Expert Sources for Journalists

Expert Sources for Journalists is a directory for reporters who are looking for an expert resource on elder mistreatment to interview. The National Center on Elder Abuse is very grateful to the nationally prominent experts who have consented to be listed in this directory.

Please click on the expert's name below to view his or her areas of expertise.

	Georgia J. Anetzberger, PHD
	ACSW, LISW Consultant and Research Associate, Visiting Nurse Association Healthcare Partners of Ohio 1105 Hillrock Drive South Euclid, OH 44121 Phone: (216) 691-9730 E-mail: Ganetzberger@aol.com Georgia Anetzberger is an expert in the following fields: ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES ASSESSING ELDER ABUSE RISKS INTERVENTIONS FOR ELDER ABUSE FAMILY VIOLENCE BIO Georgia J. Anetzberger is a consultant in private practice who also serves as a research associate with the Visiting Nurse Association Healthcare Partners of Ohio, adjunct assistant professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University and adjunct faculty in health care administration at Cleveland State University. A fellow in the Gerontological Society of America, she has spent over twenty-five years addressing the problem of elder abuse, initially as an adult protective services worker and most recently as a researcher, administrator, and educator concerned with the dynamics of elder abuse situations. Anetzberger is the author of more than thirty works on elder abuse, including The Etiology of Elder Abuse by Adult Offspring and articles in such journals as The Gerontologist, Violence Against Women, Generations, and Journal of Cross-Cultural Gerontology. She currently is interim co-editor of the Journal of Elder Abuse & Neglect. Anetzberger was the architect of Ohio's protective services law for adults and established the Ohio Coalition for Adult Protective Services and Consortium Against Adult Abuse (both affiliates of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, in which she is an officer). She has served on various national and state forums concerned with elder abuse, including research panels for the National Institute on Aging and National Aging Resource Center on Elder Abuse, as well as policy panels of the National Policy Summit on Elder Abuse and Ohio Governor's Task Force on Family Violence. She has presented on the topic of elder abuse or adult protective services for various local or national groups, including the American Society on Aging, Gerontological Society of America, American Counseling Association, and National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.
	Bennett Blum, MD
	Director, Bennett Blum MD, Inc. Director, Geriatric Division, Park Dietz and Associates Bennett Blum MD, Inc. 5425 E. Broadway Blvd.  PMB #358 Tucson, Arizona 85711 Phone (520) 750-8868 E-mail: bennettblum@aol.com Web Site: www.bennettblummd.com Park Dietz and Associates 2906 Lafayette Newport Beach, California 92663 Phone (949) 723-2211 E-Mail: expert@parkdietzassociates.com Web Site:  www.parkdietzassociates.com Bennett Blum is an expert in the following fields: UNDUE INFLUENCE ASSESSMENT; BEHAVIORAL MODELS OF MANIPULATION; THE PSYCHOLOGICAL & HEALTH IMPACT OF MANIPULATION TACTICS MENTAL CAPACITY EVALUATION ELDER ABUSE INVESTIGATION & INTERVENTION BIO Bennett Blum, MD, is a physician specializing in both forensic and geriatric psychiatry. He received his medical education at the University of Arizona and psychiatric training at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is an expert on the evaluation of manipulation tactics used by offenders to abuse and exploit others, and the effects of such manipulation upon victim behavior and cognition. He has pioneered assessment techniques in the areas of undue influence and mental capacity and has consulted extensively on legal cases throughout the U.S. and internationally.   Dr. Blum collaborates with professional, legislative, and community organizations on prevention, investigation, and litigation of issues related to elder abuse, financial exploitation, and fraud. His work became part of a nationwide 2006 training project entitled "Undue Influence: The Criminal Justice Response." He has worked with the National College of District Attorneys and National District Attorneys Association to review the mental capacity and undue influence sections of their curricula. He serves as a consultant to the Fiduciary Abuse Specialist Teams in Los Angeles, Orange, and Ventura Counties, and is a founding member of the Pima County Death Analysis Review Team in Arizona, a multidisciplinary group focusing on elder homicides. His work has been published by the National College of Probate Judges, State Bar Associations, and in major medical textbooks, including the eighth edition of Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Textbook of Psychiatry. He has worked as an advisor on several law enforcement training films, including Predators of the Elderly, and has taught homicide investigators from the Los Angeles County Sheriffs and Police Departments. Dr. Blum has served as a technical advisor to the Research Triangle Institute for its national study on elder financial exploitation which was the basis for the U.S. Administration on Aging’s “Financial Exploitation of Older Persons Report.” Dr. Blum has testified in the United Nations trial of General Pavle Strugar, the first full competency hearing before an international war crimes tribunal since Nuremberg. In 1999, he testified at the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing, “Fraud: Targeting America's Seniors.” In 2005, he participated in the White House Conference on Aging.
