Speaker Biographies - Thursday, April 12, 2011

Mike Studer, PT, MHS, NCS, CEEAA, President and Owner: Northwest Rehabilitation Associates, Inc
Mr. Studer has been the vice-president of the American Physical Therapy Association’s Neurology Section and is currently the Chair of the APTA Geriatric Section Balance and Falls Special Interest Group. He has been board-certified as a Clinical Specialist in Neurologic Physical Therapy since 1995. Mr. Studer has published several articles cognitive rehabilitation and has been an invited speaker at many universities and international venues since 1995. He has recently been honored by the American Physical Therapy Association, receiving the 2011 Neurology Section award for Clinical Excellence, given to the clinician of the year.

Mr. Studer is a leader locally and nationally, influencing health care policy and reimbursement. He is the former chair of the APTA Neurology Section Practice Committee. Additionally, he has been an invited speaker at various community forums and support groups in Oregon. If you are in the Salem area, stop by to meet Mike or watch for him out running, as he is an avid triathlete and marathoner!

Margaret Manoogian, PhD.  Professor, Western Oregon University and OSU
Margaret is an Associate Professor at Western Oregon University and at Oregon State University in the Extension and Community Health program.  She has her doctorate in human development and family studies with minors in adult development, aging, and women’s studies. She has refereed publications in the area of family studies that include poverty, intergenerational issues, and concerns of rural families and has given several presentations on these topics. She has been involved with the diabetes research for this project and assisted with expert input on the toolkit development.

George Gerding, RPH, Private consulting practice
George Gerding is currently “retired” but writing several newsletters for Prestige Care.

Named an Honorary Alumnus for the OSU College of Pharmacy, he also served as an instructor and was named a Preceptor of the Year. His past experience includes retail pharmacy, research, marketing and consultation. He even spent time learning television production in order to make better instructional videos for pharmacists. While working as a full-time pharmacist, he put together multi-image presentations and training tapes for his company to train trustees in rural hospitals.

He is involved with several professional organizations, including being a full fellow with the American College of Apothecaries and the American College of Consultant Pharmacists. He was past secretary and delegate of OSPA and past president of both OSCP and PSOP. He served on the board of directors for OSPA, Geriatric Dental Group and Oregon Drug Utilization Review. He is the current chairman of the Pharmacy Advisory Committee for the Oregon State University College of Pharmacy. 

Throughout his career, he has accumulated many awards, including a Leadership Award as Region XI Director of the ACA and Pharmacist of the Year from the Portland Retail Druggists’ Association.

Mary Gramling, PT, CLT-LANA, New Leaf Physical and Massage Therapy LLC, Portland, OR
Mary Gramling is a Physical Therapist and certified lymphedema therapist working in the Portland area since 2004. She specializes in rehabilitation before, during, and after cancer treatment.  Her treatments consist of manual techniques including manual lymph drainage and Graston technique, exercise prescription, education, and activity specific work. She has experience treating people in a variety of settings including intensive care units, emergency rooms, acute care, skilled nursing facilities, and outpatient clinics. Her passion is helping people, whatever their age, feel better so that life has fewer barriers and more adventures.

Sugat Patel, MD, Samaritan Health Services, Corvallis, OR
Dr. Patel specializes in infectious diseases and provides a variety of services including IV therapy, antibiotic management, HIV care, and hepatitis B and C treatment and management. He lives in Corvallis, OR.

Vicki Schmall, PhD, Professor Emeritus in Gerontology, Oregon State University; Executive Director, Aging Concerns, West Linn, OR.
Vicki is an executive director and gerontology training specialist with Aging Concerns in West Linn, Oregon and Professor Emeritus of OSU. She served as the director of the OSU program on gerontology for over 25 years and is the lead author of The Caregiver Helpbook: Powerful Tools for Caregiving.
She volunteers her time working with families who are facing concerns and decisions about older family members.

Catherine Eager, BSN, RNBC, ET/WOCN, CWS, Consultant and Owner, Wound Care Protocols, Inc
Ms. Eager is an Enterostomal Therapist and a board Certified Wound Specialist. She also has ANCC certification in gerontology. She is a member of WOCN and the Association for the Advancement of Wound Care. She has developed and presents seminars throughout the United States on wound care, pain and the needs of the elderly population.  She has conducted several Research Models interviewing patients regarding pain and pain control. She has been a member of the faculty of the Walla Walla College of Nursing, instructing third and fourth year nursing students in wound care. She has authored several manuals and articles on topics related to elderly care, pain and wound care. She has been on the faculty of the Annual Symposium on Advanced Wound Care & Medical Research Forum on Wound Repair, and the Wound, Ostomy Continence Nurses Annual Meeting.  She is responsible for establishing and teaching classes within the Providence System. 

