinical Professor of Medicine at UCSF, former Editor of the Western Journal of Medicine, and founding Chair of the Department of Occupational Health at California Pacific Medical Center. Her new book is entitled, The Fatigue Prescription, Four Steps to Renewing Your Energy, Health and Life.
Dr. Clever received undergraduate and medical degrees from Stanford University and had several years of medical residency and fellowships at Stanford and UCSF in internal medicine, infectious diseases, community medicine and occupational medicine. Dr. Clever was the first Medical Director of the teaching clinic at St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco where she started patient education and nurse practitioner training and research programs. She started the Department of Occupational Health at the then-Pacific Medical Center and began her activities in the American College of Physicians in which she served as Governor, Chair of the Board of Governors, and Regent. She has written numerous papers, chapters, articles, and editorials. Her areas of special interest include personal and organizational renewal; the interactions of life, work and health; the occupational health of women and health care workers and leadership.
She served on the Stanford University Board of Trustees for fourteen years and has chaired the Boards of KQED and University High School. She is immediate past chair of the Foundation Board of the Northern California Presbyterian Homes and Services. She recently won the Elizabeth Blackwell Medal from the American Medical Women’s Association and the Stanford Medal from the Stanford Assiocates. Her husband, Jamie, is also an internist, as is their daughter Sarah, who is on the faculty of the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Clever likes walks, good conversations, and good cookies.
Kelly Connell is an educator and consultant who specializes in sexuality and healthcare issues. With more than 18 years of experience, she provides education and training to healthcare providers and to patients and their significant others, while also working with agencies and universities to deliver sexuality education in a comprehensive, engaging manner.
Connell has a master’s in human sexuality education from the University of Pennsylvania and is currently working on her dissertation for her doctorate in the same at Widener University. She is a member of the American Association of Sexuality Educators Counselors and Therapists (AASECT) (certification pending), the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality (SSSS), and the American College Health Association (ACHA).
Connell is the owner of Kelly Connell Consulting, an organization that provides sexuality education and consulting services. She engages in public speaking and educational programs and writes for various organizations. She recognizes that sexuality is an important quality-of-life issue and has provided sexuality education programs to college students and adults, healthcare providers, patient support groups, senior citizen centers, and other organizations and populations.
Connell is coauthor of Sexuality and Scleroderma, a pamphlet published by the American Scleroderma Society. She has authored several online articles on sexuality for Ezinearticles.com, GoArticles.com, and Helium.com. She previously authored Kelly’s Korner for MensForte.com and was a contributing writer for Alphawomen.com and CharismaCoaching.com. She is also a contributing writer for MyPleasure.com, STDsolve.com, and Contracept.org and is the National Sexuality Examiner for Examiner.com.
Deborah Cooke, MS, is a healthcare administrator with a strong interest in dementia and delirium care, the aging experience, caregiver stress, intergenerational programming, quality improvement, palliative care, and long term care. She is a certified dementia care provider and specialist through the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. She has 20 years of experience working with the aging and caregiver communities.
Deborah currently is a clinical project manager for NYU Langone Medical Center. In this role, she works with physicians and staff to provide quality care for patients and families in both the inpatient and outpatient settings. She previously worked at CenterLight Healthcare, a managed long term care organization, as a Project Manager and Assistant Director of Operations. She also was the Elder Life Specialist at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital where she developed and managed multidisciplinary programs to enhance quality care for hospitalized seniors and other vulnerable patients by optimizing mental, physical, and emotional well-being during the hospital stay. In addition, Deborah served on the board of NewYork-Presbyterian’s Patient and Family Education Advisory Committee.
Deborah has a master’s degree in management from New York University, a graduate certificate in gerontology and bachelor’s degree in kinesiology and health from Georgia State University. Her management skills include quality and performance improvement, process design, project management, program development, strategic planning, education, and human resources management.
Bonnie Bajorek Daneker is author and creator of the The Compassionate Caregiver’s Series, which includes “The Compassionate Caregiver’s Guide to Caring for Someone with Cancer,” “The Journey of Grief,” “Handbook on Hospice and Palliative Care,” and other titles on cancer diagnosis and end of life. She speaks regularly at cancer research and support functions, including PANCAN and Cancer Survivor’s Network. She is a former member of the Executive Committee of the CSN at St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta and the Georgia Chapter of the Lymphoma Research Foundation.
Elizabeth Dugan is an associate professor of gerontology at the McCormack Graduate School of Policy and Global Studies at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
She studies medical aspects of driving regulations and policy and how doctors and older patients talk about difficult issues such as whether a patient is medically fit to continue to drive. Dr. Dugan is the author of Driving Dilemma: The Complete Resource Guide for Older Drivers and Their Families.
Isaac Eliaz, MD, is a respected author, lecturer, researcher, product formulator, and clinical practitioner. He has been a pioneer in the field of integrative medicine since the early 1980s.
Eliaz is a frequent guest lecturer on integrative medical approaches to health, immune enhancement, and cancer prevention and treatment. He has also taught several courses on traditional Chinese medicine for medical doctors and licensed acupuncturists. As an innovative formulator of dietary supplements, Eliaz developed and currently holds the patent for several of his unique herbal formulations.
