Georgia J. Anetzberger, PhD, ACSW, LISW, is Assistant Professor for Health Care Administration at Cleveland State University, a consultant in private practice, and a Fellow in the Gerontological Society of America.  She has spent over thirty years addressing the problem of elder abuse, initially as an adult protective services worker and most recently as a researcher, administrator, and educator concerned with the dynamics and consequences of elder abuse situations.  Her past employment includes: Vice President for Community Services with the Benjamin Rose Institute, Director of the Western Reserve Geriatric Education Center, Executive Director of the Western Reserve Area Agency on Aging, and Senior Planning Associate for the Federation for Community Planning, all located in Cleveland, Ohio.

     Dr. Anetzberger is the 2005 recipient of the Rosalie Wolf Memorial Elder Abuse Prevention Award—National Category.  This award is given annually to an individual or organization that has demonstrated an exceptional commitment to Dr. Wolf’s ideals by promoting awareness to elder abuse through research, education, policy, or practice. 

     Dr. Anetzberger has authored more than forty-five publications on elder abuse or related interventions.  They include The Etiology of Elder Abuse by Adult Offspring and The Clinical Management of Elder Abuse as well as articles appearing in such journals as The Gerontologist, Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect, Violence Against Women, Generations, and Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology.  Since 2006 she has been the Editor for the Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect. 

     Dr. Anetzberger was the architect of Ohio’s protective services law for adults and various subsequent amendments.  She established the Ohio Coalition for Adult Protective Services and Consortium Against Adult Abuse (both Affiliates of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, in which she serves as Vice President) as well as the Greater Cleveland Elder Abuse/Domestic Violence Roundtable.  Dr. Anetzberger has participated in various national and state forums concerned with elder abuse, including research panels for the National Institute of Justice, National Institute on Aging, and National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse along with policy panels of the National Policy Summit on Elder Abuse, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Abuse Tag Guidance Development, Ohio Governor’s Task Force on Family Violence, Ohio Elder Abuse Task Force, and Health Policy Institute of Ohio Elder Abuse Prevention Project.  She was appointed by Ohio Governor Robert Taft as a delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging.

     Dr. Anetzberger has developed training curricula on elder abuse for organizations like the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and Ohio Domestic Violence Network.  She served as principal investigator for the project “A Model Intervention for Elder Abuse and Dementia,” which won the American Society on Aging 2000 Best Practice in Human Resources and Aging Award.   Dr. Anetzberger has presented on the topic of elder abuse or adult protective services for various local or national groups, including the American Society on Aging, Gerontological Society of America, American Counseling Association, and National Asssociation of Area Agencies on Aging.

     James Vanden Bosch is the founder and Executive Director of Terra Nova Films, a not for profit company that produces and distributes videos on aging-related issues.  He has produced several videos on elder abuse (“Elder Abuse: Five Case Studies”; “I’d Rather be Home”; “In Their Own Words: Domestic Abuse in Later Life“) and on the dynamics of caregiving (“My Mother, My Father”; “A Thousand Tomorrows” and “He’s Doing this to Spite Me: Emotional Conflicts in Dementia Care”).  Vanden Bosch has also presented at multiple conferences, using a multimedia approach that incorporates relevant video stories into a thematic PowerPoint.

     Trudy Gregorie has 30 years experience in the crime victim services and criminal justice fields. In 1979, she established a prosecutor-based victim services program in Charleston, South Carolina—only the second such program in the state—and served as its director for 13 years. In 1992, she was appointed the first S.C. Governor’s Office Crime Victim Ombudsman. From 1994-2001, Gregorie served as senior staff at the National Center for Victims of Crime, first as Director of Victim Services and then Director of Training. Currently, she is a Senior Director with Justice Solutions in Washington D.C., and a national consultant on public safety and victim issues.

     While serving at the local and state level in South Carolina, Gregorie was very involved in the evolution of victim rights and services. She testified at numerous state legislative committee hearings and was appointed by the Attorney General to serve on the State Policy Committee that developed guidelines, protocols, and procedures for prosecutor-based victim specialists in South Carolina. She also served on the task force that established the first child advocacy center in the state. At the national level, she has been involved in the development of numerous training programs, curricula, and resources on emerging issues for the crime victim services field and allied professions; the development and supervision of technical assistance programs; management of numerous government (including the Office for Victims of Crime, Office on Violence Against Women, Community-Oriented Policing Services Office, and Bureau of Justice Assistance) and privately-funded grant projects; and provision of training and technical assistance on topics related to crime victim rights and services, criminal and juvenile justice, community and justice system collaborations, and program development. She has provided training in over 47 states, and also has provided over 425 media interviews in the local, state and national press and electronic media.

