About AAG

Prof Julie Byles
President

Dr Briony Dow
President Elect

Prof Gill Lewin

Immediate Past President

Mr Frank Schaper
Treasurer

Dr Meredith Tavener
Secretary

Ms Ann Peut
ACT representative

Ms Carrie Hayter
NSW representative

Dr Jane Sims
VIC representative

Dr Evonne Miller
QLD representative

Ms Cathy Lock
SA representative

Prof Leon Flicker
WA representative

Dr Christine Stirling
TAS representative

Dr Melissa Lindeman        NT representative

Ms Helen Feist
General Member

Ms Sharon Wall
General Member

Mr Kevin Vassarotti
General Member and       Public Officer

Ms Barbara Squires
General Member

Prof G A (Tony) Broe
ATSI Ageing Committee

Kristen Moore                 National Student Representative

Executive Officer

Dr Tony Coles

Professor Julie Byles, President

Professor Julie Byles is Director of the Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing, a Priority Research Centre at the University of Newcastle, and co-Director of the Newcastle Institute of Public Health. As a clinical epidemiologist, Professor Byles has interests and expertise in risk determination, assessment, screening and diagnostic tests, other health care evaluation, and measurement of health outcomes. As a Gerontologist, Professor Byles' research interests in ageing include the role of health services, preventive activities, and treatments in maintaining quality of life for older people, and in determining physical, psychological and social factors associated with optimal physical and mental health of men and women as they age. Her recent work has focussed on health assessment, medications used by older people, sleep disturbance, health effects of alcohol for older women, nutrition screening and interventions, and prevention of falls in residential care.

Professor Byles is co-director of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women's Health; her main interest is in the oldest cohort, which involves around 10,000 women who were aged 70 to 75 years at baseline in 1996. She is also closely involved with the NSW 45 and Up Study, a longitudinal study that aims to recruit 250,000 men and women across New South Wales, as a member of the Scientific Steering Committee and leader of the Mental Health Theme Committee. She was the lead investigator on the Department of Veterans' Affairs' Preventive Care Trial, a ten-centre randomised controlled trial of the effectiveness of health assessments for older Australian veterans and war widows, and she was a member of the research team for the Study of Health Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance Personnel (SHOAMP).

Professor Byles is a member of the ARC Ageing Well Network, and is a lead investigator on three large colaborative NHMRC grants to combine data from several Australian longitudinal studies of ageing. She contributes to government and non-government programs relating to ageing research and health care for older persons.

Dr Briony Dow,  President Elect

Dr Briony Dow is a Principal Researcher and the Director of the Preventive and Public Health Division at the National Ageing Research Institute. She is a social worker with extensive clinical experience in mental health, rehabilitation and aged care. She is on the Board of Carers Victoria and on the research subcommittee of Uniting Care Community Options. Her research interests include mental and physical health promotion for older people and their carers, ageing and cultural diversity and elder abuse.

Professor Gill Lewin, Immediate Past President

Gill currently holds two positions, Professor at the Centre for Research on Ageing at Curtin University of Technology and Research Director at Silver Chain, a large community-based health and aged care provider in Western Australia.

Gill trained first in Psychology and worked as a Clinical Psychologist in the UK for seven years before emigrating to Australia. During this time she also gained a Doctoral degree for her research on the behavioural treatment of obesity. Gill continued her career as a Clinical Psychologist in Australia until having a career break to travel for several years. Subsequent to returning to Australia, Gill switched her focus from clinical practice to health services research and completed a Master in Public Health at the University of Western Australia where she then worked, first as a Research Officer and later as a Research Fellow.

Gill has been working in aged care research since joining Silver Chain to manage their Research Department in 1993. During this time she has been involved, both on her own and in collaboration with many other providers and researchers, in a large number of projects. Her particular research interests are the development and testing of service models that promote independence and evidence-based clinical practice.

Mr Frank Schaper, Treasurer

Frank Schaper is the current Chief Executive Officer of Alzheimer's Australia WA Ltd, a position he has held for over 10 years.  A strong promoter of change, innovation and solution driven outcomes, he has strongly influenced the emergence of dementia care as a priority health issue both in Western Australia as we as Australia.  In more recent times, he has facilitated the development of collaborative partnerships with not-for-profit organisations in South East and Central Asia, with varying degrees of success.  He represents his organisation on a number of national and international committees, including the Alzheimer's Disease International Asia Pacific Region.