In order to substantiate nutritional approaches to health, Eliaz regularly participates in clinical studies and has been published in well-recognized, peer-reviewed journals. In addition, many of Eliaz’ formulations have been submitted for validation in independent human clinical studies whose results have been published in peer-reviewed journals.
Eliaz continually studies, integrates, and applies the best health practices of both western medicine and complementary and alternative approaches. A native of Israel, Eliaz lived in the Far East and in Latin America before returning to study medicine at Tel Aviv University. While studying for his degree, his interest turned toward the role of alternative therapies — from meditation to martial arts — in daily health. This led to his eventual research and personal experience with yoga, shiatsu, and acupuncture as therapeutic modalities.
After graduating from medical school in 1986, Eliaz established a highly successful clinical practice in Tel Aviv, using his training in both Western and Eastern medicine. While maintaining a clinical practice, he pursued graduate studies in clinical herbology at Hebrew University of Jerusalem and classical Chinese medicine with teachers in Israel and Europe.
In 1989, Eliaz moved to the San Francisco Bay area in order to continue his studies at the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, earning his master’s in 1991. During this time he also energetically sought out leading practitioners of alternative medicine to broaden his knowledge and experience.
Since 2001, Eliaz has led the integrative medical team at the Amitabha Medical Clinic and Healing Center, a busy private practice in northern California that focuses primarily on integrative, holistic protocols for patients struggling with cancer and other chronic ailments. For more information, visit www.dreliaz.org.
Rita Files, LPN, VSR, is a nationally recognized expert on the knowledge and skills needed for working with the elderly. She has more than 30 years of experience in the health care industry, with 20 years focused on eldercare. Her background includes program development for many leading providers in the senior living industry. She works with families to provide solutions for the stress associated with caregiving for the elderly.
Together with her partner, Patricia Grace, she has developed Aging with Grace into a national eldercare resource program offered to several million families across the U.S. and Canada.
Files’s commitment to help veterans age with dignity fueled her desire to pursue credentials as an accredited veteran service representative. Her mission, to honor those who have served and make sure they too are served, helps her provide powerful advocacy and resources to veterans and their families.
In addition to nursing experience, Files holds both state and national certifications in assisted-living administration and is a certified senior advisor through the Society of Certified Senior Advisors, a member of the National Care Planning Council. She holds Veterans Administration accreditation in veterans benefits through the National Veterans Organization of America.
Dennis Fortier, MA, MBA, authors the Brain Today blog, distilling the daily news about advances in the areas of brain health, memory loss, and Alzheimer’s disease. A strong advocate for the benefits of early identification and timely intervention against medical conditions that impair brain function, Fortier serves as the president and CEO of Medical Care Corporation, a neuroinformatics company that develops assessment technologies to enable physicians to objectively evaluate memory and other cognitive functions in their patients. He earned a master’s degree in sociology from the University of California, Irvine, and an MBA from Cornell University.
Theresa Garnero is clinical nurse manager of Diabetes Services at California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco. A certified diabetes educator, she’s the author of DIABETease: A Lighter Look at the Serious Subject of Diabetes. She also wrote a daily guide to living with diabetes for the American Diabetes Association, scheduled for publication in fall 2008. She was named Diabetes Educator of the Year by the American Association of Diabetes Educators for 2004-2005.
Harvey Gilbert, MD, is a radiation oncologist with more than 35 years of professional experience in the medical field, working with cancer patients stricken with life-changing illnesses. Dr. Gilbert has edited 14 medical textbooks and coauthored 40 papers in the field of oncology. He founded one of the first inpatient hospices in California and started three outpatient cancer centers.
Dr. Gilbert currently serves as an advisor to multiple hospices and in-home care agencies and is the medical director of the Ben Schaffer Cancer Institute in Lodi, California. Dr. Gilbert received his medical degree from the University of Missouri Medical School in 1965. He then moved to the Bay Area, where he interned at Oakland Naval Hospital and was on active duty in the U.S. Navy from 1965 to 1969. Dr. Gilbert completed his residency in the Radiation Oncology department at Mt. Zion Hospital in San Francisco as well as at UCLA Medical Center and Hospital.
No attorney has more experience in the field of law and aging than Michael Gilfix. In 1973, immediately after graduating from the Stanford Law School, he created the first legal services program for elders in the nation. As that program’s director for ten years, he was a creator of the “elder law” field and regularly advised elders about legal planning aspects of caregiving and long-term care. He created his law firm, Gilfix and La Poll, in 1983 to focus exclusively on issues of concern to elders and their families. He is cofounder of the NAELA and was of the first four attorneys in the nation to be named a Fellow of the Academy. He is a California Super Lawyer and is AV rated in Martindale Hubbell by his peers nationally — no rating is higher.
He has incomparable hands-on experience, as he has helped caregivers navigate the worlds of long-term care, public benefits, caregiver agreements, and tax issues.
