About AAG

Prof Gill Lewin
President

Prof Julie Byles
President Elect

Prof Laurie Buys
Immediate Past President

Mr Frank Schaper
Treasurer

Ms Kristen de San Miguel
Secretary

Mr Kevin Vassarotti
ACT representative

Ms Carrie Hayter
NSW representative

Dr Briony Dow
VIC representative

Dr Evonne Miller
QLD representative

Ms Cathy Lock
SA / NT representative

Ms Donelle Rivett
WA representative

Ms Janet Carty
TAS representative

Ms Ann Peut
General Member

Ms Sharon Wall
General Member

Ms Barbara Squires
General Member

Ms Helen Feist
General Member

Prof G A (Tony) Broe
ATSI Ageing Committee

Prof Keith Hill
Ninth Asia/Oceania Regional Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics 2011

Ms Claudia Meyer
National Student Representative

Executive Officer

Dr Tony Coles

Professor Gill Lewin, 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.

Professor Julie Byles, President Elect

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.

Laurie Buys, Immediate Past President

Laurie Buys is currently Professor in the School of Design at Queensland University of Technology (QUT). Laurie has a PhD in Human Rehabilitation and a Graduate Diploma in Gerontology from the University of Northern Colorado. She holds a MS in Rehabilitation Counselling from Southern Illinios University and a BA in Psychology from West Virginia University.

Laurie joined QUT in the School of Humanities and Human Services in 1995, transferring to the  Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering in 2008. Laurie is an experienced social science researcher and research manager, having received funding from numerous sources, including the ARC. She has been the chief investigator on several significant research projects and has successfully collaborated with scientists from various disciplinary backgrounds on complex research initiatives. Her research interests include active ageing, ageing and intellectual disability, sustainability, social capital, older drivers, retirement village living and community engagement.

Laurie has been a member of the Management Committee of QLD Aged and Disability Advocacy, Inc. for over four years (serving two years as President) and is actively involved with their strategic planning and implementation.

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.

Ms Kristen de San Miguel, Secretary

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.
 

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 Briony Dow,  Victoria representative

Dr Evonne Miller, Queensland representative

Evonne Miller graduated from the University of Otago in New Zealand with an honours degree (Psychology) in 2000, BCom (Marketing Management) in 2002, and a PhD (Psychology) in 2004. She has been at Queensland University of Technology since 2004, and is currently a Lecturer in the School of Design, Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering. Evonne's research expertise is in the area of applied social psychology, specialising in social gerontology, social sustainability, community engagement and behaviour change.

Prior to joining QUT, Evonne was Fieldwork & Project Manager for a marketing research consultancy and completed a PhD exploring the impact of media on women's body image. At QUT, Evonne has been involved in three main lines of research: predicting and promoting active ageing; social aspects of sustainable development, environmental issues and social capital; and, corporate citizenship, specifically defining and measuring the social dimension of triple bottom line reporting. 

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.

Ms Donelle Rivett, Western Australia representative

Ms Janet Carty, Tasmania representative

Janet recently became President of the AAG Tasmania Division.  She is a registered nurse with 30 years experience across a range of clinical and policy settings.

Janet currently works in the Office of Aged Care and Rehabilitation (Department of Health and Human Services) as the Principal Consultant Community and Aged Care.  She has responsibility for strategic management of the Home and Community Care (HACC) and Aged Care Assessment Programs.

Janet works collaboratively with researchers from University of Tasmania and has a particular interest in matching research to policy outcomes which improve service delivery for clients and enhance sector capacity.

Ann Peut, General Member

Ann Peut is the ACT president of the AAG. She is a sociologist who 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 a member of the Transitions in Care node of the Primary Dementia Collaborative Research Centre. She is also a lead investigator on two large NHMRC collaborative research grants which will analyse linked data to investigate aged care service use pathways.

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.

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.

