11th Annual Promising Practices Conference Shaping the Future for Mental Health and Aging January 18, 2017

Transcription

1 11th Annual Promising Practices Conference Shaping the Future for Mental Health and Aging January 18, 2017 BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES PATRICK ARBORE, EDD Dr. Patrick Arbore began his career in the field of aging in He is the Founder and the Director of the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services (CESP), a program of Institute on Aging in San Francisco. He conducts workshops and presents lectures locally and nationally on aging related subjects including elderly abuse, burn-out, compassion fatigue, communication, depression, traumatic loss and many others. He is the author of numerous articles and book chapters on a variety of aging related topics. He is a Senior Lecturer at Notre Dame de Namur University in Belmont, CA.; an occasional Lecturer in the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley; and an Adjunct Faculty member at The Wright Institute. He was the recipient of the 2013 Mental Health and Aging Award presented by the American Society on Aging. In January 2015, he was selected as a Silver Medalist for Public Service sponsored by the Jefferson Award Regional Committee. Dr. Arbore is the recipient of the 2016 Norma Satten Community Service Innovation Award for his commitment to human rights and community living. DENNY CHAN, JD Dr. Denny Chan is an attorney at Justice in Aging, a national legal advocacy organization that fights senior poverty through law. He works on the health care team, focusing on issues facing low-income California seniors who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid (dual eligible). Top issues include barriers to healthcare and health disparities among special populations of low-income seniors including LGBT older adults, individuals with limited English proficiency, and

2 people of color. He leads a coalition of stakeholders in Los Angeles to coordinate outreach and education about Medicare and Medicaid changes. He previously served as a rotating law clerk for the US District Court in Los Angeles. Dr. Chan participated in a Fulbright English Teaching Program as a fellow in Macau, China. He is a member of the California bar and is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine School of Law and the University of Michigan. TAYA VARTERESIAN, DO MS Dr. Taya Varteresian is a Mental Health Psychiatrist working with the LA County DMH GENESIS/FACTS Older Adult FCCS program. She is Board Certified in both Geriatric and Adult psychiatry. She is a graduate of the UCLA Geriatric Psychiatry Fellowship. She has undergraduate and graduate degrees in Gerontology. Dr. Varteresian is also Assistant Clinical Professor at UCI. BREANNA L. WILHELMI, PHD Dr. Breanna L. Wilhelmi is a Clinical Psychologist and Postdoctoral Fellow at WISE and Healthy Aging specializing in trauma, geropsychology, and culturally informed clinical practice and advocacy. Working toward completing postdoctoral hours for California state licensure, she currently provides comprehensive psychological services for older adults including evaluation, assessment, group and individual psychotherapy, outreach and education. She earned her PhD and MS degrees in Clinical Psychology from the APA-accredited Pacific Graduate School of Psychology at Palo Alto University and a BA degree in Sociology from the University of California at Santa Barbara. Dr. Wilhelmi completed an APAaccredited doctoral internship with Heritage Clinic, a Division of the Center for Aging Resources, where she specialized in providing in-home psychological services for older adults through LACDMH FSP and PEI programs. Additional projects include the ongoing Families in Psychology Project (FIPP), which aims to increase visibility and advocacy of parents and other caregivers pursuing study and/or work in the field of psychology, and various publications focusing on using 2

3 intersectionality theory to improve culture competence, with specific emphasis on working with older adult trauma survivors. CAROLINE KALAI, PSYD Dr. Caroline Kalai earned a Doctorate of Psychology degree in Clinical Psychology and a MA degree in Clinical Psychology with an emphasis in marriage and family therapy from Pepperdine University Graduate School of Education and Psychology, an APA-accredited institution. She also successfully completed an APA-accredited internship at the University of Miami-Jackson Memorial Hospital s Adult Outpatient Center. Prior to her graduate work, she obtained a BA degree in Psychology from UCLA where she served on the board of the Psychology Society. Currently, she is a Postdoctoral Fellow at WISE & Healthy Aging in Santa Monica, California where she is applying her treatment skills in the area of geropsychology and further expanding her generalist capacity. Dr. Kalai has treated diverse populations presenting with a broad spectrum of clinical and medical diagnoses in several unique treatment settings, including hospitals, community mental health centers and schools. She has experience conducting neurodevelopmental evaluations, psychodiagnostic and personality assessment, consultation and liaison services, providing clinical supervision, couple therapy, group therapy, and individual psychotherapy. PAUL H. IRVING, BFA JD Dr. Paul H. Irving is chairman of the Milken Institute Center for the Future of Aging and distinguished scholar in residence at the USC Davis School of Gerontology. He previously served as the Institute s president, an advanced leadership fellow at Harvard University, and chairman and CEO of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, a law and consulting firm. Author of The upside of Aging: How Long Life Is Changing the World of Health, Work, Innovation, Policy, and Purpose, a Wall Street Journal expert panelist and contributor to the Huffington Post, PBS Next Avenue and 3

