Leadership
David C. Burdick, Director
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SCOSA Director David Burdick is Professor of Psychology. He joined the Stockton faculty in 1984 after receiving his BA in psychology and environmental studies from Alfred University (1977), and his PhD (1983) in geropsychology from the University of Notre Dame. His early focus on community was begun as a staff member of Notre Dame’s Center for Gerontological Education, Research, and Services and strengthened by his selection as a Postdoctoral Fellow in Applied Gerontology by the Gerontological Society of America in 1984. More recently in 2005 he and Professor Linda Wharton led Stockton and community partners through a year-long “Journey Towards Democracy” project funded by the American Association of Colleges and Universities, designed to increase Stockton’s intentionality and focus upon civic engagement and community partnerships.
A regular participant in several community efforts as a board member, trustee, or consultant, he has also served in several leadership positions for various state and national organizations. He was selected by Governor Christine Todd Whitman in 1995 as a Delegate to the White House Conference on Aging and facilitated a day-long session on “Quality of Life” for the NJ Delegation. A former president of the Society on Aging of New Jersey, he received the Society's Gerontologist of the Year Award in 1997. His research interests center on intergenerational relationships and technology and aging. His most recent publications include an article on gerontechnology for the Encyclopedia of Gerontology (Elsevier, 2006) and a co-edited book entitled Gerotechnology: Research and practice in technology and aging (Springer, 2005). He currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education and is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education.
Research Initiatives - Lisa Cox, Chair
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Dr. Cox, Associate Professor of Social Work received her Ph.D. in Social Work and Social Policy and a graduate Certificate in Aging Studies from Virginia Commonwealth University’s School of Social Work and School of Allied Health. Her research interests include the intersection of health issues with gerontology, spirituality, and family.
Education Initiatives - Christine Ferri, Chair
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Dr. Ferri, Education Chair for the Stockton Center on Successful Aging, and Coordinator of Gerontological Studies, is an Associate Professor of Psychology at Stockton College of NJ. She joined the Stockton faculty in 2005 after earning a B.A. in Psychology from Rutgers, a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Duke University and completing a Post-Doctoral Fellowship in Geropsychology at the UMDNJ School of Osteopathic Medicine. She served as Co-Vice President for Education of the Society on Aging of New Jersey from 2008-08, and has been faculty advisor to Stockton’s Chapter of the Psi Chi Honor Society in Psychology.
Service Initiatives - Christine Gayda, Chair
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Dr. Gayda earned a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology with a subspecialty in Neuropsychology from Drexel University. She is a New Jersey Licensed Psychologist in private practice who specializes in health psychology and neuropsychological assessment. She began teaching at Stockton in 1998 as an adjunct instructor. Areas of research include coping with grief, caregiver burden, and the neuropsychological assessment of dementia.
Gina Maguire, Program Assistant & Coordinator of SCOSA Older Adult Programs in Ocean County
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Gina earned her Masters in Social Work from Monmouth University and her Bachelor of Arts in Sociology & Anthropology from Stockton. Gina is a Stockton Gerontology Adjunct Instructor. Her areas of expertise include: Counseling, Research, Community Outreach, Biopsychosocial Assessments, and HIPAA Compliance.
Anita Beckwith - Non-Staff Program Assistant & Coordinator of Older Adult programs in Atlantic County. Responsible for newsletter, brochures, promotional materials and web-site design and production, database management, and oversite of various SCOSA Projects. Anita was founder and director of the HBA, a non-profit environmental education organization; taught vocational horticulture at Atlantic County Institute of Technology, where she was named "Teacher of the Year" in 2001 for her work in re-developing the horticulture program. She is a freelance photographer and graphic artist.
ADVISORY BOARD
An Advisory Board of approximately 12 members will play an integral role in planning and operating the Center. Commitments to serve on this board are currently being obtained.
