Baker Takes Office as President of the Gerontological Society of America
Tamara Baker, PhD, FGSA, of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has been installed as the new president of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization focused on aging. She was elected by GSA’s membership, which consists of 6,000 researchers, educators, practitioners, and other professionals.
“It’s an honor to serve the GSA membership in this leadership position,” Baker said. “GSA’s vision aligns with my commitment to mentoring the next generation of scholars, fostering an inclusive environment, and promoting cross-disciplinary collaborations.”
Baker is the 82nd person to hold the office since the Society was founded in 1945. As president, she will oversee matters of GSA’s governance and strategic planning, while also managing the program for GSA’s 2026 Annual Scientific Meeting. She has chosen “Reinforcing Resilience in Aging Science, Research, and Education” as the theme for this conference, which will take place in National Harbor, Maryland, from November 4 to 7.
“With shifting funding priorities, evolving societal needs, and complex global challenges, it’s important that we invest in emerging scholars who will carry forward the rigor and interdisciplinary strength of our field,” Baker said. “By prioritizing early, mid- and advanced-career scholars, older adults and communities, we reinforce science that is resilient to uncertainty while advancing knowledge.”
Baker is a professor in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Her background in gerontology, psychology, and biobehavioral health has evolved into an active research agenda focusing on health disparities/equity; and understanding the behavioral and psychosocial predictors and outcomes of chronic pain among older adults.
She is an appointed member of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Geriatric and Gerontology Advisory Committee, the Taylor & Francis’ Editorial Advisory Board, and editor-in-chief of Ethnicity & Health.
Baker is a past GSA secretary, past chair of GSA’s Behavioral and Social Sciences Section and Minority Issues in Gerontology Advisory Panel and was a recipient of GSA’s James Jackson Outstanding Mentorship Award. She also co-founded and serves as a co-convener of GSA’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Collaborative Interest Group — which annually co-organizes an HBCU Aging Conference with Black in Gerontology and Geriatrics Inc.
“Tamara’s career accomplishments have demonstrated her expertise as an advocate for change, a builder of collaborative partnerships, an innovator, and a supporter of early-career professionals,” said GSA CEO James Appleby, BSPharm, MPH. “I, along with the GSA Board of Directors, look forward to the progress we will make in advancing aging research, education, practice and policy under her leadership.”
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The Gerontological Society of America (GSA), founded in 1945, is the nation’s oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization focused on aging. It serves more than 6,000 members in over 50 countries. GSA’s vision, meaningful lives as we age, is supported by its mission to foster excellence, innovation, and collaboration to advance aging research, education, practice, and policy. GSA is home to the National Academy on an Aging Society (a nonpartisan public policy institute) and the National Center to Reframe Aging.