MetLife Foundation Journalists in Aging Fellows Program Alumni
2012 Cohort
Liana Aghajanian (The Atlantic)
Fellowship topic: Medical marijuana and seniors
Eric Anderson, MD (Physician’s Money Digest)
Fellowship topic: How doctors and their staff can prepare for the huge rise in numbers of aging patients
Eileen Beal (Today’s Caregiver Magazine)
Fellowship topic: Financial elder abuse
Carolyn Beeler (WHYY-FM, Philadelphia)
Fellowship topic: HIV among elders
Thandisizwe Chimurenga (Los Angeles Sentinel)
Fellowship topic: Digital divide for black grandparents
Ellen Endo (Rafu Shimpo)
Fellowship topic: Caregiving crisis for Japanese Americans
Cristina Fresquez (The Weekly Issue/El Semanario)
Fellowship topic: Parkinson’s and Latinos
Thomas Goldsmith (The [Raleigh] News & Observer)
Fellowship topic: Isolation of elders, especially those of color and with low income
Alma Yolanda Gonzalez Gomez (HuffPost Voces)
Fellowship topic: Life and health for Latino elders on the Texas-Mexico border
Martina Guzman (WDET-FM, Detroit)
Fellowship topic: Food, faith, and quality care for Latino and Arab elders
Peter McDermott (The Irish Echo)
Fellowship topic: The lives and roles of older working class Irish immigrants, and a Chicago program to train geriatric social workers to bring that knowledge to Ireland
Lygia Navarro (“Radio Ambulante”/“Latino USA”)
Fellowship topic: Challenges for Latino veterans of the Vietnam War
Mohamad Ozeir (Arab American News)
Fellowship topic: Realities of aging for Arab Americans
Matt Perry (California Health Report)
Fellowship topic: Restraints vs. freedom in California nursing homes
Conrado “Sluggo” Rigor (Filipino-American Bulletin/Filipino-American Radio)
Fellowship topic: Struggles and history of Filipino World War II veterans
Barbara Peters Smith (Sarasota Herald-Tribune)
John A. Hartford/MetLife Foundation Journalism in Aging & Health Fellow
Fellowship topic: The home care revolution
Rita Watson (Providence Journal)
Fellowship topic: Nursing home care and cognitive enrichment for residents, including those with Alzheimer’s disease
2011 Cohort
Azadeh Ansari (CNN International)
Fellowship topic: The struggles of elderly Iraqi Arab and Christian refugees in America, mainly in Dearborn, MI
Hanah Cho (Baltimore Sun)
Fellowship topic: The major financial crisis facing older Americans
Karla Gómez Escamilla (Univision Arizona)
Fellowship topic: Immigration challenges for Latino seniors
Kerry Hannon (Forbes, AARP)
Fellowship topic: Work and retirement of the boomer generation.
Kay Harvey (MinnPost)
Fellowship topic: The economic insecurity and health challenges of aging Minnesotans
Jongwon Lee (Korea Daily Atlanta)
Fellowship topic: The strain of American traditional ways felt by elders in extended families, especially with family crowding in the current housing crisis
Pamela MacLean (RedwoodAge.com)
Fellowship topic: Mental health issues awaiting aging boomers and their Generation X children
Araceli Martinez Ortega (La Opiñon)
Fellowship topic: The struggles of Latino elders living solely on Social Security, especially those who are parents of incarcerated children
Andrea Parrott (Twin Cities Daily Planet)
Fellowship topic: Alzheimer’s disease, with an emphasis on African American families
James Ridgeway (Mother Jones)
Fellowship topic: The rising tide of aging prisoners, especially those aging in solitary confinement
Rebecca Rivas (St. Louis American)
Fellowship topic: How social media and the Internet affect learning, isolation, and older-worker issues for older African Americans, such as a new breed of entrepreneurial grandmothers using online media to generate income for their families
Johanes Rosello (Mundo Hispanico)
Fellowship topic: Language and cultural barriers facing growing population of Latino elders in Georgia, where the Hispanic population has doubled in the last decade.
Paula Spencer Scott (Caring.com)
Fellowship topic: Caregiver syndrome, including what caregivers can do to reduce their heightened risks to their physical and mental well-being, work, and relationships
Rochelle Sharpe (New England Center for Investigative Reporting)
Fellowship topic: Declining life expectancy for women in some low-income U.S. regions.
Vanessa White (Viễn Đông Daily News)
Fellowship topic: Ethnic minority depression, with a focus on the Vietnamese-American community
2010 Cohort
Sally Abrahms (AARP Bulletin)
Fellowship topic: Innovative housing options for seniors
Jane Adler (Chicago Tribune)
Fellowship topic: How age-friendly communities can combat loneliness and depression in our aging nation as long-time friends leave the neighborhood or die, adult children move far away, and frailty takes its physical toll on one’s mobility
April Dembosky (San Jose Mercury News)
Fellowship topic: Intergenerational issues in the hospice and palliative care field
Adolfo Flores (El Nuevo Sol, Pasadena Star-News)
Fellowship topic: Grandparents raising or helping to raise their grandchildren
Shaleece Haas (KCAW-Raven Radio, Sitka, AK)
Fellowship topic: How native Alaskan and other seniors are accessing — or failing to access — the services they need.
Christina Hernandez (Philadelphia Inquirer)
Fellowship topic: The hidden epidemic of falls affecting elders in the largely African American and Latino community of Camden, NJ.
Janice N. Lloyd (USA Today)
Fellowship topic: How exercise can enhance the quality of life of aging baby boomers in their homes, in 55-plus communities, and in assisted living facilities.
Nayita Wilson (The Louisiana Weekly)
Fellowship topic: The challenges African Americans face in saving for and financing their later years.
Warren Wolfe ([Minneapolis] Star Tribune)
Fellowship topic: The shortage of trained geriatric workers in every health profession — from nursing aides to physicians.
Rong Xiaoqing (Sing Tao Daily)
Fellowship topic: How the dramatic increase of interracial marriages among young Asians in recent years affects the lives of their aging parents.
Mohammed Yussuf (Runta [Truth])
Fellowship topic: Depression and isolation among those ages 60 and older in Somali-American communities.
Aylin Zafar (The Atlantic.com)
Fellowship topic: Social media for seniors, including how this new technology is impacting their quality of life and mental health.
Mei Zhou and Ke Yuan (New Tang Dynasty Television, Epoch Times)
Fellowship topic: Chinese seniors navigating the U.S. healthcare system and communicating with their health care providers.
