Tamara Baker, PhD, FGSA, is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is an appointed member of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Committee, the National Institutes of Health Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee, and Editor-in-Chief of Ethnicity & Health. Among Dr. Baker’s activities with the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), she is a former GSA Secretary, served as Chair of the GSA Committee on Minority Issues in Gerontology, founder and co-convener of GSA’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Collaborative Interest Group, former Chair of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, and is the GSA Board of Directors President. Her background in gerontology, psychology, and biobehavioral health has evolved into an active research agenda focusing on health disparities/equity as well as understanding the behavioral and psychosocial predictors and outcomes of chronic pain and pain among older Black adults.

Helene H. Fung is a Professor and former Associate Dean (Student Affairs) of Social Science, former chairperson at the Dept of Psychology, the Executive Director of the Centre for Positive Social Science and a Deputy Director of the Institute of Ageing, at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She examines socioemotional ageing across cultures. She is included on a list of the top 2% of working scientists world-wide and is ranked among Top Scientists in Psychology in China by Research.com. She is a senior associate editor for the Australian Journal of Psychology, and an associate editor for Cognition and Emotion.

Denis Gerstorf is Professor and chair of Developmental Psychology at Humboldt University Berlin, Germany. As lifespan developmental scholar, he is interested in better understanding how our everyday lives and the long-term developmental trajectories we are on are often closely intertwined with and co-regulated by the contexts in which we live. He is also Research Fellow at the German Socio-Economic Panel, one of the longest-running national surveys worldwide. Dr. Gerstorf serves as Editor of the Behavioral Sciences section of Gerontology and has been for many years in that role for Psychology and Aging and the International Journal of Behavioral Development. He is Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and chairperson of the interdisciplinary, multi-institutional consortium of the Berlin Aging Study-II (https://www.base2.mpg.de/en). His work has received numerous acknowledgements (e.g., Early Career Achievement Awards from APA and GSA, Innovative Publication Award of GSA).

Stephen John Fogle completed doctoral coursework and comprehensive examinations at the University of Nebraska at Omaha in the Spring of 2022. Stephen was recognized as Master of Gerontology by the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2020. Stephen taught for five years as part of the foreign faculty at Jiaxing University in Zhejiang, China. Stephen was in charge of sauce and soup preparations at the Old Faithful Inn in Yellowstone National Park, following two years as front-of-house staff at Indie Cafe in Chicago, Illinois. Stephen was recognized as a Bachelor of History by Loyola University Chicago. Stephen was recognized as a delegate to the Anti-Defamation League Youth Leadership Mission to the National Holocaust Museum and recipient of the Archbishop John L. May Service Award from the Archdiocese of St. Louis, Missouri. Stephen discerned a vocation to the Roman Catholic priesthood at St. Thomas Aquinas Seminary in Hannibal, Missouri.

Dr. Raven H. Weaver is an Associate Professor in the Department of Human Development at Washington State University. She is a faculty member in WSU’s interdisciplinary Prevention Science doctoral program and affiliate faculty in the School of Hospitality Business Management and the Department of Medical Education and Clinical Sciences at the Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine. Her research focuses on lifespan prevention science, healthy aging, rural health, and end-of-life care, with an emphasis on improving access to advance care planning and supportive services for underserved populations. Using interdisciplinary and community-engaged approaches, Dr. Weaver examines factors that shape aging, caregiving, and end-of-life experiences across diverse settings. Her recent work has explored death literacy, advance care planning, healthcare professional education, and end-of-life experiences among older adults. She co-directs the GATHER Lab (Generating Aging & Translational Health Equity Research), where her scholarship advances well-being, informed decision-making, and health equity across the lifespan.

Tamara Baker, PhD, FGSA, is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry in the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is an appointed member of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Geriatrics and Gerontology Advisory Committee, the National Institutes of Health Interagency Pain Research Coordinating Committee, and Editor-in-Chief of Ethnicity & Health. Among Dr. Baker’s activities with the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), she is a former GSA Secretary, served as Chair of the GSA Committee on Minority Issues in Gerontology, founder and co-convener of GSA’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities Collaborative Interest Group, former Chair of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section, and is the GSA Board of Directors President. Her background in gerontology, psychology, and biobehavioral health has evolved into an active research agenda focusing on health disparities/equity as well as understanding the behavioral and psychosocial predictors and outcomes of chronic pain and pain among older Black adults.