	Paul Greenwood, JD
	Deputy District Attorney, San Diego County San Diego County District Attorney's Office Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit Suite 1220, 330 West Broad Way San Diego, CA 92101 Phone: (619) 531-3464 E-Mail: paul.greenwood@sdcda.org Web Site: www.co.san-diego.ca.us/ Paul Greenwood is an expert in the following fields: INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION FELONY ELDER ABUSE CASES CRIMINAL JUSTICE Bio Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood has been a lawyer for over 25 years. He spent 13 years in England as a barrister and solicitor before relocating to San Diego in 1991. He joined the San Diego DA's office in 1993 and started the Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit in January 1996. Under his leadership the unit has grown to a team of twelve. He has completed seven murder trials and obtained a first degree murder conviction in six of the seven. He has also been involved in the prosecution of over 200 felony elder abuse cases. In December 1999, Greenwood was named by California Lawyer as one of California's lawyers of the year. Mr. Greenwood is currently chair of the California District Attorneys Elder Abuse statewide committee and is an elected board member of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse.
	Candace J. Heisler, JD
	Former Assistant District Attorney San Francisco E-Mail: CJHEISLER@aol.com Candace Heisler is an expert in the following fields: ELDER ABUSE AND DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CRIMINAL JUSTICE LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING Bio Candace J. Heisler served for over 25 years as an assistant district attorney for the City and County of San Francisco. She headed the Domestic Violence, Charging, Misdemeanor, and Preliminary Hearing Units. She has served as a trainer and consultant for a variety of federal, state, and other organizations and government entities in the areas of elder abuse and domestic violence. She continues to teach and write for the California District Attorney's Association as well as the California Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training. She has published numerous articles on both elder abuse and domestic violence. In California, she has helped design curricula for judges and law enforcement and has designed training curricula on domestic violence for first responders, field training officers, investigators, crisis negotiators, and expert witnesses. She provides statewide training for California victim advocates on elder abuse and domestic violence in later life and for probation officers on elder abuse. Heisler is a member of the California Violence Against Women S*T*O*P* Taskforce and is a Board member of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. She is a graduate of the University of California, San Francisco, Hastings School of Law, where she is currently teaches as an adjunct faculty member.
	Eva Kutas, JD
	Director, Oregon Department of Human Services, Mental Health and Developmental Disability Services Division, Office of Investigations and Training Oregon Department of Human Services 500 Summer St. NE E25 Salem, OR 97301-1098 Phone: (503) 945-9491 E-mail: Eva.Kutas@state.or.us Eva Kutas is an expert in the following fields: ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES DISABILITY ISSUES CRIMINAL JUSTICE ELDER ABUSE LAWS INVESTIGATION & PROSECUTION Bio Eva Kutas JD is the director for the Oregon Department of Human Services' Office of Investigations and Training. This office directly investigates or oversees allegations of abuse and neglect of people with mental illness or developmental disabilities in Oregon. It also provides training about abuse and neglect to providers and clients/consumers. Eva has degrees in special education, sociology and law. She has 5 years of criminal and civil law experience and worked at the Oregon Advocacy Center (Oregon's protection and advocacy agency for people with disabilities) for 10 years as an advocate and attorney. She has conducted approximately 600 investigations specializing in interviewing people with disabilities, complex cases and deaths. Kutas is the immediate past president of the National Association of Adult Protective Services Administrators, an organization that strives to improve the quality and availability of services to vulnerable adults who are abused, neglected and exploited, to promote advocacy, training and research in the field and to educate the public and government leaders on behalf of this population.
