Member Spotlight

Q&A with Brian J. Maloney, LGSW from Tuscaloosa, AL.

		"I was able to experience this first hand when I taught Skype to this older client who had not seen her friend overseas for years and when she saw her friend’s face..."
Meet Brian.

Q: Why did you become a member and how does GSA assist with your professional development?
A: I was a member of Cohort IV pre-dissertation Hartford Scholars. GSA provides wonderful venues and resources to create and sustain both professional and social networking. 
 
Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: Some older adults are forever young in their attitude toward life, wanting to learn and thrive throughout their entire life cycle and still others are late bloomers to this attitude. The late bloomer category defines my mother – whom I taught email while in her early eighties – and is the reason behind my initial interest in the field of aging, computer literacy. She is 86, going strong, and recently has been using Facebook and Skype.

Q: What are your key responsibilities at your job?
A: I started a non-profit organization in Alabama, upon completing my formal classes, with the aim of creating innovative small late-life learning groups. The aim is to create a new culture of learning where older adults can learn informally from each other and then tutor those who are homebound or whose mobility is limited. I hope this will develop into a volunteer gray “Geek Squad”. I feel that this type of social milieu supports the four key areas associated with improving the quality of life - health literacy, brain activity, socialization & exercise (Wii). However, collaboration and maintaining professional relationships is the key to the success of this endeavor.

My most recent accomplishment has been to build a coalition (2 years in the making) that has resulted in a multi-level community/academic collaboration with the University of Alabama and a rural Black Belt community in Alabama.

Q: What is your most memorable research/patient experience?
A: There are two memorable experiences involving the reading of research and then experiencing the practical aspect. I have read numerous research articles about the benefits of late-life learning of social technology on the reduction of social isolation. I was able to experience this first hand when I taught Skype to this older client who had not seen her friend overseas for years and when she saw her friend’s face she instinctively reach out and grabbed my wrist and was filled with wonder. Although that moment is difficult to “operationally define”, it sure felt “significant”. The next day she stopped by my office with an interest in learning more. The second is the fear and embarrassment associated with late-life learning. An older maintenance worker who works at the university waited for me to cross the street and approached me with a degree of shame and uncertainty – as if they may be doing something wrong. They said they read the article (about the non-profit program I started in a local paper) and that it was good work and needed. They then walked away but returned and said that although they were around computers all the time at the university and had always wanted to learn, they were afraid to ask if someone could help them to learn.  

Q: How do you feel GSA serves the field of gerontology and aging research?
A: One of the speakers at GSA said it best, “take what you do seriously not yourself”. What I like best about the GSA is that the leadership provides mentorship in deeds not just words. Whenever I approached a member of the GSA staff or leadership, they have always been so kind and genuine that I walked away feeling important to the future of the GSA. 

Q: Do you have any tips for emerging gerontologists?
A: The key word there is “emerging” because at the bachelor level, students need to be exposed to the benefits and rewards of being a gerontologist. This needs to be promoted by enthusiastic and motivated role models that can grab their attention and provide sound bytes that can sway them in that direction. By the time I ask master level students how many are in the gerontology track, few or no hands are raised and the emerging gerontologist may have been recruited away.