Gilfix writes about such topics as long-term care planning, Medicaid, end-of-life planning, tax, and special-needs trusts for disabled children. He has been quoted in such publications as the Wall Street Journal and USA Today. His articles have appeared in Trusts & Estates magazine, Estate Planning magazine, and many other publications for practicing attorneys. He is a nationally known speaker on these topics. In 2011, his professional audiences included the American Association of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), NAELA, Maryland CPA Association, Michigan Elder Law and Disability Rights Section, Estate Planning Council of Santa Clara County, and the Planned Giving Conference at Stanford, California.
Gilfix regularly presents a series of popular community seminars in northern California. Here is a typical comment from a recent attendee: “Michael Gilfix is able to take complicated legal topics and make them understandable. He is a rare lawyer who speaks real English!”
Graham A. Glass, MD, is the co-founder of PEAK Neurology and Sleep Medicine, LLC with multiple locations across Alaska. Previously, he was deputy director of the San Francisco Parkinson’s Disease Research, Education, and Clinical Care Center PADRECC and assistant clinical professor of neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). Glass received his medical degree from the University of Texas Health Sciences Center at the San Antonio School of Medicine and completed his neurology residency at Tufts-New England Medical Center. He subsequently completed a fellowship in movement disorders at the Mayo Clinic.
The bulk of his research is clinical in nature, and his topics of publication include the management of Parkinson’s disease, gait disorders, dystonia, myoclonus, and multiple system atrophy. Glass is active in the education of students, residents, fellows, and other physicians.
Nan Hayes has dedicated her life’s work to helping families navigate Late Life Home Transitions, such as moving, downsizing, organizing and remodeling. Founder of MoveSeniors.com, Hayes is currently the Director of Business Development for the professional Caring Transitions network. She is an advocate for valid industry Certification standards and author of the RightSized Living consumer series. Hayes is also featured on the Emmy winning “What’s Next” and “Life Focus” television programs.
Monica Heltemes, OTR/L is an occupational therapist and owner of MindStart, providing adapted activity products for people with dementia.
Monica works with people with dementia, enhancing their quality of life and supporting caregivers. MindStart provides age-appropriate and stage-appropriate dementia activities, such as games, puzzles, and books. The items are simplified to meet the needs of various stages of dementia while remaining dignified and familiar in appearance. The products provide important cognitive stimulation to persons with dementia and needed dementia care support for caregivers.
Frederick Hertz has more than thirty years experience as a real estate and family lawyer, with a practice based in the San Francisco Bay Area. His work focuses on resolving conflicts between co-owners of properties and business, including married and unmarried couples, both gay and straight, extended families and friends and business partners. He helps co-owners draft agreements at time of formation, and serves as a consulting attorney and mediator with groups or couples in conflict. He is also the co-author of three Nolo Press books, including legal guides for unmarried couples and same-sex couples, and a guide for lawyers representing unmarried partners.
Laura Juel is an Occupational Therapist at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, North Carolina, and an Adjunct Lecturer in the Graduate Occupational Science program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is a Certified Driver Rehabilitation Specialist in the Duke Driving Program with a clinical interest in evaluating the older driver and community mobility. She has 22 years of experience working with adults with neurological illness and injuries in a variety of settings.
She earned her B.S. in Rehabilitation Science from Springfield College and a M.S. in Occupational Therapy from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She has firsthand experience in helping her own family members as they navigate through the health care system and in assisting in the management of a loved one with dementia.
Ron Kauffman is a Geriatric Care Consultant & Planner. He has more than 40 years of business experience that includes a decade of work assisting boomers and seniors with issues of aging. In 2005, he was selected to attend the White House Conference on Aging. In 2006, he was granted the Positive Images of Aging Award by the eight-state Southeastern Associations of Area Agencies on Aging. He is the author of the book, “Caring for a Loved One With Alzheimer’s Disease,” that he wrote when he became a caregiver for his mother who has Alzheimer’s disease.
For more than five years, Kauffman hosted and produced a live talk radio program that addressed health, wealth, and lifestyle issues facing boomers and seniors. In 2007, he was named a fellow by the National Press Foundation for his work in broadcast journalism. He is a syndicated newspaper columnist and contributing expert to several magazines dealing with issues of aging, caregiving and Alzheimer’s disease.
Kauffman is president of Resources for Successful Aging, a Geriatric Consulting & Planning company that helps families facing Alzheimer’s disease and other caregiving challenges by offering situational assessments, care plans, advance directive reviews, and reliable expert referrals. He and his wife, Lisa, who is also in private practice as a geriatric care manager, live in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
Leslie Kernisan is a clinical instructor in the University of California, San Francisco, Division of Geriatrics, and maintains a popular blog and podcast at BetterHealthWhileAging.net.
She trained in internal medicine and geriatrics at UCSF and is a graduate of Princeton University and Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.
Dr. Kernisan has a master’s in public health from U.C. Berkeley and has completed postgraduate work in healthcare quality improvement and online health education. Her research on a popular quality of care measure was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2009.
Joanne Koenig Coste is a nationally recognized expert on Alzheimer’s care and an outspoken advocate for patient and family care. She is author of the award-winning Learning to Speak Alzheimer’s. She currently is in private practice as an Alzheimer’s family therapist. Ms. Koenig Coste also serves as President of Alzheimer Consulting Associates, implementing state-of-the-art Alzheimer care throughout the United States.
