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 Vice President Elect. 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the Society’s current initiative to “reframe aging” in America by fostering accurate narratives of aging to replace the outdated “conventional wisdom” that dominates public understanding.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.