Steering Committee
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Carol Sewell, Chair, is Legislative Director of the California Commission on Aging, where she supports the Commission’s advocacy work on a broad range of policy issues. During her tenure with the Commission she has helped to secure passage of multiple laws promoting elder justice and to increase the Legislature’s knowledge and awareness of elder justice concerns.
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Donna Benton, Vice Chair, is Research Associate Professor at the University of Southern California and is currently doing research on improving caregiver assessment using innovative evidence based programs online. She has a longstanding interest in elder justice as it relates to minority populations and elder abuse. She is a member of the California Task Force on Family Caregiving and previously chaired CEJC’s Subcommittee on Caregiving and Elder Abuse.
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Suzanne Anderson, Executive Subcommittee Chair, has spent the past twenty years involved with a variety of community and statewide organizations advocating for older adults and their families. She currently works for the Sacramento County Department of Human Assistance.
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Molly Davies is Vice President of Elder Abuse Prevention and Ombudsman Services at WISE & Healthy Aging. She is Vice President of the California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association and chaired CEJC’s Ombudsman/APS Jurisdiction Workgroup.
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Nicole Fernandez currently serves as the training and outreach specialist for the Elder and Dependent Adult Protection Team (EDAPT) of San Mateo County, California. Nicole joined EDAPT at the end of 2015 after a decade-long career with the California State Legislature where she specialized in community relations, senior services, veterans, and health policy.
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Nicole Howell is the Executive Director for Ombudsman Services of Contra Costa and Solano and is responsible for ensuring that the 13,000 residents of long-term care in her community have access to the highest level of care, respect and above all are able to live free of abuse and neglect. Prior to her role with OSCCS Nicole worked for nearly five years as the Director of Operations for Ombudsman Services of San Mateo County where she became a fierce advocate for senior and dependent adults and immersed herself in culture change initiatives and person centered care philosophies.
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Jill Nielsen is the Deputy Director of Programs for the Department of Aging & Adult Services for the City and County of San Francisco. Jill also serves as San Francisco’s Public Guardian, Public Conservator, and Public Administrator. Prior to taking on her current role, she served as the director of the San Francisco Adult Protective Services program.
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Shawna Reeves is Director of Elder Abuse Prevention at the Institute on Aging. Her areas of expertise include predatory lending, investment scams, reverse mortgages, and working with traditional and alternative media to raise public awareness of elder abuse.
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Gloria J. Sanchez serves on the Riverside County Advisory Council on Aging and she also is President of the Riverside County Foundation on Aging. She Chairs the Senior Advisory Committee for the City of Menifee as well as the Menifee Citizens Advisory Committee.
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Jean Schuldberg, Professor Emeritus in Social Work at California State University, Chico, has practiced social work for more than 25 years with families and older adults in health, mental health, vocational, and disability services. She served as the Director of the CSU, Chico Master of Social Work (MSW) program from 2006-2017. Since 2001, Dr. Schuldberg served as Co-Director for the CSU, Chico Hartford Partnership Program for Aging Education (HPPAE), a national model of training for MSW students to become leaders in service to older adults and their families.
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Staff
Lisa Nerenberg, Executive Director, has worked in the field of aging and elder abuse prevention for over 30 years as the founding director of the San Francisco Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention; a consultant to local, state, national, and international organizations; and an instructor at City College of San Francisco. She has testified before Congressional committees, served on governmental advisory committees, and written extensively about elder abuse and related issues.
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Christine Damonte, Coordinator, has worked for CEJC since 2015. Prior to joining CEJC, Christine worked in the human resources field for 15 years.
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Kevin Bigelow, Elder Justice Advocates Academy Coordinator, is a consultant working in the areas of abuse, neglect, and emergency planning for elders and persons with disabilities. He has worked for many years in the field of child abuse, elder abuse and neglect, and emergency planning. Since his retirement from Orange County, CA government he has consulted with San Diego State University, the National Adult Protective Services Association, and several California Counties to create and provide training, create e-learning content, to assist with legal issues, and to assist with analysis and program development.
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