4 Forbes. He also serves as a director of East West Bancorp, as vice chair of Encore.org and on advisory boards of USC Davis, the Global Coalition on Aging, Stanford University s Distinguished Careers Institute, WorkingNAtion, Berkeley- AGE, and the Bipartisan Policy Center. PBS Next Avenue named Dr. Irving an Influencer for his exceptional contributions to the field of aging, and he was honored with the Janet L. Witkin Humanitarian Award by Affordable Living for the Aging. SHIVANI PATEL ESCAMILLA, PSYD MHA Dr. Shivani Patel Escamilla is a licensed clinical psychologist who is currently serving as Clinical Director of the Older Adult Prevention & Early Intervention (PEI) Program at Telecare Los Angeles. She obtained a MHA degree from the University of Southern California in 2000 and then received a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology from the American School of Professional Psychology at Argosy University, where she specialized in child, adolescent and health psychology. She also served as a Post-Doctoral Scholar and Fellow in the Child & Adolescent Multicultural Training Program within the Department of Psychiatry at the University of California, San Francisco where she worked with complex trauma victims and their families. In 2010, she was recruited to serve as Clinical Supervisor and Administrator of Sovereign Health of California, a private dualdiagnosis treatment facility in South Orange County. During her tenure at Sovereign Health, Dr. Patel established a pre-doctoral training program which became CAPIC certified. She then accepted a Clinical Psychologist II position as a crisis responder and LPS designated clinician for the Psychiatric Mobile Response Team (PMRT) in the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LA DMH), where she provided crisis stabilization and consultation services for approximately three years. Her passion for clinical excellence led her to accept a position as Program Coordinator for the Treatment Foster Program within the Child Welfare Division at LA DMH. As Program Coordinator, she provided consultation, 4

5 technical assistance and monthly didactic trainings on best practice treatment interventions and service delivery for complex trauma victims. DONNA BENTON, PHD Dr. Donna Benton is director of the USC Family Caregiver Support Center. She is a clinical psychologist who specializes in gerontology. She is an associate research professor of gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology. She has worked in the field of aging for over 30 years. She has presented her research and clinical work on elder abuse, minority aging and caregiving at both national and international conferences. Dr. Benton is committed to promoting collaborative partnerships that enhance service delivery for families caring for older adults. JOSEPH MCHUGH, ESQ Joseph (Joe) McHugh, Esq. is the founder of LA Law Center, PC. located in Burbank, CA. He and the firm have an excellent reputation of serving clients in the areas of Asset Protection, Estate Planning, Elder Law, Probate and Trust Administration, Conservatorships, and specialty trusts such as Special Need Trusts. Joe is a graduate from Whittie College School of Law, and has been a practicing member of the California State Bar since He is also a member of the Los Angeles County Bar Association, the Beverly Hills Bar Association, the Glendale Bar Association and the Irish American Bar Association. Joe is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, Academy of Special Needs Planners, and ElderCounsel. He is also an Accredited Attorney with the Veterans Administration. He is a frequent speaker with a specialty in the areas of Estate Planning, Elder Law and Veteran s Benefits. 5

6 KATHY MCHUGH Kathy McHugh has over 30 years of international business planning and management. In 2009, when LA Law Center was formed, she initially joined the firm to help establish itself, providing marketing and management services. As the firm s elder law services began to increase significantly, she felt a special need to help our disabled and elder clients. She became a Certified Senior Advisor, invaluable in allowing her to counsel the firm s disabled seniors and veterans in available care and programs of which they may benefit. She provides the initial consultations with clients, and is known as the Firm s Triage Director. Kathy and her assistants, direct the gathering of client information and documents, and represents clients in submitting Medi-Cal applications. She and her team have a 100% success rate in getting clients qualified for Medi-Cal services. CAROL HAHN, MSN RN ONC RYT CPT CDP Carol Hahn is a Registered Nurse with over 30 years of varied health and education experience, a Registered Yoga Teacher, and a Certified Personal Trainer. She has a MS degree in Nursing and a certificate in Alzheimer s disease Management. She is a member of the National Gerontological Nurses Association, International Association of Yoga Therapists, Yoga Alliance, and the American Holistic Nurses Association. She works as Fitness and Wellness Nurse, helping people over 50 increase strength, flexibility, balance and quality of life. Carol works with clients to help meet health goals through an integrated and holistic perspective of nursing, yoga, and personal training; promoting optimal health regardless of their functional abilities. She teaches exercise, yoga, and health classes in senior centers, adult day care centers, and private facilities. Carol also lectures and conducts classes and workshops on many health related topics. 6