James C. Appleby, BSPharm, MPH, ScD (Hon), is the Chief Executive Officer of The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the nation's largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The Society works to advance innovation in aging and disseminate information among scientists, clinicians, policy makers, and the public. He is leading the Society’s current initiative to “reframe aging” in America by fostering accurate narratives of aging to replace the outdated “conventional wisdom” that dominates public understanding. The 5,500-member Society is advancing major initiatives related to improving adult immunization rates, earlier detection of cognitive impairment, improving oral health, and demonstrating the impact of the longevity economy. Appleby is also currently serving a four-year term on the National Advisory Council on Aging after being appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, and he additionally serves on the National Alliance for Caregiving Board of Directors. Prior to joining GSA, he had a 17-year career with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) where he served in a variety of roles before being appointed Chief Operating Officer. Before joining APhA, he was on faculty at the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy and Science (PCPS). Appleby holds a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from PCPS and a master of Public Health degree from Temple University. He has been awarded an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

Dr. Anna MacKay-Brandt is a clinical psychologist with specialized training in neuropsychology and geriatrics. She earned her PhD from Washington University in St. Louis, and completed her clinical internship at the Warren Alpert Brown Medical School. As a postdoctoral fellow with the Taub Institute at Columbia University, her research focused on cognitive and functional change associated with normative aging and interventional approaches to optimize cognition. She is a Research Scientist at the Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research and directs the Brain Aging and Mental Health laboratory where she collaborates with a multidisciplinary team on open-science neuroimaging initiatives and translational applications of cognitive neuroscience. In private practice, she combines clinical neuropsychological assessment with emerging research to help clients optimize cognitive performance. Her current work explores the central autonomic nervous system's role in attention and self-regulation, aiming to develop personalized strategies that support cognitive health and functional performance across the lifespan.

Cal J. Halvorsen, PhD, MSW is gerontological social work researcher who focuses on the productive engagement of older adults, particularly through paid work, volunteering, and intergenerational initiatives. He is an associate professor at both the Brown School and Burksy School of Public Health, and the co-director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging, at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also a project lead and investigator within the Center for Work, Health, & Well-being at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and a research affiliate within the Unit of Occupational Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Within GSA, Cal is the vice chair of the Social Research, Practice, and Policy section.

Patricia Oh directs Community Engaged Research at the UMaine Center on Aging and co-directs the Consortium for Aging Policy Research & Analysis (CAPRA). In practice, she coordinates Lifelong Maine's Age-Friendly Communities initiative, working with older adults to build communities where everyone can thrive. Her research is embedded in practice, examining how social, service, policy, and built environments shape well-being in rural communities, pointing to practical ways to strengthen social inclusion, civic engagement, and access to resources. Current interests include rural volunteerism, volunteer transportation, and volunteer peer navigation linking older adults to services and social opportunities. Her recent work examines how age-friendly principles spread beyond their original communities, reshaping institutions and practices in unplanned ways. She partners with community organizations, service providers, and researchers to translate findings into programs and policy that reflect the priorities of older Mainers themselves.

Dr. Ronit Elk, PhD., FAAHPM, is Professor in the Department of Medicine, Heersink School of Medicine, UAB. For the fifteen years she has been conducting NIH-funded studies using Community Based Participatory Research (CBRP) values. CBPR is a social justice approach, in which community members are equal partners in the entire research process. Using this approach, the first ever training program for clinicians in providing culturally and religiously concordant healthcare for older Southern African Americans with serious illness was developed by a southern African American community. Over 500 clinicians have been trained. With NIA funding, she is building a national program in which she and her team train and mentors professionals who focus on older adults, in CBPR, with the goal of increasing research and program development in which the voices of older adults are heard and their recommendations embraced.

Dr. Emily A. Greenfield is the Founding Director of the Rutgers University Hub for Aging Collaboration and a Professor of Social Work. Her research, teaching, and engagement seek to accelerate cross-sectoral collaboration for age-friendly social change, to scale up community-centered initiatives on aging, and to promote leadership development to improve society for long lives and aging equity.

Dr. Leach is an Assistant Professor of Research at the Institute of Gerontology, Co-Director of the Community Engagement Core at the Center for Urban Responses to Environmental Stressors (CURES), and Associate Center Director for Community Inclusion at the Center for Health Equity and Community Knowledge in Urban Populations (CHECK-UP) at Wayne State University. She is a health communication expert with more than 15 years of experience in community engagement and community-based participatory research processes, with extensive experience conducting collaborative research and evaluation. Her research aims are focused on addressing health inequities by co-developing community-responsive solutions derived from participatory processes that will improve the provision of health-related services and care. Her ultimate goal is to improve the flow of and access to health-protecting information to historically marginalized populations who need it most.

