About Me:
I am an applied medical anthropologist who has worked with a vulnerable, at-risk population (i.e., older adults) for over 30 years in the U.S. and abroad. I received my PhD from the University of California, San Francisco in Human Development and Aging, with a focus in Medical Anthropology. As associate professor in the Doisy College School of Allied Health, Dept. of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy at Saint Louis University, I integrate anthropology into the training of future health professionals. My current research projects focus on (1) the development and evaluation of family-supervised exercise programs for persons with dementia and (2) aging in Guatemala. In the summers, I direct the gerontology component of the NAPA-OT Field School in Antigua, Guatemala, where my students and I work in a residential care facility/homeless shelter for older Guatemalans and also study the Guatemalan aging network. I am an incoming member of the AAA Committee for Human Rights, past president of the Association for Anthropology and Aging (AAGE), member of the executive board of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) where I chair the Global Aging Committee, and editor-in-chief of Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology.
Area(s) of Training
anthropology, cultural anthropology, other
Area(s) of Expertise
Gerontology, medical anthropology, Guatemala, occupational therapy
Current Area of Employment
Dept of Occupational Science & Occupational Therapy, Saint Louis University
