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Our Board
Officers:
President:
Georgia Anetzberger, Ph.D., ACSW
Georgia J. Anetzberger is on the faculty in the Health Care Administration Program Medicine at Case Western Reserve University, a consultant in private practice, and Fellow in the Gerontological Society of America. In her 35+ years addressing elder abuse she has served as VP 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, Supervisor of Adult Services for the Geauga County Welfare Department and held additional research and planning positions in other Cleveland area organizations. Dr. Anetzberger was the architect of Ohio’s protective services law for adults, established the Ohio Adult Protective Services Coalition, Consortium Against Adult Abuse, and Greater Cleveland Elder Abuse/Domestic Violence Roundtable, and consults and participates in national organizations and projects.
Vice President:
Lori Delagrammatikas, MSW
Lori Delagrammatikas has been the program manager for M.A.S.T.E. R. for the last 5 years. In this position, she has coordinated the development of national core competency trainings for APS workers and their allied partner agencies. Ms. Delagrammatikas also has 8 years experience as the APS program specialist for one of the largest counties in California and she was the chair of California’s statewide APS committee for 2 years. She frequently presents to national audiences on the need for standardized training for APS workers.
Treasurer:
Trudy Gregorie
Trudy Gregorie is a senior director with Justice Solutions, a national nonprofit providing consulting, training and technical assistance on justice and victim issues, drawing from her 30 years experience in these fields. In 1979, Ms. Gregorie established a prosecutor-based victim services program in Charleston, South Carolina -and served as its director for 13 years. She has worked in the S.C. Governor’s Office, developed the State Crime Victim Ombudsman program, and served as Director of Victim Services and Training at the National Center for Victims of Crime. She is a certified trainer and faculty member for a variety of national and state institutes and academies. In addition to serving as NCPEA’s Treasurer, she is on the board of the National Association of Triads, and the Editorial Board of the Sexual Assault Report. In 1999, she was awarded the National Crime Victim Services Award by the U.S. Attorney General.
Clerk:
Paula Mixson, LMSW-AP
Paula McClain Mixson has over 30 years experience in public and private programs serving the elderly and people with disabilities and has lived in Austin since 1983. After retiring in 2003 from her position as a Division Administrator with the Texas Adult Protective Services (APS) program, she has continued her involvement in the field through independent consulting, training, writing, case management, and volunteer work. She is a part-time associate of arrangeCARE PC, a private care management firm in Austin. A founding member of both the National APS Association and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, she received NAPSA’s Rosalie S. Wolf Memorial Award in 2002 and NCPEA’s Rosalie Wolf Award in 2011-2012.
Ms. Mixson has a B.A. in Drama from Sam Houston Teacher’s College in Huntsville, Texas and is licensed in Texas as a Master Social Worker, Advanced Practitioner. She holds international certification as a V/F Validation® Group Practitioner, as well as Texas and national guardianship certifications. She is a member of the Texas Guardianship Association and is a founding member of the North American Validation® Association, which organized in 2012 as a non-profit in Pennsylvania. (Validation® is a method of communicating with confused and disoriented elders.) She speaks on topics related to adult/elder protection and Validation®, and her publications include articles in the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect, LifeTimes, and Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled, among others.
Immediate Past President:
Bettye Mitchell, MA
Bettye Mitchell is nationally recognized for her expertise in organization and program development, leadership, management, training, aging, protective services, elder abuse, and cultural diversity. She has proven leadership in designing and managing large complex programs and strategic planning. She is a dynamic, results-oriented executive who can coordinate efforts of consumers, advocacy groups, service providers, and state and federal agencies to improve the lives of persons growing older and with disabilities. Bettye is the former Director of the Texas Adult Protective Services Program, providing leadership in policy development, legislative changes to the Adult Protective Services Statues, developed the program for investigations of Abuse, Neglect and exploitation in state hospitals and state schools and the design and implementation of the guardianship program with APS. Bettye served on the advisory board for the first state wide guardianship program for Health and Human Services. Bettye developed the first statewide APS training program, developed core competency based curricula, implemented comprehensive multiculturalism in policies, training and practices in the APS program. She provided leadership in the design of total quality management in the quality assurance program for Adult Protective Services.
Mitchell served as former Deputy Commissioner for f Long Term Care with the Texas Department of Human Resources, now the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, successfully provided leadership to over thirty Long Term Care programs with budgets in excess of $3.8 billion dollars serving over 300,000 persons annually within the State of Texas. Mitchell provided leadership in the design and development of Community Care Programs, Quality Monitoring Program for improved outcomes for persons in state nursing facilities, provided leadership for the licensure and regulation of nursing facility investigations of abuse and neglect in state operated facilities. Mitchell retired from the State of Texas after twenty eight years of service.
