Joe Gaugler is the Robert L. Kane Endowed Chair in Long-Term Care & Aging in the School of Public Health and a Distinguished McKnight University Professor at the University of Minnesota. He is the Director of the Center for Healthy Aging and Innovation, Director of the CDC-funded BOLD Public Health Center of Excellence on Dementia Caregiving, Director of the National Institute on Aging-funded EMBRACE AD/ADRD Roybal and State Alzheimer's Research Support Centers, and Editor-in-Chief of The Gerontologist. His research focuses on dementia care innovation.

Spero M. Manson, Ph.D. (Little Shell Chippewa) is Distinguished Professor of Public Health and Psychiatry, occupies the Colorado Trust Chair in American Indian Health, and directs the Centers for American Indian and Alaska Native Health in the Colorado School of Public Health at the University of Colorado Denver’s Anschutz Medical Center. His programs include 10 national centers, which pursue research, program development, training, and collaboration with 200 Native communities. Dr. Manson has acquired >$260 million in sponsored research to support this work, and published 300 articles on the assessment, epidemiology, treatment, and prevention of physical, alcohol, drug, as well as mental health problems over the developmental life span of Native people. He has received over 30 national from the NIH, CDC, APHA, AAMC, IHS, numerous professional organizations, and the National Academy of Medicine. He is widely acknowledged as one of the nation’s leading authorities regarding Native health.

Marcia G. Ory, Ph.D., M.P.H., is a Regents and Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, Texas A&M School of Public Health (SPH) in College Station, Texas. Working with interdisciplinary teams in the TAMU Board of Regents Center for Community Health and Aging (CCHA), her primary goal is to reframe healthy aging as the new normal through innovative research, education, and service. Dr. Ory is an international leader in translating research into practice through investigations of behavioral, social, environmental, policy, and/or technological solutions to enhance health and quality of life for all. She has a long-standing commitment to aging and public health research, with a particular interest in dementia research that focuses on both individuals living with dementia and their care partners.

Dr. Lauren J. Parker, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Scientist at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her research advances dementia care and support for all families, with a focus on communities who experience higher prevalence and greater risk of dementia. She develops and implements culturally tailored, community-based interventions to ensure that services and resources reach those most in need, with the goal of achieving parity in dementia care. Dr. Parker is Principal Investigator of an NIA-funded K01 study examining biological and psychosocial stress pathways among caregivers and serves as Co-Investigator with the State Alzheimer’s Research Support Center (StARS) and the Implementation Core of the NIA-funded IMPACT Collaboratory. A national leader in dementia caregiving science, Dr. Parker works at the intersection of research, policy, and practice to strengthen support for people living with dementia and their caregivers.

Dr. Sidney M. Stahl served as the Chief of the Individual Behavioral Processes Branch at the National Institute on Aging (NIA), National Institutes of Health (NIH) from 1996 until retiring in 2012. He promoted diversity in aging research by creating the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research (RCMAR) program and initiating NIA’s research programs on elder abuse. After retiring, he served as elder abuse research consultant to the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging. He helped implement part of the Affordable Care Act creating the Cabinet-level Elder Justice Coordinating Council. The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) chose Dr. Stahl as the 2012 recipient of the Donald P. Kent Award. Prior to his career at NIH, he was a professor of medical sociology and social gerontology at Purdue University for over 20 years.

Michelle Putnam, PhD, MGS, FGSA is Director of the Gerontology Institute and Professor in the Gerontology Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She holds a BA in History from the University of Michigan, a Master's in Gerontological Studies from Miami University in Ohio, and a PhD in Social Welfare from the University of California, Los Angeles, and served as a Post-Doctoral Fellow in Public Health in Disabilities at Oregon Health & Sciences University. Dr. Putnam's scholarship focuses on the intersections of aging and disability including how growing older with lifelong and long-term disability is different than aging into disability for the first time in later life and how to build bridges across aging and disability research, policy and practice. She currently serves as Editor-in-Chief of Innovation in Aging, a journal of the Gerontological Society of America.

Karen J. Jung, MSW, serves as Publishing Manager/Managing Editor of Innovation in Aging and The Journals of Gerontology, Series B: Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, journals of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA). Prior to joining GSA in 2017, she worked as a Program Assistant at the New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging at Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine. She received a Bachelor of Arts in East Asian Studies with a Minor in Biology from Dickinson College and a Master of Social Work from Temple University.