Mary Koffend is the president of Accountable Aging Care Management (AACM). AACM is an eldercare consulting and care management firm that works with elder clients and their families to find the best care providers and services to meet their needs. AACM provides an objective, third-party perspective on the best options for the elder and a single point of contact for the care providers, elder, and family.
Before starting AACM, Koffend served with the Social Security Administration (SSA) throughout Texas for more than 30 years and was ultimately responsible for Houston’s largest and most complex SSA client service operation.
Koffend has also managed Medicaid provider services programs for the State of Texas. As a care manager for Accountable Aging, Koffend has become an invaluable resource for families who need a guidance counselor along the aging journey.
Jessica J. Krant, MD, MPH, is a board-certified dermatologist in NYC specializing in medical, cosmetic, and surgical dermatology, including Mohs micrographic skin cancer surgery. In addition to her work in private practice, Krant is assistant clinical professor of dermatology at SUNY Downstate Medical Center.
Krant has authored textbook chapters as well as journal articles for publication, consulted for industry, and presented at medical conferences. Her opinions are quoted in the press and she has been a regular columnist for Consumer’s Union ShopSmart magazine as well as a contributor to the OnHealth newsletter.
After graduating from Harvard College magna cum laude, Krant attended Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, where she graduated with Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Society Honors, receiving both an MD and a master’s degree in public health. Krant completed her medicine internship at Lenox Hill Hospital and her dermatology residency at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. After completing formal American College of Mohs Surgery (ACMS) fellowship training, she is now a member of the ACMS.
Krant is a fellow of the American Academy of Dermatology (AAD), a diplomate of the American Board of Dermatology, and a member of the American Society for Dermatologic Surgery (ASDS). Find her at www.ArtofDermatology.com.
Duane Lipham is a certified long-term care (CLTC) consultant who writes extensively on long-term care insurance issues and related subjects. He brings personal passion to the subject of long-term care because he has faced the challenges associated with being a caregiver for members of his own family. Along with his professional knowledge of the field, this real-life experience has given Lipham insight not only into the financial aspects of caregiving but also into the emotional and mental impacts that such care can bring.
Since the early 1990s, Jytte Lokvig has worked with the elderly, especially those with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia. She coaches families and professional caregivers and designs life-enrichment programs and activities for care facilities. Her workshops and seminars promote changes in approach and communication to create a healthy environment based on dignity and humor.
In her teaching, writing, and modeling, Lokvig throws a lifeline to the caregiver. Her caregiving models bring about dramatic changes in the mental state and behavior of the Alzheimer’s patient. She designs and implements activity programs, drawing on her background in educational psychology and her expertise in the arts, theater, and music.
In 2002, Lokvig published Alzheimer’s A to Z: Secrets to Successful Caregiving, a uniquely effective guide for caregivers. New Harbinger Publications has since published a revised and updated version under the title Alzheimer’s A to Z: A Quick-Reference Guide. The book has been translated into Portuguese, Spanish, and Japanese.
Lokvig holds a PhD in management with a specialty in Alzheimer’s care from California Pacific University and a master’s degree from the University of California at Los Angeles.
Ed Markin, BS, MBA, PhD, is the director of research for the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Foundation and author of more than a dozen books. For the past 15 years, Markin has operated the Funeral Help Program, a clearinghouse for consumer information. He has appeared on numerous TV and radio shows and has been published or quoted in hundreds of magazines and newspapers.
Joseph Matthews is an attorney and the author of numerous books, including Social Security, Medicare, and Government Pensions, Long-Term Care: How to Plan and Pay for It; How to Win Your Personal Injury Claim; and The Lawyer Who Blew up His Desk. An attorney in the San Francisco Bay Area since 1971, Joseph taught at the School of Law at the University of California, Berkeley from 1975 to 1977. The original coauthor of Joseph’s book on Social Security and Medicare was his mother, Dorothy, who had worked at senior centers for 25 years. Joseph then assisted her with her own care during the later years of her life, arranging her legal and financial documents and helping her move to home care and assisted living as her needs changed.
Lylas G. Mogk is an ophthalmologist and founding director of the Henry Ford Health System Center for Vision Rehabilitation and Research in Grosse Pointe and Livonia, Michigan.
Mogk is past chair of the American Academy of Ophthalmology Vision Rehabilitation Committee and serves on the editorial advisory board of the Journal of Visual Impairment and Blindness and the American Medical Association’s Panel on Older Drivers.
An alumna of Vassar College and Wayne State University Medical School, Mogk completed her ophthalmology residency at the Kresge Eye Institute of Wayne State University, which named her its Distinguished Alumnus in 2007 for her work in vision rehabilitation.
She writes and lectures often on macular degeneration, coping with vision loss, and vision rehabilitation. She has also conducted research on depression and vision loss, Charles Bonnet syndrome, and the impact of wet versus dry macular degeneration and outcomes in vision
Chris Moore is an expert on using universal design principles to build and remodel homes to help seniors age in place. He has more than 31 years of experience in the residential construction industry. In 2001, he founded Solid Rock Enterprises, Inc., to provide quality building, remodeling, and consulting services in the Roanoke Valley of Virginia. He uses his knowledge and experience to measure his clients’ abilities against the features of their homes in order to recommend home modifications customized for each client’s unique situation.