	Paula M. Mixson, LMSW-AP
	Geriatric Consulting and Training 2020 Northridge Drive Austin, Texas 78723 Phone: (512) 663-4540 Fax: (512) 220-6151 Home: (512) 928-1122 E-mail: paula.mixson@gmail.com Paula Mixson is an expert in the following fields: ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES PROGRAM PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT INVESTIGATION & INTERVENTION ETHICAL ISSUES IN ADULT PROTECTION (RESOLUTION OF ETHICAL DILEMMAS IN APS CASES) SELF-NEGLECT Bio Paula McClain Mixson has worked in the field of adult protection since 1980, retiring in August 2003 from her position as a Division Administrator in the Adult Protective Services program at the Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services.    Her responsibilities there included strategic planning, performance measurement,legislative analysis and tracking, inter-agency coordination, community development and public awareness, facilitating special projects and research efforts, and supervising the production of the annual Texas Adult Protective Services Conference. She now works independently as a trainer, consultant, and certified Validation® worker. Ms. Mixson is a founding member of both the National Association of Adult Protective Services Administrators (NAAPSA) and the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse (NCPEA). She currently serves on the boards of both these organizations and is chair of the NAAPSA research committee and the NCPEA nominating committee. In 2002, she received NAAPSA's Rosalie Wolf Memorial Award. She has written a number of commentaries and articles for the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect and Victimization of the Elderly and Disabled, among others. Ms. Mixson is certified in Texas as a licensed master social worker, advanced practitioner, and has received professional training in alcoholism treatment, domestic violence, mental health, gerontology, and issues related to adult/elder protection. She has completed nine hours of post-graduate courses on total quality management, aging and developmental disabilities, and ethics in long-term care at the University of North Texas Center for Studies in Aging. In addition, she has pursued independent study in parent effectiveness training, transactional analysis, and Neuro-linguistic programming. She received a B.A. in Drama from Sam Houston State University (SHSU) in Huntsville, Texas in 1968. She was an East-West Center grantee at the University of Hawaii in 1968-69 and in 1974 studied Spanish at El Proyecto Linguistico in Antigua, Guatemala. In 1976 she completed secondary teacher certification in Spanish, English, and Drama at SHSU. In June 1997 she received full licensure as an Avatarä Master and in 2002 was certified as a Validation® Therapy Worker by the Geratric Education Center of Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia. (Validation® is a method of interacting with persons with Alzheimer's-type dementia that restores dignity and reduces stress in patient and caregiver alike.)
	Laura Mosqueda, MD
	Director of Geriatrics, University of California, Irvine College of Medicine Co-Director, Elder Abuse Forensic Center University of California, Irvine Medical Center Program in Geriatrics 101 The City Drive Pavilion III, ZC 1150 Orange, California 92868-3298 Phone: (714) 456-5530 E-Mail: mosqueda@uci.edu Elder Abuse Forensic Center PO Box 22006 Santa Ana, California 92702-2006 Phone: (714) 825-3087 Web Site: www.elderabuseforensiccenter.com Laura Mosqueda is an expert in the following fields: ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES INVESTIGATION & INTERVENTION ELDER ABUSE CASES Bio Laura Mosqueda is a board-certified geriatrician and family physician and the Director of Geriatrics at the University of California, Irvine College of Medicine where she is also an Associate Clinical Professor in Family Medicine. One of her major areas of focus is the topic of elder abuse. She created a medical team for Orange County that provides consultation on elder abuse cases, was the co-chair of a Department of Justice forensic forum on elder abuse, and served on a National Academies Panel that published Elder Mistreatment: Abuse, Neglect, and Exploitation in an Aging America. Dr. Mosqueda founded and serves as co-director of the nation's first Elder Abuse Forensic Center, made possible through a grant from the Archstone Foundation. The Center is located in Santa Ana and houses Adult Protective Services, a geriatrician, a geropsychologist, and gerontologist from UCI Geriatric Medicine, a deputy district attorney, sheriff investigator, public guardian, a victim advocate, and mental health professional from Older Adult Services, social worker from a Violence Shelter, and a professor from Chapman Law School. The goal is to bring together law, medicine, and social services to bring justice to cases of elder abuse. The Center began operation in February 2003, and the Grand Opening and media launch was held May 2003. Dr. Mosqueda has extensive experience in developing, implementing, and teaching courses on elder abuse for physicians, law enforcement officers, and prosecutors. Locally, Dr. Mosqueda serves as a member of the Orange County's Adult Protective Services Multidisciplinary Team and Fiduciary Abuse Specialist Team. She is a board member for the Orange County Alzheimer's Association and a member of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Board of the Orange County Alzheimer's Association.