Isabell C. May, PhD directs the Entrepreneurship and Science Communication for Aging and Aging-Related Research (ESCAAR) program and the Certificate in Science Communication at the University of Maryland School of Graduate Studies, and she leads the UMB Writing Center. She specializes in inclusive, interdisciplinary science communication across audiences and sectors and serves as Co-PI on an NIH Fogarty R25 focused on research ethics education in Morocco. A faculty fellow with Teach Access and the National Federation of the Blind, she advances accessibility in higher education and regularly publishes on science communication pedagogy.

Dr. Nikki O. Tyson is a seasoned credentialed gerontologist, educator, and advocate dedicated to transforming how society understands and values aging. She earned a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and a Master’s degree in Gerontology from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Dr. Tyson completed a Doctor of Education (EdD) in Curriculum Studies at the University of South Carolina. Dr. Tyson also holds a National Association for Professional Gerontologists (NAPG) certification as a Credentialed Professional Gerontologist (CPG). Dr. Tyson has managed many programs serving older adults, including transportation services, affordable housing, congregate and home-delivered meals, and corporate education initiatives. She has delivered professional training across the southeastern United States as well as presentations at several national conferences. Driven by a passion for advocacy and education, Dr. Tyson founded Advocating Anti-Ageism and Educating Against Ageism, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, to combat age-based bias.

Bernadette Wright, PhD, joined Meals on Wheels America in May 2020. There, she leads research and data analyses to inform and advance the organization’s strategic work. She has over 25 years of experience helping organizations use research to understand and solve complex issues, primarily in aging and health. Before joining Meals on Wheels America, she was an independent consultant leading research projects for national non-profit organizations and universities. Before that, she was a consultant at The Lewin Group, providing research on aging and disability issues for federal agencies. She earned her PhD in Public Policy/Program Evaluation from the University of Maryland. In her free time, she enjoys long hikes and bird- and wildlife-watching.

Yuanjin Zhou is an assistant professor at the School of Social Work. Yuanjin Zhou received her Ph.D. in Social Welfare from the University of Washington School of Social Work. Zhou’s research program focuses on characterizing both precarious and positive aspects of the caregiving process of older people with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Zhou’s work explores how these caregiving processes impact the health and well-being of both care partners and older people with ADRD. Furthermore, she explores how multilevel factors and mechanisms shape these caregiving processes. Through this formative research and the active involvement of community and clinical partners, Dr. Zhou’s work aims to develop and implement empowerment, health promotion, and preventive interventions for care partners and older people with ADRD in various care settings.

Barbara Resnick, PhD, CRNP is a Professor at the University of Maryland School of Nursing, the Associate Dean of Research, holds the Sonya Ziporkin Gershowitz Chair in Gerontology, and does clinical work in House Calls program, assisted living communities and senior housing clinics. Her research program is focused on optimizing function and physical activity among older adults, physical resilience, and testing dissemination and implementation of interventions in real world settings that optimize health and manage clinical problems such as pain. Dr. Resnick has over 350 published articles, numerous chapters in nursing and medical textbooks, and books on Restorative Care and Resilience. She was the editor of Geriatric Nursing for 17 years and is the co-editor of the Journal of the American Medical Directors Association and on editorial boards for numerous journals. She has held leadership positions in multiple organizations.

As an independent faculty member, Dr. Al-Naggar obtained a Certificate in Clinical and Translational Research and launched a human clinical trial testing gerotherapeutics for lower urinary tract symptoms (NCT06351683). Her research focuses on polyploid senescent bladder cells, translational studies of gerotherapeutics, and developing urinary biomarkers. Beyond research, she is deeply committed to geroscience education, serving as Co-I on several Geroscience R25 grants, developing curricula through the GET Network, and organizing annual workshops at major scientific conferences. She directs a geroscience course at UConn and has authored multiple geroscience education publications.

A national leader in gerontology, Howard Degenholtz specializes in long-term services and supports and home- and community-based services. He developed self-reported quality-of-life measures for nursing home residents and co-authored a seminal paper on the benefits of the Green House model. His research has shown that older adults using consumer-directed personal care are not at increased risk of hospitalization, and he led a randomized trial demonstrating improved quality of life through tailored, individualized care planning. He has also studied end-of-life care in community and nursing home settings, examining advance directives and racial and ethnic disparities, with findings showing that older adults with advance care plans are less likely to experience terminal hospitalization. In organ and tissue donation, he developed and tested approaches to incorporate donor designation into primary care and implemented web-based training in driver’s license centers through randomized trials. He also hosts and produces The Gerontologist Podcast, published by the Gerontological Society of America and available on major podcast platforms.