Chris is a charter member and chairman of the Western and Central Virginia Chapter of the National Aging in Place Council. Chris also speaks to groups throughout the Southwest Virginia area on aging in place, universal design, home modification, and home safety.
Chris is a certified aging in place specialist (CAPS) as well as a CAPS instructor. He is a Certified Environmental Consultant (CEAC) and a Certified Graduate Remodeler (CGR). He holds an executive certificate in home modification from the Andrus Gerontology Center at the University of Southern California, a bachelor in business administration from Averett College in Virginia, and an associate of arts degree from Simon’s Rock College in Massachusetts.
William J. Netzer, Ph.D. is a Research Associate at the Laboratory of Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience and Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Disease Research at The Rockefeller University.
Dr. Netzer received his Ph.D. in 1997 from Cornell University’s School of Medical Sciences and began post doctoral study in the laboratory of Nobel laureate, Dr. Paul Greengard at The Rockefeller University in 1999. In 2000, he discovered that gamma-secretase, one of the principal enzymes necessary for beta-amyloid production, believed to be the primary cause of Alzheimer’s disease, is dependent on the energy related molecule, ATP (adenosine triphosphate). He took advantage of this finding and in 2003 discovered that the anti-cancer drug, Gleevec (which was an ATP blocker) inhibits production of beta-amyloid. Published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
In 2010, Dr. Netzer helped discover a protein, referred to as gSAP (gamma-secretase activating protein). This discovery has provided an understanding of how to control beta-amyloid production in Alzheimer’s disease. gSAP is currently a major pharmaceutical target for the discovery of a new class of drugs for treating Alzheimer’s. Published in Nature.
He is the science editor for Preserving Your Memory magazine and is responsible for the www.ALZinfo.org website’s scientific review of current news and content.
Merrily Orsini was a pioneer in the business of providing geriatric care managed in-home care. Her dedication to the in-home care industry is vast. Board memberships at a national level have included the National Association for Home Care and Hospice and the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. She most recently served as the Chief Strategic Officer for Private Duty for the National Association for Home Care and Hospice where she was the past chair of the affiliate Private Duty Homecare Association, an organization where she had also served as a member of the Board of Advisers. She has a master’s degree in social work and is a nationally known writer and speaker on aging, elder issues, and in-home care. She chaired two national conferences for the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers presented in conjunction with the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, was a delegate to the National Institute on Aging, and cofounded and co-owned a company that provided in-home care to frail elders from 1981 to 1998.
While working in in-home care, Orsini recognized a need for special training for those who provided care at home, so she created a state-licensed, certified elder-caregiver program. She also developed a training system to help caregivers better learn how to work with clients with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias. Her agency provided a unique model of care that used geriatric care management in conjunction with in-home care to allow frail elders to remain at home as long as they desired to do so. In her current role as President of corecubed, an aging care marketing firm, she brings the perspective of educating and solving problems as a way for agencies to gain differentiation in a crowded marketplace.
As a licensed professional counselor, certified gerontological counselor, and certified geriatric care manager, Kay Paggi has provided empathetic and experienced assistance to older adults and their families for nearly 20 years. Her background includes facilitating support groups and educational seminars for adults providing care for their aging parents. She is the originator of a brain-stimulating group activity for older adults called Mental Aerobics that has been studied by researchers at the University of North Texas on two occasions.
A professional geriatric care manager in private practice, Paggi is also an adviser for Trinity Learning Center productions, which creates educational videos for staff of long-term care facilities. She has also been on the advisory board of the Emeritus Program at Richland College since 1963. She has a master’s degree in counseling from the University of North Texas.
Steven Y. Park, M.D., is a surgeon, blogger (http://www.doctorstevenpark.com), and author of the book Sleep, Interrupted: A Physician Reveals the #1 Reason Why So Many of Us Are Sick and Tired. He is a member of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and is a board-certified otolaryngologist specializing in diagnosing and treating sleep-breathing problems such as obstructive sleep apnea, snoring, and upper airway resistance syndrome.
Park lectures regularly to the medical field and to the general public about the importance of proper breathing while we sleep, something most people take for granted. Dr. Park is frequently invited to speak on radio shows and at seminars and workshops about how people can breathe better, sleep better, and live better.
Kathryn Pears is a dementia expert with over 30 years personal and professional experience. She has a Masters degree in Public Policy and Management and an Executive Certificate in Health are Policy from the Muskie School of Public Service at the University of Southern Maine. Following a 15 year career with the Alzheimer’s Association, Maine Chapter she started her own company, Dementia Care Strategies. Dementia Care Strategies trains and consults with families, health and long term care professionals and facilities, and aging and disability community agencies on the non-pharmacologic management of the challenging behaviors that occur with dementia. Ms. Pears has worked with numerous aging and disability-related state and national organizations presenting workshops on non-pharmacologic management of the challenging behaviors that occur with dementia. She is also a Master Trainer for the evidence-based Savvy Caregiver Program and was the Lead Trainer for the State of Maine’s Savvy Caregiver Program. Kathryn is a member of the National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia’s (NTG’s) Steering Committee and co-chairs their Group T working group that has developed a national model curriculum on dementia-capable care for adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities who are at risk for or have been diagnosed with dementia. A Lead Trainer for the model curriculum, she travels the country conducting workshops on behalf of the NTG. She is also a consultant in non-pharmacologic interventions for behavioral symptoms of dementia and clinic coordinator for the American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry’s (AADMD) new Project ECHO® ID and Dementia telehealth project that provides specialist consultation on ID and dementia to community providers in rural and underserved areas.