Dr Meredith Tavener, Secretary

Meredith Tavener is a qualified Exercise Physiologist, who completed further studies in health promotion (Graduate Diploma) and epidemiology (Research Masters in Medical Science). First employed with the University of Newcastle (Australia) in 1996, Meredith was appointed as Senior Research Coordinator for the $1.6 million Department of Veterans’ Affairs “Preventive Care Trial” and then stayed on as Project Manager on the $2.0 million Department of Defence “Study of Health Outcomes in Aircraft Maintenance Personnel”. Meredith joined the Priority Research Centre for Gender, Health and Ageing at the University in August 2004 as Research Academic, and was involved in a number of different projects. Meredith has published in peer reviewed journals over a wide range of topics including physical fitness of children, depression and immunisation rates in veterans, health assessments for over 75’s, printed health promotion materials and occupational exposure in the Defence Force.

Meredith’s PhD studies explored the existence and construct of an Australian baby boomer stereotype, taking a constructivist, mixed methods approach, framed within social gerontology. In January 2010 Meredith began a Postdoctoral Fellowship at the University of Groningen, in the Netherlands. Situated within the Department of Demography, Faculty of Spatial Sciences, Meredith has developed and taught a course on "Healthy Ageing", as well as lecturing on theories of ageing, population dynamics, social consciousness and qualitative methodologies. Her program of research concentrated on informal caregiving and family demography. Moving back to Australia in 2012, Meredith plans to continue researching issues of healthy ageing and baby boomer retirement.

Ann Peut, ACT representative

Ann Peut is the ACT president of the AAG. She has an MA in Sociology and currently works with the Ageing and Aged Care Unit at the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, Australia’s national agency for health and welfare statistics and information. She has over 25 years experience in data development, collection and analysis, the design and conduct of program evaluations and researching the impacts of demographic, social and policy change.
Ann is interested in participating in multi-disciplinary collaborative arrangements which contribute to the development of a high quality evidence base about ageing and aged care in Australia. She is currently involved in research about acute care for patients with dementia and aged care service use pathways.

Carrie Hayter, New South Wales representative

Carrie Hayter has 20 years experience working in human services in aged care, community care and disability services in Australia and the United Kingdom. Carrie has a Bachelor of Social Work (Honours) from the University of NSW and a Masters of Economics (Social Science) with Honours from the University of Sydney. Carrie has worked in direct service delivery, community development, policy development, and research and lobbying in the aged and community care sectors. She has worked in the NSW Government, in various local authorities in Social Services in the United Kingdom, as well as for peak agency bodies in the disability sector and aged and community care sectors in NSW.

Carrie is currently Director, Carrie Hayter Consulting. She provides research and consulting services to the aged care, disability and community care sectors across Australia and teaches part time at Macquarie University.Her most recent research work has focused on building the cultural competence of aged care, disability and community care services so that they are more inclusive of the needs of people from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds. Her research interests include people with disabilities who are ageing, the influence of economic ideas on the funding and regulation of aged services, as well as understanding how human services can understand and work with people who are culturally and linguistically diverse.
 

Dr Jane Sims, Victoria representative

Dr Jane Sims is an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow in the Healthy Ageing Research Unit (HARU), School of Primary Health Care at Monash University and Honorary Senior Fellow, Department of General Practice, University of Melbourne. She currently manages her own health research and evaluation consultancy.

Dr Sims has a long-standing research interest in older persons’ health, particularly interventions to promote physical activity in older people and falls prevention.  In recent years she has conducted a number of comprehensive reviews of the literature and practice including: general practitioners’ role in assessing capacity to drive; physical activity promotion in older people; distance education for falls prevention; stress management in general practice; social marketing models for dementia prevention; and mental health promotion in older people.

Dr Sims is currently Vice President of the AAG’s Victorian Division and a member of the City of Port Phillip’s Older Persons Consultative Committee.

Dr Evonne Miller, Queensland representative

Associate Professor Evonne Miller, an environmental psychologist, is based in the School of Design, Creative Industries at Queensland University of Technology. Her ageing-related research focuses on exploring the factors and processes that contribute to quality of life, social connectedness and active ageing, specifically the effect of the built environment and urban design on public health. Recent research projects have explored the experience of disability, role of residential locality (retirement village living versus ‘ageing in place’) and predictors of leisure-time physical activity. 

Cathy Lock, South Australia/Northern Territory representative 

Cathy Lock is currently Coordinator of Consumer Participation in Metropolitan Domiciliary Care, a large government community care provider in South Australia. This role involves supporting consumer consultation systems and effective consumer influence and outcomes in individual and organisational decision making.