The current Board consists of:
- Howard Berger, Honorary Member, Past-Chair, Atlantic County Senior Citizens Advisory Board (Northfield)
- Frank Blee, Director of Senior Services, Atlanticare
- Beth Bozzelli, Clerk of the Board of Freeholders, Cape May County
- David Delaney, Reverend, Central United Methodist Church; Retired Public Affairs Specialist, Social Security Administration (Egg Harbor Township)
- Carla Dow, Director, Galloway Township Department of Senior and Social Services (Galloway Township)
- Jennie Echo, Vice President for Clinical Services, Family Service Association (Galloway Township)
- John Emge, Executive Director, United Way of Atlantic County (Galloway Township)
- Marilu Gagnon, Director, Atlantic County Division of Intergenerational Services (Northfield)
- Lori Heberley, President, South Jersey Geriatric Care, P.C. (Somers Point)
- Joanne Kinsey, Family & Community Health Sciences Educator, Rutgers University Cooperative Extension of Atlantic & Ocean Counties (Mays Landing)
- Joanne Leichte, Director of Customer Relations, Southern Ocean Medical Center (Manahawkin)
- Elyse Perweiler, Director, New Jersey AHEC Program; Associate Director for Planning, Development and Public Policy, New Jersey Institute for Successful Aging UMDNJ-SOM (Stratford)
GERO Faculty
Linda Aaronson, Ed.D. (Rutgers, The State University), Associate Professor of Nursing: nursing, gerontology.
John Bulevich, Ph.D. (Washington University), Assistant Professor of Psychology: Memory Distortion, Eyewitness Testimony, Metacognition, Retrieval Processes, Aging.
David C. Burdick, Ph.D. (University of Notre Dame), Professor of Psychology and Director, Stockton Center on Successful Aging (SCOSA): adult development and aging, technology and aging, intergenerational relationships, applied gerontology, mental health and aging.
William Cabin, PhD (CUNY), MSW (Michigan), JD (NYU), Assistant Professor of Social Work: policy, research, evaluation, gerontology, health, hospice, substance abuse, and mental health.
Elizabeth G. Calamidas, Ph.D. (Temple University), Associate Professor of Public Health: health and aging, human sexuality and aging, mental health and counseling of the aged, community health.
Merydawilda Colón, Ph.D. (City University of New York), LSW, Associate Professor of Social Work: social work practice, grief, death and dying, HIV/AIDS, health, Latinos and community outreach, social work with oppressed groups.
Lisa E. Cox, Ph.D., (Virginia Commonwealth University), LCSW, Associate Professor of Social Work: clinical social work practice, health care, HIV/AIDS, research methods, spirituality, gerontology; and SCOSA Research Chair.
Nancy Taggart Davis, Ph.D. (University of Pennsylvania), Professor of Pathology.
Elizabeth A. Elmore, Ph.D. (University of Notre Dame), Professor of Economics: financial gerontology, gender and generational issues in Social Security and retirement, employment of older workers, age discrimination in employment.
Christine V. Ferri, Ph.D. (Duke University), Associate Professor of Psychology: geropsychology, abnormal psychology, psychotherapy, positive psychology, statistical methods; Coordinator of Gerontological Studies; and SCOSA Education Chair.
Jessica Fleck, Ph.D. (Temple University), Associate Professor of Psychology: Brain, behavior and cognition, problem-solving, working memory, creativity, statistics, research methods.
William C. Jaynes IV, M.S.W. (Temple University), Professor of Social Work and Africana Studies: social policy, urban affairs, African-American families, gerontology, social work practice, ethnic and minority relations.
Janice O. Joseph, Ph.D. (York University, Canada), Professor of Criminal Justice: Juvenile justice, criminology and deviance, minorities and crime, corrections.
Marcello Spinella, Ph.D. (City University of New York), Associate Professor of Psychology: physiological psychology, clinical neuropsychology, psychometrics, psychopharmacology, herbal medicines, neural basis of cognition, aging and mental health.
Ralph E. Werner, V.M.D. (University of Pennsylvania), Associate Professor of Biology: physiology, pathology, pathophysiology, anatomy, parasitology, medicine, human health, alternative medicine, biology of aging.
Associated Faculty
Cheryl R. Kaus, Ph.D. (The Pennsylvania State University), Professor of Psychology and Dean, Social and Behavioral Sciences: successful aging, gerontological education, program development and evaluation.
Dee McNeely-Greene, Ph.D. (University of Delaware), Associate Vice President for Student Affairs, applied human development, health and aging, geriatrics, nursing.
