Catalyst Academy of Best Demonstrated Practice


*Joan Beloff, ACC, ALA, Gerontology Services Director, Chilton Memorial Hospital, Pompton Plains, NJ;  Current President, Society on Aging of New Jersey, past Chairperson, Coalition of Aging Networks (COAN) of Morris County; member, Sigma Phi Omega-Gerontological Honor Society.

Joyce Brimhall, A.C.S.W., Director of Senior Services, Sacred Heart Health System, Pensacola, FL. Former Faculty Associate and Gerontology Department Advisory Committee member, Arizona State University. Member, Board of Directors, Florida Geriatrics Society and Southern Gerontological Society.

Martha Johnson, Manager of 55PLUS Senior Membership Program and Marketing Manager, Orlando Regional HealthCare System.  Past member, Orange County Commission on Aging and Mayor's Senior Citizen Advisory Committee, City of Orlando; past President, International Association of Business Communicators, Orland Area Chapter.

Susan Long, Director, Director of Senior Services, Baptist Health System, Knoxville, TN.  Industry leader in senior housing as well as the marketing of freestanding senior health centers (i.e. primary care physicians' offices for adults over the age of fifty. Member, Board of Directors, Senior Home Companions, Knox County Senior Centers and Second Harvest Food Bank.

*Sue Maxwell, MSW, Gerontology Business Leader, Lee Memorial Health System, Ft. Myers, FL.  Immediate past president, Southern Gerontological Society;  past president, Florida Council on Aging.  Faculty member, Florida Gulf Coast University School of Social Work; member of the Advisory Council, College of Health Professionals for Interdisciplinary Studies.  Winner 2001 Applied Gerontologist of the Year award.

Christopher P. Oates, CSW, Program Administrator, HealthOutreach, New York Presbyterian Hospital-Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York, NY.  Current Aging – Vice Chair and Program Chair, East Side Council.  2003 Falcon Award recipient for Excellence in Customer Service- New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Zoe Strock, Director of Membership Services, Memorial Herman Healthcare System, Houston, TX.  Specialist in gerontology and communications.    Member of; Advisory Council, Sheltering Arms, Pasadena Mayor's Council on Aging, Houston-Galveston area Hospice Council, Mayor's Showcase on Aging committee and University of Texas, Mayor's Council on Aging.  Member Women in Communication;  Houston Gerontological Society.

Patricia Bray, Presbyterian Intercommunity Hospital, Whittier, CA

Peter Laverty, University Medical Center, Lubbock, Tx Peter is director of UMC Health System's "Seniors Are Special" (SAS) affinity program. SAS is located in the West Texas City of Lubbock, population 201,000. As such he is responsible for addressing the medical needs and marketing to those aged 55 and older living within a two hundred mile radius of Lubbock. SAS is a true collaborative effort between University Medical Center and Texas Tech University Health Science Center's School of Medicine. UMC's mission is to become the best teaching hospital in the United States. SAS was the first hospital-based senior program in Lubbock, introduced in April 1987, and currently has 15,000 members. SAS is used as a window into the hospital network, introducing members to the offices, departments, clinics and UMC Health System policies.

Suzanne Hendery, Senior Resource, Baystate Medical Center, Springfield,MA

Nancy Whyte

  • Graduated with a BA in Psychology and Certificate and Minor in Gerontology form California State University, Sonoma, CA.
  • Assistant Program Manager, Petaluma People Service in Petaluma, CA. Adult day care program.
  • Director Commission on Aging, Antrim County, Michigan
  • Manager Geriatric Clinic, Friendly Hills HealthCare, La Habra, CA.
  • Past Executive Board member, Council on Aging, Orange County, CA.
  • Former Advisor, Geriatric Case Manager Curriculum, California State University, Fullerton, CA.
  • President, Southeast Area Senior Networking organization.
  • Elder Care Minister, St. Paul's Luther Church.

Renee Skoglund - Graduate Dean's Citation for Excellence (University of Northern Colorado); Manager of Senior Membership Program, HealthEast Care System, Saint Paul, MN; and Manager of the City Passport center (a collaboration between HealthEast Care System and the City of Saint Paul). Chair, Saint Paul Advisory Council on Aging; and Chair, the RSVP Advisory Committee, Volunteers of America - Minnesota chapter.

*  Acting Academy co-chairperson