     Gregorie is a certified trainer for the National College of District Attorneys and National District Attorneys Association, the U.S. Federal Judicial Center, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, the National Association of Crime Victim Compensation Boards, the National Association of VOCA Assistance Administrators, the National Crime Prevention Council, the National White Collar Crime Center, the Center for Sex Offender Management, and the U.S. Department of Justice: Office for Victims of Crime; Bureau of Justice Assistance; National Institute of Justice; National Institute of Corrections; and Office for Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. She serves as a victim consultant for the Council of State Governments, the National Center for State Courts, the Police Executive Research Forum, the National Sheriff’s Association, and the Center for Effective Public Policy and its Center for Sex Offender Management. She also serves on the faculty of the National Victim Assistance Academy, the National Sheriff’s Association TRIAD Academy, as well as the Florida, Illinois, and Louisiana State Elderly Services Officer Police Academies. She is a founding member of the Board of Directors for the National Association of Triads and is serving a third elected term on the Board of Directors of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, currently as Treasurer. She served as the first elected Crime Victim Representative on the Delegate Assembly of the American Correctional Association and serves as co-chair of the ACA Victims and Restorative Justice Committee. She serves on the Victims’ Issues Committee of the American Probation and Parole Association, and is a consultant on victim issues for APPA. She also serves on the Victims Committee of the International Association of Reentry. Since 1996, Gregorie has also served on the Editorial Board of the Sexual Assault Report. In 1999, Gregorie was chosen to receive the National Crime Victim Services Award. In 1992, the South Carolina Victim Assistance Network awarded her the Distinguished Humanitarian Award, a presentation given in recognition of pioneering efforts and work on behalf of crime victims.

     Paula McClain Mixson, LMSW-AP, CVW, NCG has almost 30 years experience in public and private programs serving the elderly and people with disabilities.  After retiring from the Texas Adult Protective Services (APS) program in 2003, she continued her involvement with adult/elder abuse programs through independent consulting and training, nationally and internationally. She is a Certified Validation® Worker and a National Certified Guardian and is associated with arrangeCARE PC, a private care management firm in Austin. She serves on the board of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and is a long-time volunteer with Gray Panthers of Austin, leading several of its community service projects.  Ms. Mixson’s articles have appeared in the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect and Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled, among other publications.

Susan Aziz serves as Special Advisor for the International Federation on Ageing.  A gerontologist, she has worked in the field of aging for over 22 years as an educator, advocate, senior manager, and consultant.

Formerly the Vice President, Advocacy & Education Programs at WISE Senior Services in California, Susan had oversight responsibility for the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program and Elder Abuse Prevention Program for Los Angeles County.  Recognized for her leadership in developing and initially coordinating the award-winning model Los Angeles County Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST), Susan produced numerous educational programs, conferences, and Senior Action Fairs: Protect Yourself against Fraud and Abuse.  She has published on financial abuse and on neglect and abuse associated with malnutrition in long-term care.

In Canada, Susan directed the Community Services for the Elderly at Jewish Family Services Social Service Centre in Montreal where she chaired a task force that developed a model for a social gerontology centre that was subsequently established.  Susan also directed the Educational Services—staff training, leadership development, organizational development, and conference production—at the former Queen Street Mental Health Center, a University of Toronto-affiliated provincial psychiatric hospital.

Susan served as the Assistant Editor of Global Ageing, the journal of the International Federation on Ageing, and was the Guest Editor of the special issue on Preventing Elder Abuse and Neglect.  She serves on the Editorial Boards of Global Ageing and the Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect; on the Advisory Council, Area Agency on Aging, Palm Beach & Treasure Coast, Your Aging Resource Center, Florida (Past Chair); and on the Board of Directors of the National Telemarketing Victim Call Center (Secretary) and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (past Treasurer and former Chair of the Public Policy and Education Committees).  Susan was a founding Board member of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA) and served as the North American Regional Representative.  She was an NGO Observer, as a representative of INPEA, at the 2002 United Nations Second World Assembly on Ageing in Madrid, Spain.

Susan was a delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging.  She speaks at conferences nationally and internationally.

     Robert Blancato is President of Matz, Blancato & Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in government affairs, association and coalition management, and advocacy services, since 1996.  During that time, his firm has provided Washington representational services for scores of clients.  The firm provides lobbying and advocacy services, strategic consulting, legislative development, and association management.  Clients include the Mature Market Institute of MetLife, National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs, Long Term Care Partners, the Elder Justice Coalition, the California Elderly Nutrition Partnership, and the Alliance of Information and Referral Systems.