Mitchell is the proud recipient of the National Adult Protective Services (NAPSA) Joanne Otto award. She is a member of the State of Texas Disproportionality Task for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. She is a former President Elect of NAPSA, founder of the NAPSA foundation. Ms. Mitchell serves on the advisory committee for the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV), San Diego; CA. Bettye serves as co-chair of the education committee for Institute Against Violence and Trauma.
Mitchell currently serves as CEO of Life Span Care Training and Consulting Group, a company which provides training and consultation in the field of leadership development, management, strategic planning, aging, disability, community and long term care, cultural diversity and building coalitions. Bettye is an experienced trainer of more than thirty years.
2013 Board Members
Susan J. Aziz, MA
Susan Aziz serves as Special Advisor for the International Federation on Ageing and was a founding board member of the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (INPEA). A gerontologist, she has worked in the field of aging for over 22 years as an educator, advocate, senior manager, and consultant. Formerly Vice President, Advocacy and Education programs at WISE Senior Services in California, she had oversight for long-term care ombudsman Program and Elder Abuse Prevention Program for los Angeles County, and established the model Los Angeles County Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST). She has served as NCPEA’s Treasurer and on the JEAN editorial Board.
Mohammad Bader, MS, NCC, LPC
Mohammad Badar is Program Manager/Senior for Adult Protective Services (APS) in Multnomah County, Oregon and Coordinator of the Interagency Committee for Abuse Prevention in that county.
Robert B. Blancato, MPA
Robert Blancato is President of Matz, Blancato & Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in government affairs, association and coalition management, and advocacy services, since 1996. Mr. Blancato has over 20 years of public service experience. 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. He is a former president (2000-2006) and public policy chair of NCPEA, a founder and current National Coordinator of the Elder Justice Coalition, Executive Director of NANASP, the National Association of Nutrition and Aging Services Programs, and a board member of the American Society on Aging and the American Council of Aging Organizations.
Bennett Blum, MD, Rabbi 
Bennett Blum specializes in both forensic and geriatric psychiatry and has consulted on hundreds of cases, including the criminal trials of Susan Smith and Andrea Yates. His pioneering assessment techniques in the areas of undue influence, mental capacity, and competency are taught throughout the Western Hemisphere.
James Grant Booker, MA
James Booker directs APS for the Houston region of Texas and provides a leadership role in training activities on elder abuse prevention in that area.
Patrícia Brownell, Ph.D, MSW
Patricia Brownell, Ph.D, LMSW, is Associate Professor of Social Work at Fordham University, a Hartford Geriatric Faculty Scholar, a Gerontological Society of America Fellow, and the United Nations Representative to the International Network for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. Her areas of research include gerontology, elder abuse, and domestic violence.
Curtis Clark, M.D.
Honorary Board Member.
Donna Cohen, Ph.D
Donna 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 at the University of South Florida. She is an internationally distinguished scientist, educator, clinician and advocate in the field of aging, geriatric mental health, long-term care, Alzheimer’s and dementia, and violence, She has served a Director of the Clinical Division of the American Association of Suicidology, published ten books and over 180 scientific articles, contributed groundbreaking research and policy work, and established practice guidelines and standards in geriatric mental health.
Jane Jones, RN, BSW
Mary Lynn Kasunic, M.S., R.D., C.P.M.
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, Ph.D, RN, MSN, CS, FNP-BC, ONC
Diana Meek-Sjostrom is Director of Nursing at Bauder College. Her research interests include elder abuse and clinical decision-making.
Denise Nelesen, LCSW
Denise Nelesen is a licensed clinical social worker and an aging specialist for the County of San Diego’s Aging & Independence Services, the local area agency on aging. In that capacity, she publishes Safe Seniors quarterly on elder abuse prevention for the county and works with the District Attorney’s Office to coordinate consumer protection events related to scams, fraud, and other abuse.
Lisa Nerenberg, MSW, MPH
Lisa Nerenberg chairs the California Elder Justice Workgroup, which was formed in 2009 by participants in the Archstone Foundation’s Elder Abuse and Neglect Initiative to develop a blueprint for improving California’s response to elder abuse. She is an instructor at City College of San Francisco and consultant to local, state and national organizations. Her clients have included the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, the National Indian Council on Aging, the San Francisco Superior Court, the National Adult Protective Services Association, the Police Executive Research Forum, and the California Medical Training Center. She was the founding director of the San Francisco Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention, which piloted the nation’s first elder abuse multidisciplinary team and other widely-replicated services, including a support group and shelter for elderly victims. She has presented at hundreds of professional forums, testified before Congressional committees, served on governmental advisory committees, and written extensively about elder abuse and related issues. Her book, Elder Abuse Prevention: Emerging Trends and Promising Strategies (Springer, 2008) describes what agencies, communities, tribes, states, and national organizations can do to prevent abuse, treat its effects, and ensure justice.
