NON-FEDERAL NATIONAL ALZHEIMER'S PROJECT ACT ADVISORY COUNCIL MEMBERS
December 16, 2013
PDF Version: http://aspe.hhs.gov/daltcp/napa/bios.pdf (3 PDF pages)
Chair -- Ronald Petersen, Ph.D., M.D.
Dr. Petersen is the Cadieux Director of the Mayo Alzheimer's Disease Research Center and the Mayo Clinic Study of Aging. He has authored over 400 peer-reviewed articles on memory disorders, aging, and Alzheimer's disease and edited four books on related topics. His current research focuses on the study of normal aging, mild cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.
Laurel Coleman, M.D., FACP
Dr. Coleman is an attending physician at Maine Medical Center's Geriatric Assessment Clinic and Central Maine Medical Center's Palliative Care Team. She is actively involved in the Alzheimer's Association, both as a past-president of the Maine Chapter and as a former member of the national Board of Directors. Currently, she is a Board Member of the Alzheimer's Impact Movement (AIM).
Yanira Cruz, M.P.H., Dr.P.H.
Dr. Cruz is the President and CEO of the National Hispanic Council on Aging (NHCOA). She focuses on providing the Latino perspective on public health, older adult and caregiver issues to increase policy-maker and public understanding of the needs impacting vulnerable sectors of our society. Dr. Cruz holds an MPH and a DrPH in public health from George Washington University. She also serves as an adjunct member of the faculty at George Washington University.
David P. Hoffman, M.Ed.
Mr. Hoffman is the Director of the Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention and Control, Long-Term Care Restructuring, and Partnership within the Office of Long Term Care in the New York State Department of Health. Mr. Hoffman oversees the development and implementation of the New York State Plan to address Alzheimers disease and other dementias. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the University at Albanys School of Public Health and serves as Chair of the National Policy Committee of the National Association of Chronic Disease Directors, Adjunct Professor at Maria College of Albany New York, and co-chair of the Research to Prevention (R2P) Coalition in Washington. Mr. Hoffman is also a recent graduate of the Alden March Bioethics Institute at Albany Medical College.
Harry M. Johns
Mr. Johns is the President and CEO of the Alzheimer's Association, the world's leading nonprofit organization in Alzheimer research, care and support. With more than 70 chapters and nearly 300 offices, the Association provides nationwide support to individuals and families through community-based programs and a 24 hour a day/365 days a year Help Line. Under Mr. Johns' leadership, the Alzheimer's Association has undertaken a campaign to change the conversation about Alzheimer's in America through public education and has played a leading role in convening, supporting, and advancing Alzheimer's research as well as informing public policy.
Jennifer J. Manly, Ph.D.
Dr. Manly is an Associate Professor in the Cognitive Neuroscience Division of the Taub Institute for Research on Alzheimer's Disease and the Aging Brain and the G.H. Sergievsky Center, within the Department of Neurology at Columbia University Medical Center. Her research focuses on health disparities in dementia, and cultural and educational influences on the epidemiology, biomarkers, and neuropsychology of Alzheimer's disease.
Helen M. Matheny, M.S., A.P.R.
Ms. Matheny is the Director of the Alzheimer's Disease Outreach and Registry Program (AORP) at the Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute. Under her leadership, the Alzheimer's Disease Outreach and Registry Program provides training and tools to physicians to assist with screening, diagnosis, treatment, and care of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The unique program also maintains the West Virginia Alzheimer's Disease Registry, collecting information on Alzheimer's cases from physicians to create reports that are used for research and the development of policy to support the growing number of Alzheimer's cases in the state.
Dennis Moore
Congressman Moore is a former U.S. Representative for the Third District of Kansas. He served in Congress from 1998 to 2010. Since announcing his Alzheimer's disease diagnosis in 2011, Congressman Moore and his wife, Stephene, have activity supported local organizations that are fighting this disease.
Jennifer Mead
Ms. Mead is the Healthy Aging Coordinator for Oregon DHS-State Unit on Aging where she liaises with the state public health division to increasing health promotion and disease prevention strategies for older adults. Ms. Mead previously served as program director for the Alzheimer's Association in southeastern Virginia, worked in West Virginia on community public health and primary care projects, and served in the Peace Corps in West Africa. She is now a long-distance caregiver for her mother who has dementia.
David Hyde Pierce
Mr. Pierce is best known as an actor. He lost his grandfather to Alzheimer's disease and shared caregiving duties with his brother and sisters when his father developed dementia. Mr. Pierce has served as a patient advocate, testified before Congress, and served on Congressional Panels on Alzheimer's disease.
Laura Trejo, M.S.G., M.P.A.
Ms. Trejo is the General Manager of the City of Los Angeles Department of Aging. She is the founder of El Portal: Latino Alzheimer's project and a local provider of long-term services and supports, including Older Americans Act programs. Ms. Trejo was the California delegate to the White House Conferences on Aging in both 1995 and 2005.
George Vradenburg
Mr. Vradenburg chairs the national advocacy network USAgainstAlzheimer's and the Geoffrey Beene Foundation Alzheimer's Initiative, and co-convenes the Alzheimer's-serving coalition Leaders Engaged in Alzheimer's Disease. Under his leadership, USAgainstAlzheimer's successfully advocated for a new dual-use Alzheimer's research program in the Department of Defense and has launched a national grassroots campaign to Stop Alzheimer's by 2020. Mr. Vradenburg has overseen Geoffrey Beene Foundation's major support for "HBO's The Alzheimer's Project" and launch of the national public service campaign "Rock Stars of Science". Alzheimer's advocacy has been a major focus of Mr. Vradenburg's civic and philanthropic work since his retirement in 2003 as a senior executive of AOL/Time Warner.
Geraldine Woolfolk
Ms. Woolfolk is a former teacher who served as a caregiver for both her mother and father, and cared for her husband for the past 12 years. She actively participates in support groups for caregivers and has advocated on Capitol Hill for research funding and community supports for caregivers. She assisted in the Alameda County plan for Alzheimer's disease and is known in the area for her conference presentations and work on these issues.