Kimberly La Croix, MPH, RD, Nutrition Coordinator/Program Analyst, Seniors and People with Disabilities, DHS, Salem, OR
Ms. La Croix is a nutrition coordinator for the Oregon State Unit on Aging and the Oregon Public Health Division. In addition, she teaches weight management classes at Providence Portland Medical Center and is an adjunct professor for Benedictine University’s distance learning nutrition and dietetics program.  Kim completed her dietetic internship at Oregon Health and Science University, her Masters of Public Health from Benedictine University and her Bachelors in Nutrition from Loyola University Chicago.

Deborah John, PhD, College Of Public Health and Human Sciences, Extension Family and Community Health, Extension Service Clackamas County, Oregon City, OR
Deborah holds faculty positions in the College of Health and Human Sciences and OSU Extension Family and Community Health.

Rob Winningham, PhD. Psychology Division Chair, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and Professor, Psychology Division, Western Oregon University, OR
Dr. Robert Winningham, Ph. D. is a professor of psychology at Western Oregon University. He is a leader in our Geriatric Wellness Center program. In addition, Dr. Winningham was the co-founder of “MemAerobics” – an approach to reverse and slow the effects of aging on cognition. For more than 11 years he has performed research and published articles on cognition and aging. He has been an invited speaker to over 17 conferences and symposiums in the past year on this topic. Dr. Winningham is very active in the local community, providing resources for geriatric health and wellness. He has served on the City of Salem board of ethics and serves on many task forces to continue to make Western Oregon University one of our finest institutions.

As a leader in the classroom, clinic and in continuing education, Dr. Winningham has consistently proven his commitment to professional development and patient care. He is the Co-Director of our Geriatric Wellness Center at NWRA.

Atul Deodhar, MD,  Associate Professor of Medicine at the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, Oregon and Medical Director of the Rheumatology Clinic
Dr. Deodhar specializes in Rheumatology and autoimmune diseases and takes care of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus, osteoporosis, fibromyalgia, etc. His research interests are spondyloarthritis (ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis), novel treatments for inflammatory arthritis, and osteoporosis in inflammatory arthritides. Dr. Deodhar is the medical director of Rheumatology Clinics at OHSU.

Dawn-Starr Crowther, L.Ac., Doipl. Ac., L.M.T., founder and owner of Jade River Healing Arts Center, Portland, OR
Ms. Crowther graduated from the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine and from the East-West College of the Healing Arts. She practices in Oregon as both a Licensed Acupuncturist and Licensed Massage Therapist. In 1992, she was diagnosed with a serious "incurable" illness. Desiring options other than the limited ones offered by conventional medicine, she sought treatment through Complementary Medicine. When Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and Qi Gong turned her life around by providing healing, she knew she had to "pay it forward," by studying, and then practicing, Oriental Medicine. Her medical practice is informed by her deep commitment to - and personal knowledge of - the radical transformation and healing this medicine can offer.

Daivati Bharadvaj, ND., Primary Care Medical Practice as a Naturopathic Physician at Alive & Well Healing Arts Center  (Jade River Healing Arts Clinic), Salem, Oregon,  Author of “Natural Treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome”, Faculty, Portland Community College
Ms. Bharadvaj earned her doctorate degree from the National College of Naturopathic Medicine.  After successfully completing a residency in Naturopathic Family Medicine, she serves her community as a primary care physician, helping people with chronic fatigue syndrome, heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid disease, obesity, pediatrics, and women's reproductive health issues.  She is the recent author of Natural Treatments for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.  She has published articles in Energy Times and Naturopathic Doctor News & Review, and she continues to speak about natural medicine at academic institutions and medical conferences.  Beyond her practice, she teaches Anatomy & Physiology as a faculty member of Portland Community College.

Nadine Davison, JD., Jeanne Smith & Associates, PC
Nadine Davison is an attorney with the firm of Jeanne Smith & Associates, PC in Corvallis, Oregon. She has over 20 years of legal experience; her practice focuses on all aspects of estate planning, including advising clients on living trusts and wills; ensuring proper planning in the event of financial or medical incapacity; representing guardians and conservators; minimizing estate and income taxes; and administering trusts and wills.

Before joining Jeanne Smith & Associates, PC, Ms. Davison practiced commercial and civil litigation in Washington, DC and Eugene, emphasizing in complex business disputes. She is on the Board of Directors of the OSU Federal Credit Union, and was a past director and treasurer of Community Outreach.  She frequently speaks on estate planning topics in Oregon State University classes and seminars, and to non-profit groups and financial literacy seminars.

Karen Fletcher, MPH
A cultural anthropologist, Ms. Fletcher speaks Mandarin Chinese and holds a Masters in Public Health from UC Berkeley. She began her journey in the Chinese healing in 1995 with study in tai chi, qigong and Buddhist meditation. She is a private student of ZY Qigong Grandmaster Xu Mingtang, and has completed post graduate training with him at Shaolin Monastery in China and traveled with him worldwide as his apprentice.