Cathy's training in social work is the background to a career in community care in ageing and disability. This has included direct service provision of complex case management and clinical social work in home support services and four years work in the establishment of the SA Elder Protection Program, an inaugural statewide program to develop community awareness, training for service providers, and provide a direct response to elder abuse. Previous work has also included several years as quality improvement manager in Metropolitan Domiciliary Care, during which time she was involved in many different research and evaluation projects.

Prof Leon Flicker, Western Australia representative

Dr Christine Stirling, Tasmania representative

Dr Christine Stirling is a Senior Lecturer with the School of Nursing and Midwifery and collaborates with Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre as a Senior Research Fellow. She has a career long interest in improving health care through nursing practice and research. Prior to joining Nursing and Midwifery, Christine worked for 2 years at the Wicking Dementia Research and Education Centre, Menzies Research Institute, was Assistant Director of the UDRH - Workforce, and worked as an academic at UDRH for a total of 8 years.

Christine has a PhD in Rural Health, a Masters of Public Administration, and a Bachelor of Nursing. Her career has included a focus on community nurse roles and acute paediatric nurse roles. She is passionate about improving the interactions between research and education. Her research interests include services for people with dementia and their carers, the nursing health workforce, volunteering, leadership and management, community participation, and evaluation methodologies. Christine has published extensively and has received numerous research grants from both government and non-government organisations. She is currently leading research projects focused on improving dementia diagnosis and early planning, and service planning for people with dementia who live in single person households.

Melissa Lindeman, NT representative

Dr Melissa Lindeman is the inaugural President of the NT Division of AAG. She has a background in social welfare, policy development, research and adult education mainly focused in the field of aged and community care.  As well as working in various roles in government departments in both Victoria and the Northern Territory, Melissa has worked at the National Ageing Research Institute, Batchelor Institute of Indigenous Tertiary Education, and Deakin University. She is currently Head of Research at the Centre for Remote Health – Flinders University. Her recent research and professional development projects have focussed on Indigenous aged care and dementia services, and she also teaches in the Flinders University postgraduate programs in remote health practice. She has been involved in research and training in community care assessment for many years in both Victoria and the Northern Territory.

Helen Feist, General Member

Dr Helen Feist works as a Senior Research Associate for the National Centre for Social Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GISCA) at the University of Adelaide.
Helen has over 10 years experience in qualitative, quantitative and spatial research focusing on ageing in place and community connectedness, in particular in rural communities. Prior to this she has spent over 15 years working in community aged care programs, disability services and not-for-profit community based organisations both in Australia and South East Asia. This has grounded Helen’s research focus clearly around service provision and aspects of community living for older people. Her main areas of interest in research are: the applications of GIS for providing spatial information within all forms of research, changing rural communities, community connectedness, service provision, social networks and ageing in place.
Helen is the current President of the South Australian Division of the AAG and has been an active committee member for over 7 years at the state level. Also an active member of the Institute of Australian Geographers and the Australian Population Association, Helen has been able to incorporate her interest in research on ageing with her interest in rural geography and demography. Helen also currently sits on the IAGG’s inaugural student group organising committee, dedicated to developing the structure for the IAGG Student Council.

Barbara Squires, General Member

Barbara Squires has had extensive experience since 1981 as a social worker with older people, especially people with dementia and their carers. She is a founding member of Alzheimer’s Australia NSW. In 1989, she was one of the first members of staff of the Guardianship Tribunal of NSW.

In 1996 she joined The Benevolent Society, leading a wide range of community and residential services. She is a long standing member of the Executive committee of the AAG’s NSW Division, and a former AAG NSW President. She has been a member of the National Council of the AAG since 1994 and was National President from 2000 to 2003.

She has served on a number of steering and advisory committees concerned with older people’s issues, including the NSW Ministerial Advisory Committee on Ageing from 1999 to 2005. She is currently chair of the Advisory Committee for the ARC/NHMRC Research Network in Ageing Well. Her particular expertise is in developing innovative service models that enhance independence, autonomy and choice for frail older people; legal issues and elder abuse; and enhancing links between the research community, older people’s organisations and service providers.

She is a Fellow of the Australian Association of Gerontology and the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Kevin Vassarotti, Australian Capital Territory representative

Kevin is the Honorary Secretary, ACT Division of the Australian Association of Gerontology (AAG) and a member of several National Advisory Boards for
non - government organisations working in ageing and aged care.  Kevin’s professional interests are productive ageing and the need for a strategic approach to research and education on the social and economic issues relevant to the ageing of the Australian population.  Kevin was Director, Population Ageing and Research, Office for an Ageing Australia, Department of Health and Ageing, 1999-2009.  His career also includes eight years as a national education lobbyist and twelve years as a policy adviser in the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet.