	Gregory Paveza, PHD
	Professor of Social Work, University of South Florida University of South Florida School of Social Work 4202 E. Fowler Avenue, MGY132 Tampa, FL 33620-6600 Phone: (813) 974-1966 E-Mail: paveza@chuma1.cas.usf.edu Web Site: www.cas.usf.edu/social_work/faculty/paveza.html Gregory Paveza is an expert in the following fields: ALZHEIMER'S AND ELDER ABUSE CAREGIVING EDUCATION AND SUPPORT SERVICES Bio Gregory Paveza is currently Professor in the School of Social Work and a founding faculty in the interdisciplinary PHD in Aging Studies Program at the University of South Florida, Tampa. He received his BA from Lewis College in 1969, his MSW from the University of Hawaii in 1973 and his PHD in Public Health Sciences (Psychiatric Epidemiology) in 1986 from the School of Public Health at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He has been a clinical social work practitioner, a social service agency administrator, and a health sciences researcher. He is currently an active university researcher and educator. His research interests include issues related to the social consequences of caregiving and Alzheimer's Disease including his specific interest in elder mistreatment in these families. Additionally he has a general interest in elder mistreatment in all of its forms and its impact on the broader aging community. Paveza is the recipient of an NIA funded grant to study violence and aggression in Alzheimer's Disease families and is the USF principal investigator on a multi-site NIA grant to study caregiver neglect. He has received several grants from the Retirement Research Foundation to look at various aspects of caregiving and elder justice. He is a member of the Leadership Council of the Mental Health and Aging Network of the American Society on Aging. In addition, he serves on the Board of Directors of the Alzheimer's Association - Florida Gulf Coast Chapter and on the Elder Services Team of the United Way of Tampa Bay. In 2000, he was appointed as the only social work member and one of only two experts on elder abuse to the Institute of Medicine/ National Research Council Committee on the Training Needs of Health Professionals to Respond to Family Violence. He also served as the only social work researcher to the National Research Council's Panel of the Risk and Prevalence of Elder Abuse and Neglect. He has lectured and published extensively on issues related to Geriatric Assessment, the caregiving consequences of Alzheimer's Disease including the cost of providing community based care, and on elder mistreatment.
	Chayo Reyes
	Retired Los Angeles Police Department Detective Elder Financial Protective Services Consultant Chayo Reyes PO Box 5032 Cerritos, CA 90703-5032 Phone: (562) 926-7380 Cell: (562) 688-1866 E-Mail: Chayo@integrity.com Chayo Reyes is an expert in the following fields: ELDER FINANCIAL ABUSE EXPLOITATION, FRAUDS AND SCAMS CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING Bio Retired detective and National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse board member Chayo Reyes has 25 years experience with the Los Angeles Police Department. Retired as of July 1999, he worked 19 years in the Bunco-Forgery Division (renamed Financial Crimes Division). In 1987 he developed the County's first Elder Person's Estate Unit. He is also a co-founder of the Los Angeles County Financial Abuse Specialist Team (FAST), the first FAST team in the country. Reyes also co-drafted California Senate Bill 1742 (effective January 1, 2001), which enables law enforcement, in conjunction with Adult Protective Services and the Public Guardian's Office, to secure and protect the assets of elder or dependent adults during the course of a financial abuse investigation. (Activated Probate Code Sections 2950-2955). Reyes currently is an instructor for the California Department of Justice's Advance Fraud Investigator's Course, the National District Attorneys Association, University of South Carolina National Advocacy Center, Lassen College Criminal Justice Outreach Program, and San Jose State University Criminal Justice Outreach Program. On January 8, 2001, he was selected as a member of the University of California Davis-Medical Training Center's Elder and Dependent Adult Abuse Advisory Board in Sacramento. He has testified before the California Senate and Assembly Subcommittees on Aging
	Winsor C. Schmidt, JD