For more on Kathryn’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
Rebekah Peoples, CFSP, CPC, is a licensed funeral director and embalmer at a funeral home in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. She has extensive experience in all phases of funeral service, including funeral arrangements, embalming, burial, and cremation.
Peoples is passionate about serving others and believes that giving clients honest, accurate information empowers them to create tributes and services that are meaningful and appropriate.
A graduate of Simmons Institute of Mortuary Science in Syracuse, New York, Peoples has worked at some of the best-known service-oriented funeral homes in the country. She has earned the Certified Funeral Service Practitioner and Certified Preplanning Consultant designations. She has also published articles in Southern Funeral Director, The Director, and Hospice Newsletter, and she delivers presentations for national and regional associations of funeral directors.
Andrew Putnam, M.D. is a Palliative Care physician at Smilow Cancer Center at Yale New Haven Hospital and Yale University.
Donna Quinn Robbins is the CEO of Ultimate Moves and author of Moving Mom and Dad and On the Road of Life, Drive Yourself. For more than 16 years, she has helped more than 4,000 individuals and families move locally and nationally. Robbins is an active public speaker on the topic of senior transition services and elderly lifestyle transitions and has appeared on NBC’s Today Show as well as on local television programs in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Robbins leads workshops and offers guidelines for successful transitions to individuals, families, retirement communities, and corporations through her company, Ultimate Moves. She is currently the designer and move-in coordinator at five major San Francisco Bay Area retirement communities. She has been involved with three start-up communities, helping them move their new residents in while minimizing stress and confusion. As an interior designer, she also helps families create new homes. Donna graduated from Bennett College and is a member of the National Association of Senior Move Managers (NASMM).
Beth Reardon, Caring.com senior food and nutrition editor, is the director of integrative nutrition at Duke Integrative Medicine. She takes a holistic approach to wellness, recognizing that the foundation for optimal health and healing begins with a health-promoting diet. Reardon also serves on the advisory board of Natural Solutions magazine and the Council on Nutrition for Contemporary OB/GYN, a peer-reviewed journal.
Prior to her work at Duke Integrative Medicine, Reardon held an adjunct faculty position at Elon University in Elon, North Carolina, teaching Food for Life: Cooking for Optimal Health. She was also an instructor for the Cancer Project, teaching Nutrition and Cooking for Cancer Prevention and Survival.
While serving as a clinical research coordinator at Duke, Reardon focused on the role of diet and exercise in managing outcomes for premenopausal breast cancers and prostate cancers. She has also served as the wellness coordinator for the Johns Hopkins Health Plan in Baltimore and the program consultant for the Fitness Research Center at the University of Michigan.
Reardon received her undergraduate training in nutritional biochemistry at Cornell University and her master’s degree in kinesiology from the University of Michigan.
Barbara Kate Repa, a lawyer and journalist, has devoted her career to editing and writing about legal issues for consumers. An instructor for caregivers, teaching about legal end-of-life issues and funeral planning, she recently wrote the content for a website for those searching for long-term care in California.
Compelled by an interest in consumer stakes in both the legal and practical aspects of death and dying, Barbara Kate is the past president of both the Bay Area Funeral Society and the California Funeral Directors Association and is currently an ombudsman advocate in nursing homes.
She is one of the authors of WillMaker (Nolo), best-selling software that enables consumers to write their own wills, healthcare directives, powers of attorney, and final arrangements, available at http://www.nolo.com/products/quicken-willmaker-plus-WQP.html.
Barbara Kate can be reached at brepa@caring.com.
Kenneth Robbins, M.D., is a senior medical editor of Caring.com. He is board certified in psychiatry and internal medicine, has a master’s in public health from the University of Michigan, and is a clinical professor of psychiatry at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He has had a wide variety of clinical positions, including those which require an understanding of the interface between psychiatry and other medical specialties. His current clinical practice focuses primarily on geriatrics. He also provides forensic consultation and has extensive experience in working for defense attorneys, judges, and prosecutors in criminal matters; and on behalf of both plaintiffs and defendants in civil matters. He is active in both the American and Wisconsin Psychiatric Associations. He has written and contributed to many articles and is frequently invited to speak on psychiatric topics, such as psychiatry and the law, depression, anxiety, dementia, and suicide risk and prevention.
Carolyn Rosenblatt is a Registered Nurse and Attorney with 40 years of combined experience in her two professions. She is a family mediator for those who are having disputes about aging loved ones. As a nurse, she has extensive experience with geriatrics, chronic illness, pain management, dementias, disability, family dynamics, and death and dying. As a trial attorney, she advocated for for the rights of injured individuals and neglected elders.