     Blancato’s career also includes some 20 years of public service.  He served on the Policy Committee and Executive Committee of the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, appointed by Representative Nancy Pelosi. He served as the Executive Director of the 1995 White House Conference on Aging, appointed by President Clinton, and as a Senior Executive Service position from 1994 to 1996.  Bob also served as a delegate to the 1998 White House Conference on Social Security. In addition, Bob served in senior staff positions in the House of Representatives, including 10 years as a Chief of Staff to former Rep. Mario Biaggi of New York. He served as Staff Director of the House Select Committee on Aging’s Subcommittee on Human Services from 1977 through 1988 and remained as a Senior Advisor until 1993.          

     Bob currently serves as Chairman of the National Silver Haired Congress Advisory Council, Special Advisor to the Board of Generations United, the Leadership Advisory Council of the National Council on Aging and the Board of Senior Navigator. He is also a member of the Arlington County Commission on Aging and the Greater Washington D.C. Urban League. Most recently Bob was named by Governor Tim Kaine to be on the Commonwealth Council on Aging of Virginia for a 4 year term ending in 2012.

     Previously Bob served on the Board of Directors for the American Society on Aging (2000-2003 and 2005-2008), and as the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse President for 5 years. Bob was a member of the United States delegation to the United Nations World Assembly on Aging in 1982 in Vienna and a delegate to the 1998 White House Conference on Social Security. The American Society on Aging (ASA) awarded him the ASA Award in 1999 for outstanding contributions to the field of aging. In 2007, Bob received the Claude Pepper Award for excellence in Community Based Long Term Care from the National Institute of Community Based Long Term Care.

     He holds a Bachelor of Arts from Georgetown University and a Master of Public Administration from American University. He has served as Associate Professorial Lecturer in the Graduate School of Political Management at George Washington University and as an adjunct professor in the University of Maryland Graduate School Of Social Work.

Dr. Cohen is a professor in the Department of Child & Family Studies and Director of the Violence and Injury Prevention Program in the College of Behavioral and Community Sciences. She is an internationally distinguished scientist, educator, clinician and humanist in the field of aging, mental health, long-term care, and violence. She serves on many national scientific and technical advisory groups. Dr. Cohen has published 11 books and over 190 scientific articles. Her latest book, An Integrated Textbook of Geriatric Mental Health, written with Dr. Carl Eisdorfer, has just been published by Johns Hopkins University Press.

Dr. Cohen’s contributions have established guidelines and standards of health care practices in geriatric mental health, and she is a well-known advocate for policy reform at the national and state level.  Dr. Cohen has testified in congress on health care, long term care, Alzheimer’s disease, depression and suicide and homicide-suicide, abuse and family violence, age discrimination, and veteran’s affairs. She has participated in many policy forums, including Medicare reform, Medicare fraud and abuse, violent deaths, elder justice, long term care, and family caregiving.  From 1988-1992 Dr. Cohen headed a national effort to develop a plan for a 1991 White House Conference on Aging, which was finally held in 1995.

Dr. Cohen is a pioneer in research on Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias, and she is one of the original founders of the Alzheimer’s Association. Dr. Cohen was also the first to study the subjective experience of people with dementia, and this emphasis on the illness led to an innovative framework for intervention and counseling. She was one of the first investigators to identify the important role of family members for the well being and quality of life of persons with dementia and the psychiatric consequences of caregiving for family caregivers. Her research has now expanded to study children with family care responsibilities, the only program in the US at this time.

Dr. Cohen is a national and international authority on violent deaths, including homicide-suicide, suicide, and homicide, across the lifespan.  She was the first to describe the epidemiology, patterns and clinical characteristics in older populations.  Her work is rapidly being incorporated into educational programs for law enforcement officers, judges, and lawyers as well as professionals in the aging, long term care, health care, forensic, threat assessment, crisis intervention, public health, and mental health networks.

Dr. Cohen has conducted the first study of potentially violent persons residing in long term care facilities--a heterogeneous population of residents with dementia and serious psychiatric illnesses as well as registered sex offenders and other violent predators on probation or parole, convicted felons, and persons with criminal backgrounds who are court-ordered admissions. She surveyed legislation and non-law policies in the fifty states and the District of Columbia in order to make recommendations to overcome barriers to best practices and improve policies and legislation. Her latest research project is focused on developing a violence risk scale for long term care residents.

Dr. Cohen is widely sought after for public lectures on aging as well as educational seminars throughout the country.  Dr. Cohen conducts corporate, professional and community seminars on family caregiving, Alzheimer’s disease, mental health care, management of chronic illness, health and wellness, retirement planning, long term care, elder care programs, suicide, homicide and homicide-suicide.

Dr. Cohen maintains a high media profile on television, radio, and newspapers educating the public about a variety of aging issues, including violence She has appeared many times on NBC’s Today Show, MSNBC, NBC Nightly News, ABC’s 20/20, Good Morning America, CNN, C-Span, and NPR.