Sharon Wall, General Member

Sharon is a Registered General Nurse, a Registered Geriatric Nurse, has a Diploma of Nursing Education, a Degree in Health Sciences, a Diploma of Counselling, and a Masters of Public Health. She has an experience portfolio which incorporates education, research, and clinical practice across the residential and community care sectors.

Sharon has been the author and co- author of a number of training resources to assist staff working in aged care to deliver “good practice”, and has published in the area of dementia and challenging behaviors, care of older people from culturally diverse backgrounds, and end of life decision-making for older people.She has a particular interest in the development and implementation of creative experiential training to support person centred care of older people within all care settings.

She is the director of “Ageing by Caring Pty Ltd”, an aged care consultancy that aims to enhance the experience of ageing by caring, communicating and creating.   She assists in doing this by providing education and training, strategic planning, policy development, review and evaluation, and needs analysis for a wide range of clients.

Professor G A (Tony) Broe,
Chair: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Ageing Committee

Tony Broe is currently Scientific Director of the Ageing Research Centre at Prince of Wales Hospital and Senior Principal Research Fellow at Neuroscience Research Australia - NeuRA (formerly Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute).  Tony is also Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of NSW.

He completed a BA in Geography and Anthropology and an MBBS at Sydney University. He trained in Geriatric Medicine at Lidcombe Hospital and the University of Glasgow in the 1970s, and completed his training in Neurology at the Mayo Clinic in 1972. In 1975 he participated in the creation of the Australian Society for Geriatric Medicine (ASGM) and was President on two occasions.

From 1975 he was Senior Lecturer and Lidcombe Hospital and Head of the Department of Neurosciences and  University Clinical School.  From 1985 to 1999 he was Professor of Geriatric Medicine at the University of Sydney where he set up the Centre for Education and Research on Ageing (CERA) at Concord Hospital. He was awarded an AM in 1987 for his services to Geriatric Medicine.

Tony has been instrumental in research, health care and policy for the elderly, being on multiple committees for Federal and State Health Departments and has consulted for the World Health Organisation.

He is internationally known for his research on the neuroepidemiology of ageing, normal ageing, Parkinsons disease, Alzheimers disease and vascular dementia and traumatic brain injury.

He has over 150 papers published in national and international journals and more than 20 book chapters. Tony has had NH&MRC funding to carry out his research in behavioural neurology, traumatic brain injury, brain ageing, Parkinsons disease, dementia and age-related brain disorders for the past 25 years. From 1992 to 2003 his NH&MRC funded research "The Sydney Older Persons Study (SOPS)" followed a local community cohort of 630 older people and has led to over 40 publications.  

Since 2006 Tony has been actively building a research agenda on Aboriginal health and ageing.  In 2007 Tony and his colleagues were awarded an NHMRC project grant to investigate ageing and cognition in urban Aboriginal communities.  A number of grants have contributed to Aboriginal ageing and have become the major focus of Tony’s current research activity.  The Koori Growing Old Well Study (KGOWS) includes 5 New South Wales Aboriginal communities.

Kirsten Moore, National Student Representative

Kirsten is currently undertaking her PhD through The University of Melbourne and the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI). Her study is exploring carer’s experiences of caring for someone with high level dementia care needs and examining the role of Extended Aged Care at Home Dementia packages in supporting carers. Her supervisors are Associate Professor Elizabeth Ozanne, Professor David Ames and Dr Briony Dow. Kirsten has completed a Bachelor of Arts majoring in psychology and sociology with a Social Science Honours. Her honours thesis examined the care preferences of older people living alone and she has continued to work in the aged care sector. In 1999 she commenced as a research assistant in the Preventive and Public Health Division at NARI where she currently holds a part time position as a Research Fellow. She has been involved in a broad range of projects including service evaluations, clinical trials, resource development and translating research into practice. In 2010 Kirsten prepared the Student Section for the AAG newsletter. 

Dr Tony Coles, Executive Officer

Prior to taking up the position of Executive Officer with the AAG, Tony worked for three years with the Australian Government Department of Health and Ageing, initially within the graduate program before being promoted to acting Assistant Director with the Office for an Ageing Australia (OFAA).  During his time with OFAA, Tony worked on a variety of projects, including the Dementia Research Grants Program and the Building Ageing Research Capacity Project.  Tony has also worked as a teacher at the University of Tasmania and the University of Helsinki, Finland, and has worked as a volunteer for the MS Society of Victoria under the Community Visitors Scheme.  He has a PhD in Sociology from the University of Tasmania and is an Associate Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Executives.