Together with her husband, Dr. Mikol Davis, she founded AgingParents.com, a resource for those who are caring for aging loved ones at home or in facilities. She is also the author of The Boomers Guide to Aging Parents, a nine part series offering practical solutions to common legal and health care problems caregivers and adult children of aging loved ones face every day.
Martha Clark Scala has been a psychotherapist in private practice since 1992, with offices in both Palo Alto and San Francisco, California. In addition to working with individuals and couples, she delivers workshops and regularly writes on topics including grief and loss, the necessity of self-care, and the challenges of substance abuse.
Her nonfiction and poetry can be found in We Need Not Walk Alone: After the Death of a Child (The Compassionate Friends), Porter Gulch Review 2008 , and at her website. Scala also appears in The California Therapist, SCV-CAMFT News, and she publishes an e-newsletter, “Out on a Limb,” which is available to subscribers through her website.
She has also mentored many professionals in both her writing and helping careers, launching the Mentoring Program for the San Francisco-Peninsula Branch of the California Writers Club in 2004.
Craig Schwimmer, MD, MPH, is a board-certified otolaryngologist, a head and neck surgeon who focuses on snoring and sleep apnea. He is the medical director of the Snoring Center, a leading provider of minimally invasive treatment for sleep-disordered breathing, located in Dallas. Schwimmer graduated from the Emory University School of Medicine in 1991 and completed his otolaryngology training at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. He has coauthored numerous articles on snoring and sleep apnea, including pioneering work on the relationship between obstructive sleep apnea and gastroesophageal reflux.
After six years of residency training, Schwimmer practiced in Baltimore, where he was also a member of the teaching faculty at Johns Hopkins University and was actively involved in training otolaryngology residents. Since 2001, he has practiced in Dallas, where he remains involved in residency training. He holds a clinical appointment at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School and is a member of the teaching staff at Methodist Health System.
Jennifer Serafin is a geriatric nurse practitioner at Kaiser Redwood City, doing home visits for the Home Based Palliative Care Program. She also works in a Skilled Nursing Facility in San Leandro for Kaiser Hayward. Previously, she worked at the Jewish Home in San Francisco for over 13 years as a Nurse Practitioner.
She is the board secretary National Conference of Gerontologic Nurse Practitioners, an active member of the California Association of Nurse Practitioners, and associate clinical professor for the Physiological Nursing Department at University of California, San Francisco.
Jennifer received her bachelor of science degree in nursing from the University of Maryland, and her master of science degree as a gerontological nurse practitioner, with a minor in teaching, from the University of California at San Francisco.
A social worker and geriatric consultant, Joyce Simard specializes in dementia care. Based in Land O’ Lakes, Florida, and Prague in the Czech Republic, she is an adjunct associate professor at the School of Nursing and Midwifery, University of Western Sydney.
During her 30 years in the healthcare industry, Simard has developed quality-of-life programs for people in all stages of dementia, including a memory-enhancement program for those with mild memory loss, a program called the Club for nursing home residents in the moderate stage of dementia, and Namaste Care for people with advanced dementia. Known as “Grandma Joyce” to her seven grandchildren, two great-grandchildren, and other kids all over the U.S. and the Czech Republic, Simard gives presentations in elementary schools that help children understand aging and memory loss — and how to be helpers for people going through those issues. She has written about her educational work in her book The Magic Tape Recorder.
Pharmacist William Simonson, also known as “Dr. Si,” has been active in geriatrics and long-term care pharmacy practice for more than 35 years. He has published than 100 articles and two books and presented at hundreds of local, national, and international symposia. He is a board-certified geriatric pharmacist and an independent consultant pharmacist for nursing homes and assisted-living facilities.
He is presently a Senior Research Professor of pharmacy practice with the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy in Corvallis and was previously an associate professor of pharmacy practice and geriatric medicine at Oregon Health Sciences University in Portland.
Simonson has served as president of the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists and as chair of the Commission for Certification in Geriatric Pharmacy (CCGP). He is active in many long-term care and aging organizations and has served as pharmacy consultant for the Oregon Department of Human Services nursing home surveyors.
David Solie is an author, educator, speaker, and thought leader in geriatric and intergenerational communication. His book How to Say It to Seniors: Closing the Communication Gap With Our Elders is a landmark text that has been read and reread by legions of baby boomers searching for a better approach to working with their parents and other older adults. It offers unique insights and proven, practical communication strategies that help professionals and laypersons alike interact more compassionately and effectively with older adults.
David Solie is a graduate of the University of Washington, University of Manitoba, the University of Colorado Medical School, and he practiced for a number years in family medicine as a licensed physician assistant.
Barbara Steinberg is the CEO and founder of BLS Eldercare Financial Solutions. BLS Eldercare specializes in helping families pay for long-term care for their loved ones.
Steinberg is a Registered Financial Gerontologistâ„¢. She graduated from the State University of New York, Downstate Medical Center, with a B.S. in medical computer science. She received an M.S. in electrical engineering from Columbia University and holds an MBA from Fairleigh Dickinson University.