Cal J. Halvorsen, PhD, MSW is gerontological social work researcher who focuses on the productive engagement of older adults, particularly through paid work, volunteering, and intergenerational initiatives. He is an associate professor at both the Brown School and Burksy School of Public Health, and the co-director of the Harvey A. Friedman Center for Aging, at Washington University in St. Louis. He is also a project lead and investigator within the Center for Work, Health, & Well-being at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; and a research affiliate within the Unit of Occupational Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Within GSA, Cal is the vice chair of the Social Research, Practice, and Policy section.

Dr. Alyssa Gamaldo is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Clemson University and affiliated with the Institute for Engaged Aging. Her current research concentrates on social determinants of health and well-being in older adult populations, particularly within populations at risk for dementia. Her research has also focused on identifying sensitive measures for detecting health risks. Dr. Gamaldo serves as the Deputy Editor of The Journals of Gerontology Series B: Psychological Sciences.

Rodlescia Sneed is a social gerontologist whose work focuses on how social environments shape adult development and aging among historically marginalized midlife and older adult populations. Their research uses a multilevel approach to examine how individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and public policy factors influence health outcomes. They also collaborate with community and institutional stakeholders to address gaps that contribute to inequities in health and well-being.

Dr. Regina Wright is a psychologist and professor in the Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences at the University of Delaware. Her program of research is focused on cardiovascular, psychosocial, and environmental predictors of cognitive function and decline, with a specific focus on patterns of association in African Americans. Most recently, Dr. Wright has examined neighborhood disadvantage and cognitive function among older adults, including potential mediating and moderating influences on this relationship.

Dr. Samuele Zilioli is an Associate Professor in the Departments of Psychology and Family Medicine & Public Health Sciences at Wayne State University. He completed his B.A. and M.A. in Psychology at the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Italy and earned his Ph.D. in Cognitive and Neural Sciences from Simon Fraser University in Canada, where he received the Governor General’s Gold Medal for highest academic standing. He later completed a postdoctoral fellowship in health psychology at Wayne State. Dr. Zilioli’s research examines how psychosocial stressors, especially those tied to socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity, interact with psychosocial resources to influence glucocorticoid-related processes and, in turn, immune, cardiovascular, metabolic, and other health outcomes across the lifespan. His work has been funded by the National Institute of Justice and is currently supported by the National Institutes of Health. He has received several honors recognizing his contributions to biobehavioral health research.

Jordana Breton is a fourth-year doctoral candidate studying Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in Neuropsychology at the University of Texas at Austin (UTA). She graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. She worked at the HIV Neurobehavioral Research Program (HNRP) as a bilingual research psychometrist before attending UTA. She is interested in examining the role socioeconomic and sociocultural factors may have on stress, stress-related diseases, and cognition. She hopes to create valuable research and tools geared towards minimizing cognitive health disparities in underserved/underprivileged communities.

Jinshil Hyun, PhD, is an Assistant Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Her research focuses on identifying modifiable determinants of cognitive aging and dementia, with an emphasis on how neighborhood and contextual factors interact with psychosocial and behavioral processes to shape cognitive health across multiple time scales (e.g., momentary, daily, and longitudinal). She is the Principal Investigator of two funded projects: a National Institute on Aging K99/R00 award (K99/R00AG080126), “Neighborhood Characteristics, GPS-Based Activity Space, and Cognitive Health,” and an Alzheimer’s Association Research Fellowship (23AARF-1020416), “Pathways Linking Neighborhood and Behavioral Factors to the Risk of Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementia (ADRD).” Her work leverages digital technologies, including smartphone-based ambulatory cognitive assessments, to capture real-world experiences and environmental exposures that influence cognitive health in later life.

Dr. Kamis is an Assistant Professor in Sociology at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Her research explores early life predictors of life course mental health, with recent publications focusing on the long-term impacts of childhood adversity. A separate but related stream of research examines how contexts (e.g., neighborhoods, counties, states) influence health and mental health disparities more broadly.

Dr. Ye is an assistant professor in the School of Social Work and the Department of Sociology at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. Her research focuses on how social, structural, and environmental contexts shape health outcomes in vulnerable aging populations, with a particular interest in sleep disturbance and dementia care. Dr. Ye’s work integrates interdisciplinary approaches from sociology, health services research, and data science to identify modifiable determinants of health and inform evidence-based interventions for older adults living in community and long-term care settings.