Helen Feist, General Member

Helen Feist works as a Senior Research Associate for the National Centre for Social Applications of Geographic Information Systems (GISCA) within the Australian Institute of Social Research at the University of Adelaide. She is currently the project manager for the ‘Linking Rural Older People to Community’ project, due for completion in 2012. Helen is also in the final stages of completing her PhD, ‘Social Spaces, Rural Places: Ageing-in-Place and Social Networks in Rural South Australia’ in the School of Geographical and Environmental Studies at Adelaide University. Helen has a Bachelors and Honours Degree in Social Science and Social Policy.

Helen has over 10 years experience in qualitative, quantitative and spatial research focusing on older people. 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.

As an active member of the Institute of Australian Geographers, Helen has been able to incorporate her interest in research on ageing with her interest in rural geography and the influences of space and place on societal processes. Helen also currently sits on the IAGG’s inaugural student group organising committee, dedicated to working for the next two years developing the structure for the IAGG Student Council and setting up operational student councils in each region in time for the regional meetings in 2011.
 

Professor Keith Hill, 
Chair: Ninth Asia/Oceana Regional Congress of Gerontology and Geriatrics 2011

Keith has been appointed to one of the two AAG positions on the Asia / Oceania regional council of the International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics. He is a physiotherapist with 26 years of clinical and research experience in the areas of rehabilitation, neurology, aged care, and falls prevention. He currently works as Director of the Preventive and Public Health Division at the National Ageing Research Institute, where he leads a multidisciplinary team exploring a range of areas to improve outcomes across a broad range of domains for older people, as well as conducting health service evaluations across hospital, residential care and community settings.

 After graduating as a physiotherapist in 1980, Keith went on to further studies with a Graduate Diploma in Physiotherapy in 1987, and a PhD titled 'Balance Studies in Older People'�at the University of Melbourne in 1998. His current work involves supervising a number of PhD and masters students, and managing a range of research projects, with a particular interest in falls prevention and physical activity. He has published over 40 peer reviewed publications, 8 book chapters and 25 project reports, primarily to State and Commonwealth governments.

Keith is keen to facilitate growth of interest, education and research in all key areas of ageing, with a multidisciplinary focus where possible. He sees his new position as an avenues to work towards this goal on a national and international front.

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

Tony Broe is currently Scientific Director, Ageing Research Centre, Prince of Wales Hospital, South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service. He is also a Senior Principal Research Fellow at the Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute and Professor of Geriatric Medicine, 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 in Medicine and Head of the University Clinical School and the Department of Neurosciences at Lidcombe Hospital. 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 140 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 he has been actively building a research agenda on Aboriginal health and ageing. In late 2007 he and colleagues were awarded an NHMRC Project Grant to investigate ageing and cognition in urban Aboriginal communities. A number of smaller grants have contributed to this becoming the major focus of Tony’s current research activity.

Claudia Meyer, National Student Representative

Claudia Meyer works as a research therapist at the National Ageing Research Institute (NARI) in Parkville, Melbourne. She has worked on several projects over the last 3 years, including  the “minimizing falls and other adverse events at home and in respite care transition for older care recipients” project; the Dementia Resource Guide review; development of a Healthy Ageing Quiz; and the “Pragmatic trial of the implementation of a balance screening and home exercise program through existing community health services” project. She is the current Professional Learning and Development co-ordinator for NARI.

Claudia completed her Masters of Public Health at Melbourne University in 2008, with a minor thesis entitled “The Power to Choose” – A systematic review of the factors associated with an under-utilisation of respite care among older spousal carers. She is keen to pursue her interest areas of falls prevention, carer wellbeing and indigenous health with the commencement of a PhD should an opportunity arise.

Claudia has 16 years clinical experience of working with older people as a physiotherapist, in the areas of orthopaedics, rheumatology and chronic pain within the acute, sub-acute and community setting.

Claudia is delighted to be the AAG student representative on National Council for 2010, keen to strengthen the links between students in the diverse fields working with and for older people, at a local, national and regional level.
 

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.