     Mary Lynn Kasunic, President & CEO and Executive Director of the Area Agency on Aging, Region One since 1990, is nationally recognized for her leadership in developing innovative programs to address unmet needs and raise awareness. She guided the Agency in establishing the DOVES® program, recognized at local, state and national levels for its innovative approach to serving victims of late-life domestic violence and elder abuse. In 1993, Ms. Kasunic co-founded and co-chairs the Maricopa Elder Abuse Prevention Alliance. She has served on the NCPEA Board of Directors for more than 10 years. As part of a multi-year AoA project with NCPEA, Ms. Kasunic has trained community organizations to develop effective local elder abuse prevention coalitions, resulting in the creation of 52 new coalitions across the country. Ms. Kasunic serves on the Arizona Governor’s Commission to Prevent Violence Against Women and Children. She is a graduate of the n4a Leadership Institute, is a recipient of a Piper Fellowship for exemplary nonprofit leadership, and has received an Excellence in Leadership award from n4a.

     Diana Meeks-Sjostrom, PhD, RN, MSN, CS, FNP-BC, ONC has extensive experience in the field of Management, Project Coordination, and Nursing Research, as a Nursing Professor, a Family Nurse Practitioner, a nurse manager, and as a bedside nurse.  An accomplished author, editor, and reviewer of professional articles and textbooks, and speaker, as well Dr. Meeks-Sjostrom, is a Board Member of the National Committee of Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA), Georgia State Representative for the Southern Nurses’ Research Society (SNRS) and active with local chapters of Sigma Theta Tau, Georgia Nurses’ Association (GNA).

     Denise Nelesen, a licensed clinical social worker since 1991, is an aging specialist for the County of San Diego’s Aging & Independence Services, the local Area Agency on Aging. She is on the department’s management team and assists with program development, as well as being responsible for publicizing the many services offered by AIS. One of her publications is Safe Seniors, a quarterly publication for the prevention of elder abuse in the county. This is the 11th year for that publication, which is distributed to 5,000 persons throughout the county.

     She works with the District Attorney’s office coordinating consumer protection events to alert older adults and others to scams, fraud and other abuse.

     Denise also has experience as a journalist, having graduated in 1975 from the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism. For more than 17 years, she wrote “Seniority,” a twice-monthly column for older adults and their families published in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

     Dr. Holly Ramsey‑Klawsnik, Klawsnik & Klawsnik Associates, Canton, MA, holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and a Certificate in the Study of Aging from Boston University.  She is a Licensed Marriage & Family Therapist and Licensed Certified Social Worker as well as social science researcher.  She has provided extensive clinical services to older adults and adults with disabilities and numerous forensic evaluations and consultations for agencies that investigate alleged abuse.  She has authored many training curricula and developed and presented continuing education programs for a multitude of state and federal programs, Adult Protective Services systems, regulatory and law enforcement agencies, and health care providers and organizations throughout the country.  Her research, practice, training, consultation, and publications have focused on investigation of alleged abuse, casework intervention and supervision, mental health problems, self-neglect, domestic violence and sexual assault in later life, quality of care and victimization in facilities, and professional self-care.

     Ramsey‑Klawsnik has taught at the Smith College School for Social Work and Boston University. She has authored over 60 journal articles, book chapters, and training manuals.  She is a trainer and consultant for the Massachusetts Elder Protective Services Program and directs the MA Elder Sexual Abuse Consultation Project. She is a frequent conference speaker and has served as a NCPEA board member since 1999.

      Winsor C. Schmidt, J.D., LL.M. is Endowed Chair/Distinguished Scholar in Urban Health Policy, Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Professor of Family and Geriatric Medicine, and Professor of Health Management and Systems Sciences, at the University of Louisville School of Medicine. Professor Schmidt’s publications include the books, Public Guardianship and the Elderly (Ballinger Publishing Company), Guardianship: Court of Last Resort for the Elderly and Disabled (Carolina Academic Press), and co-authorship of Public Guardianship After 25 Years: In the Best Interest of Incapacitated People? (Praeger Publishers 2010), as well as over 55 book chapters and articles on health and mental health law and policy issues. Recent contributions include Schmidt, Akinci & Magill, “Study Finds Certified Guardians with Legal Work Experience Are at Greater Risk for Elder Abuse Than Certified Guardians with Other Work Experience,” 7 (2) NAELA Journal (National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys) 171-197 (Fall 2011). Recent service experience includes the state of Washington’s Certified Professional Guardian Board, and NCPEA’s delegate to the Third National Guardianship Summit. Professor Schmidt holds the A.B. in Government from Harvard University, the J.D. in Public Law from American University and the LL.M. in Mental Health Law from the University of Virginia. He is a member of the District of Columbia Bar.