A popular speaker on the topic of paying for long-term care, Steinberg is also a financial expert for www.caring.com. She has been quoted in Money magazine about continuing care retirement communities and on www.bankrate.com about paying for assisted living. Steinberg can be reached at 973-406-7100, extension 101; bsteinberg@blseldercare.com; or http://www.carechanges.com/care-resources/bls-eldercare-financial-solutions//blog.
Carolyn Strimike and Margie Latrella are board certified nurse practitioners specializing in health and wellness promotion and disease prevention. They have over 40 years of nursing experience between them. They are dedicated to addressing the physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual components that promote good health.
Their main goal is to help people formulate a realistic plan for healthy living. Simple, fun changes in daily life can lead to major health benefits. Their lectures to community groups, corporations, healthcare providers and national organizations have already provided thousands of people with this valuable information.
They have both been recognized by the American Heart Association and The Women’s Heart Foundation for their work.
Katy Thomas Fike, Ph.D. is founder and CEO of Innovate50 Consulting LLC and co-founder of Aging2.0, a global innovation network.
She is a gerontologist, innovation consultant, entrepreneur, blogger and former investment banker (Lehman Brothers).
Dr. Fike earned her Ph.D. in gerontology from the University of Southern California’s Davis School of Gerontology. During graduate school, she was a National Institute on Aging Pre-Doctoral Fellow and a visiting scholar at Georgia Institute of Technology’s Human Factors and Aging Lab. After graduate school, Dr. Fike taught Gerontology at Georgia State University. Her research, which covers assistive technology, community-based care models, and long-term care policy issues, has been published in peer-reviewed journals and presented at several national conferences. Katy earned her B.S. in Systems Engineering from the University of Virginia.
She is also the founder and editor of Tech Savvy Daughter, a blog dedicated to helping older adults “use technology like their children and grandchildren do.”
Byron Thomashow, MD, is medical director of the Jo-Ann LeBuhn Center for Chest Disease and Respiratory Failure at New York Presbyterian Hospital and a clinical professor of medicine in the division of allergy and critical care medicine at Columbia University Medical Center. He’s also chairman of the board of the COPD Foundation and co-chairman of the Medical Advisory Council of the National Emphysema/COPD Association.
Ladislav Volicer, M.D., Ph.D., is a courtesy full professor at the School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, and visiting professor at the Third Medical Faculty, Charles University, Prague, Czech Republic. Twenty-five years ago, he established one of the first dementia special care units and introduced the concept of structured palliative care for patients with advanced dementia. He is recognized as an international expert on advanced dementia care and was recently an invited speaker in Southeast Asia and Australia. He has published more than 200 articles and chapters and edited four books on the clinical management of dementia.
Steve Weisman hosts the nationally syndicated radio show A Touch of Grey, heard on more than 50 stations, including WABC in New York City and KRLA in Los Angeles. He is a practicing lawyer specializing in estate planning and is admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. He’s a public speaker and commentator who has appeared on many radio and television shows throughout the country, and he’s the legal editor of Talkers magazine, the preeminent trade publication of talk radio.
Weisman has also taught at the University of Massachusetts, Curry College, and Boston University. Presently, he’s a senior lecturer at Bentley College. Steve is the author of A Guide to Elder Planning: Everything You Need to Know to Protect Yourself Legally and Financially, Boomer or Bust: Your Financial Guide to Retirement, Health Care, Medicare, and Long-Term Care, and 50 Ways to Protect Your Identity and Your Credit: Everything You Need to Know About Identity Theft, Credit Cards, Credit Repair, and Credit Reports. His latest book is The Truth About Avoiding Scams.
Audrey Wuerl, RN, BSN, CHPN, is education coordinator for Hospice of San Joaquin in California, which serves San Joaquin County and its surrounding areas. This nonprofit agency has provided compassionate care for patients facing life-limiting illnesses for more than 25 years. She has received national certification in hospice and palliative care nursing. She is also a geriatric trainer for the End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC), which promotes education in geriatric nursing and end-of-life care. She holds national certification in hospice and palliative care. In her current capacity she works with physicians, nurses, and social services to facilitate patient referral and ensure continuity of care. Additionally, she collaborates with other community educators to promote end-of-life awareness regarding treatment options and pain management.
During her career, Wuerl has held positions in psychiatric, medical-surgical and operating room nursing. She is also a public health nurse. She received her bachelor’s degree in nursing from California State University, Stanislaus.
Laura began working as a freelance writer about three years ago and has since been published on websites such as Caring.com, Payingforseniorcare.com, and Assistedliving.org. During college, Laura studied English at California State University, Stanislaus.
Through her extended family, Laura has seen first-hand the challenges that seniors face with mobility, cognitive impairments, transportation needs, rural living, moving and downsizing, and much more. Living with her maternal grandparents during college also gave her a greater appreciation for senior’s day-to-day social lives and community involvement. Laura believes that all seniors and their families deserve better access to caregiving services and information. She hopes that her articles can help families get connected to the right resources.
For more on Laura’s background and experience, you can view their LinkedIn page.