Elizabeth Podnieks, RN, Ed.D
Honorary Board Member
Albert Reed, MS
Joseph Rodrigues, BA, MDiv
Winsor C. Schmidt, J.D., LL.M
Winsor Schmidt is Endowed Chair/Distinguished Scholar in Urban Health Policy, Professor of Health Policy and Administration and Chair of the Department of Health Policy and Administration at Washington State University. His publications include seminal books on Public Guardianship and over 20 journal articles and book chapters drawing from decades of national and state research, related to guardianship and the elderly, and health and mental health law and policy, that inform multiple fields.
Dotty St. Amand, MSW, NHA
Executive Director
Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer’s Resource Center
Dotty St. Amand is the Executive Director of Arden Courts, an Alzheimer's assisted living facility in Fort Myers, FL. She previous served as the Executive Director of the Alvin A. Dubin Alzheimer’s Resource Center, also in Fort Myers, FL since 1997. She has 24 years experience working with individuals and families affected by Alzheimer’s disease and other aging issues. Ms. St. Amand is a licensed Nursing Home Administrator in Florida and Michigan, a member of the Alzheimer's Foundation of America, and a frequent trainer for families and professionals on elder care. She writes a weekly aging column for the Fort Myers News Press. She co-founded and co-chairs the Lee Elder Abuse Prevention Partnership (LEAPP).
Joy Solomon, ESQ.
Joy Solomon, Esq., is co-founder, Director and Managing Attorney of The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Center for Elder Abuse Prevention, Intervention and Research at The Hebrew Home at Riverdale, New York. She was previously Director of Elder Abuse Services at the Pace Women’s Justice Center and prior to that served for 8 years as an Assistant District Attorney in New York County, investigating and prosecuting cases involving elder abuse, child abuse and fraud.
Joy received her JD from the National Law Center at George Washington University and her B.A. from Syracuse University. She speaks frequently nationally and internationally and publishes on the issue of elder abuse, has presented expert testimony for the United States Senate, New York State and City forums. Joy was a participant in the first and subsequent New York State Summits on Elder Abuse, is a partner in The New York City Elder Abuse Center, is a member of numerous boards, state and local coalitions, and task forces and has been recognized with numerous awards. The Weinberg Center received the 2007 NCPEA Rosalie Wolf and other national awards.
Karen Stein, Ph.D
Hon. Thomas A. Swift, Judge
Thomas Swift is the judge of the Trumbull County Probate Court. He formerly served as partner in the law firm of Turner & Swift in Warren, Ohio. He is chair of the Ohio Judicial Conference, past president of the Ohio Association of Probate Judges, a board member of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, serves on the Board of Governors of the American Judges Association and chairs their Elder Abuse Committee. In addition, he is a member of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Advisory Committee on Children, Families, and the Courts and the Adult Guardianship Committee. He serves as a member of the Ohio Attorney General’s Elder Abuse Commission, Ohio Elder Abuse Task Force Steering Committee, and the Ohio Coalition of Adult Protective Services Steering Committee. He also is a member of the Ohio State Bar Association, Trumbull County Bar Association, American Bar Association, Florida Bar Association, and American Judges Association. Judge Swift received his B.A. from Kent State University and his J.D. from University of Akron, School of Law.
Randolph W. Thomas, MA
Honorary Board Member
Randy Thomas is a retired police officer having served for over 26 years in the law enforcement profession. His experience encompasses patrol, investigations, planning and research and over 14 years as a law enforcement trainer with the South Carolina Department of Public Safety (Unit Chief, Behavioral Science/Domestic Investigations). He was
a member of the South Carolina Adult Protection Coordinating Council, and an advisor to the US Department of Justice and a past president of NCPEA. He has been on the faculty of the University of South Carolina, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice; he publishes, consults and provides training on elder abuse investigations throughout out the US.
Marilyn Whalen, MSSW
Honorary Board Member
Marilyn Whalen is currently a consultant with over 25 years experience involving issues and programs related to Adult/Elder Protection. She was the Program Director for the Tennessee Department of Human Services, Adult Protective Services (APS) program, served on the Tennessee Commission on Aging and Disabilities (SUA) and was a
co-founder and board member of both the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA) and NCPEA.
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