As the founding Board President of ZY Qigong, a non-profit organization, Ms. Flether is dedicated to bringing teachings, practice, wisdom and mastery of qigong to people of all ages and cultures. She is currently an apprentice of Dr. Zhao Fuxue, one of China's 85 top-level certified Chinese Medicine doctors specializing in Chinese medical massage, acupressure, and tuina. In addition, she is an international dancer, a certified instructor in Conscious Language™, a trained facilitator of Bio-Optic Holography and serves on the council of both the Women of Wisdom Foundation and Walking Mountain, a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing our movement arts and play back to the natural world. She is also the innovator of Qi Dancing and founder of Our Dancing Village ~ Family Dance Jam. As an "intergrationalist", Ms. Fletcher brings depth, breadth, wisdom and always an element of fun to her teachings and healing work.

Panel Presentation
Amy Henderson, MS, Founder of The Geezer Gallery
Harriet Levi, local elder artist and Past President of Oregon Women Caucus for the Arts
Cheryl Rogers, Artist and Art Program facilitator for older adults
Janet Holt, renowned Portland artist and art program facilitator in numerous residential communities through The Geezer Gallery.
Ashlea Starns, High school senior at LEP Charter School, spearheading “Bridging Generations” program pairing at-risk youth with elder artists to create collaborative bodies of work.

David Lee, Pharm.D., Ph.D, Assistant Professor, Oregon State University/Oregon Health and Science University, College of Pharmacy, Department of Pharmacy Practice, Portland, OR
Dr. Lee completed his Postdoctoral Geriatric Clinical Epidemiology and Aging-related research at Yale University, School of Medicine and holds two doctorate degrees in Philosophy in the Pharmaceutical Sciences and Pharmacy.

David Biespel, PhD
David Biespiel is widely recognized as one of the leading poets of his generation, a liberal commentator on national politics, and also one of the nation's experts in teaching writing. His teaching experience is innovative and vast: He has taught at every levels of education, from a one-room schoolhouse to large university campuses, from public high schools to graduate seminars, from teaching poetics at Stanford University to developing national champions in the Olympic sport of diving, and he has lectured and spoken to audiences throughout the United States. Looking to create an independent writing studio in 1999, Mr. Biespel founded the Attic Institute as a haven for writers in Portland's historic Hawthorne district.  Life Sketches is the Attic’s one-of-kind writing workshop for participants 55 and older. Through Life Sketches, participants get to experience the pleasure of writing their personal stories, share them with peers, and preserve them in print.

In 2010 he was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Book Critics Circle where he serves as a judge for the NBCC annual book awards.

Gail Hand, Author
Gail Hand is a Motivational Humorist, Trainer, Author and Certified Laughter Leader with the World Laughter Tour and Laughter Yoga International. She owns and operates 2 successful businesses in Portland, OR, has her own YouTube Channel, and lives & travels with her two Chihuahua's Zippy and Zoe.   She wrote her first book in 1983, a humorous biography – ‘The Power of Laughter, Seven Secrets to Living and Laughing in a Stressful World’.

Juliana Mogielnicki Bernstein, MPAS, PA-C, Oregon Health & Science University, Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, Portland, OR
After graduating from the OHSU Physician Assistant Program in 2008, Julie Bernstein spent two years working at a busy internal medicine clinic in Vancouver, WA. In 2011, she took some time off from clinical practice to travel around the world with her husband. Their travels included stops in Malaysia, Thailand, India, Tanzania and Poland. The experience gave her insight into healthcare and social systems in many countries, and renewed her interest in caring for patients here at home. She is in practice at OHSU and finds joy in caring for elderly patients and values clear communication between patients, families and providers.

Elizabeth Eckstrom, MD, MPH, Program Director/Principal Investigator, Oregon Health & Science University
Elizabeth Eckstrom is a geriatrician who specializes in promoting an active lifestyle in older adults and issues relevant to healthy aging in women. She is Director of Geriatrics at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, and Associate Professor of Medicine. Her research has focused on teaching residents how to counsel elderly patients in physical activity, doctor-patient communication, and tai chi for falls prevention in older people. She also studies the effectiveness of training primary care faculty in geriatrics, and speaks regionally and nationally on strategies to optimally care for older patients in a primary care practice.

Kathie L. Lasater, EdD, RN,  Associate Professor, School of Nursing Portland Campus, Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland, OR
Kathie Lasater is an associate professor of nursing and former Interim Statewide Director of Simulation Learning for the five campuses of the Oregon Health & Science (OHSU) University School of Nursing (SON).  She is currently the co-Principal Investigator in a National League for Nursing (NLN)-funded multisite study, examining the effect of a nursing exemplar on clinical judgment in simulation and the clinical practice setting. Additionally, she serves as a consultant for the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) project, Phase III, co-sponsored by the American Association of Colleges of Nursing (AACN) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and a reviewer for Journal of Nursing Education, Research in Nursing and Health, and Nursing Education Perspectives.

Dr. Lasater has used her educational expertise to consult with the Anesthesiology and Perioperative Medicine (APOM) Department of OHSU’s School of Medicine, including their Simulation Services, the Oregon College of Oriental Medicine on an NIH grant, and other nursing education programs around the country.