	LLM Professor and Department Chair of Health Policy and Administration, Washington State University Spokane Washington State University Spokane Department of Health Policy and Administration Spokane, Washington 99210 Phone: (509) 358-7981 E-Mail: schmidtw@wsu.edu Web Site: http://www.hpa.spokane.wsu.edu/ Winsor Schmidt is an expert in the following fields: PUBLIC GUARDIANSHIP ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES ELDER ABUSE LAW Bio Winsor C. Schmidt is professor of health policy and administration and chair of the Department of Health Policy and Administration at Washington State University. His research interests center on issues related to guardianship and the elderly, health and mental health law and policy, and medical malpractice. His publications include the books, Public Guardianship and the Elderly (Ballinger Publishing Company, 1981) and Guardianship: Court of Last Resort for the Elderly and Disabled (Carolina Academic Press, 1995). His books inform health, social service, and legal professionals, as well as judges and legislators, about the findings, analyses, conclusions, and implications from over a decade of national and state research on guardianship and protective services for the elderly and disabled. The Elder Law Report wrote, "Perhaps no one has studied guardianship, particularly public guardianship, more closely than Winsor Schmidt." According to the Journal of Aging and Social Policy, "[Professor Schmidt] is a provocative writer who raises a number of important questions about guardianship policy. He also provides invaluable information about what is known and not known from guardianship research." Professor Schmidt serves on the Board of Directors of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. Professor Schmidt holds the AB in Government from Harvard University, the JD in Public Law from American University, and the LLM in Mental Health Law from the University of Virginia.
	Pamela B. Teaster, PHD
	Assistant Professor of Public Health and Gerontology, University of Kentucky University of Kentucky Kentucky School of Public Health, PHD Program in Geronotology 306 Health Sciences Building 900 South Limestone Lexington, Kentucky 40536-0230 Phone: (859) 257-1450 ext. 80196 E-Mail: pteaster@uky.edu Web Site: www.uky.edu Pamela Teaster is an expert in the following fields: ADULT PROTECTIVE SERVICES GUARDIANSHIP VICTIMIZATION OF OLDER WOMEN SEXUAL ABUSE Bio Pamela B. Teaster earned her doctorate in Public Administration and Public Affairs and the Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. She is an assistant professor in the Kentucky School of Public Health and PHD Program in Gerontology/Sanders-Brown Center on Aging. She is the editor of the Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Applied Gerontology. She is the first vice president of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, and she serves on the American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging. Selected research projects include a statewide evaluation of public guardian and conservator programs, end of life decision making by guardians, compliance with guardianship reporting, outcomes of involuntary Adult Protective Services, and the sexual abuse of older and disabled adults. Teaster has published articles in such journals as The Journal of Applied Gerontology; The Journal of Elder Abuse and Neglect
	Randolph W. Thomas, MA
	President, National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse 204 Cart Way Blythewood, South Carolina 29016 Phone: (803) 333-0835 Mobile: (803) 606-1911 E-Mail: rthomas149@aol.com Web: http://www.heislerandassociates.com/ Randolph Thomas is an expert in the following fields: Bio Randolph W. Thomas is president of the National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse and former section coordinator for Domestic Investigations and Behavioral Science Units, with the South Carolina Criminal Justice Academy, Department of Public Safety. Mr. Thomas retired from law enforcement with over 26 years of experience, primarily in the area of investigations, and has developed and presented training material relating to the investigation of child and elder abuse and juvenile crime. Mr. Thomas' prior experience also includes serving as adjunct professor of Criminal Justice at the University of South Carolina, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, and an advisor to the U.S. Department of Justice in the area of elder abuse. From 1990 to 2002, he was a member of the South Carolina Adult Protection Coordinating Council. Mr. Thomas presents training to law enforcement and social service personnel in the area of elder abuse investigations throughout the United States. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Chaminade University (Honolulu) and his Master's degree in Political Science from the University of South Florida.