Dawn C. Carr is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Claude Pepper Center at Florida State University. Carr’s work seeks to enhance health and wellbeing as people move through middle and later life and the resources and interventions that allow people to remain active and engaged members of society for as long as possible. Her recent work examines how working and volunteering influences physical, psychological, and cognitive health in middle and later life, and the role of psychological resources in shaping recovery from stressful exposures such as spousal loss, financial precarity, falls, and the onset of chronic health conditions.

Amanda Sonnega, PhD, is a Research Scientist in the Survey Research Center of the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan (UM), where she is responsible for integrating communication, outreach, and education efforts for the Health and Retirement Study. She received her doctorate through the Department of Health, Behavior, and Society at the Johns Hopkins University and completed a postdoctoral fellowship within the ISR program in Social Environment and Health. Dr. Sonnega has lectured in the UM School of Public Health on psychosocial factors in health-related behavior. Her research focuses on life course trajectories of physical and mental health; institutional and personal factors associated with vulnerability and resilience in aging individuals; and work transitions and their broad effects on health and well-being.

Dr. Monica Mallampalli a patient with sleep apnea, a trained biomedical scientist and the President & CEO of the Alliance of Sleep Apnea Partners (ASAP). Having experienced challenges in treatment, following her diagnosis with obstructive sleep apnea a decade ago led her to her current role at ASAP in advocating for those who suffer from sleep apnea. Besides being a patient advocate, she also bring unique perspectives to conversations or discussions with research and health policy experience based on her 15+ policy advocacy experience. Dr. Mallampalli was recently appointed to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine's (AASM) Women and Sleep Health Task Force.

Jennifer L. Martin is Endowed Professor and Director of the Benjamin Leon Jr. Family Center for Aging Research and Education at Florida International University, and Director of the Miami VA Healthcare System Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center. Dr. Martin’s scientific research program focuses on improving sleep as a key component of maintaining and improving physical and mental health in older adults, women, and Veterans. Her work has been supported by NIH, VA, industry and non-profit foundations. Core areas of her work include developing and testing novel approaches to treating insomnia disorder, improving use of sleep apnea treatments, and understanding how improved sleep leads to health benefits. Dr. Martin is a national leader a strong record of service. She is a Past-President of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and recently received the VA’s National Health System Impact Award recognizing the impact of her research on healthcare for Veterans.

Dr. Chris Schmickl MD/PhD, is an Associate Professor and sleep medicine specialist at UC San Diego whose work centers on advancing new therapies for obstructive sleep apnea. He has received NIH, AHA, and AASM funding to lead clinical trials evaluating promising pharmacologic treatments. As Director of the Advanced Care and Electrostimulation for Sleep Apnea (ACE-OSA) Program, he provides patients with new therapy options such as hypoglossal nerve stimulation and tirzepatide, particularly for those who struggle with CPAP. His goal is to broaden effective, individualized treatment pathways for sleep apnea.

Patricia M. D’Antonio, BSPharm, MS, MBA, BCGP, is the Vice President of Policy and Professional Affairs for the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) and a board-certified geriatric pharmacist. Ms. D’Antonio directs GSA’s policy initiatives and is responsible for developing relationships with organizations in the aging arena. She represents GSA on several policy coalitions and serves as co-chair for the Adult Vaccine Access Coalition, president of the board of Protecting Access to Pain Relief, and a member of the steering committee for several federally focused coalitions. Ms. D’Antonio is also the executive director for the National Center to Reframe Aging, the central hub to advance the long-term social change endeavor designed to improve the public’s understanding of what aging means and the many ways that older people contribute to our society. Before joining GSA, Trish was the executive director for the District of Columbia Board of Pharmacy and program manager for the Pharmaceutical Control Division, where she was responsible for the regulatory and policy development for the practice of pharmacy and safe handling of medications in the District.  She received her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy from Duquesne University and her Master of Science in Health Finance and Master in Business Administration with a concentration in health care from Temple University. She completed a residency in administration and finance at The Philadelphia Geriatric Center.  

Apoorva Rangan is pursuing a Doctor of Medicine and a master's degree in epidemiology and clinical research at Stanford School of Medicine. She aspires to a career working with researchers, community organizations, and older patients to improve quality and equity in geriatric care. Rangan has special interests in geriatrics workforce development, medical-legal collaborations supporting incarcerated older people, and long-term care systems. In 2019, she resided in an intergenerational nursing home in the Netherlands, which was a pivotal experience in her journey toward medicine. She graduated from Harvard College magna cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and human developmental and regenerative biology. In her free time, she loves birding and yoga.