Q: How long have you been a GSA member?
A: Over two years — since March 2024.
Q: Do you have a GSA resource that has been your “go-to” for keeping you engaged with the Society?
A: GSA Connect is my main “go to” resource. It’s where I stay updated on discussions, opportunities, and what others in the field are working on. I also follow interest groups that align with my research, especially those focused on social determinants of health
Q: In what ways has membership in GSA benefitted you?
A: GSA has been central to my development as a gerontological researcher. Through the Annual Scientific Meeting, I’ve been able to present my work and receive thoughtful feedback that has helped refine my research. I’ve also benefited from being involved in ESPO and the Communication Taskforce, which gave me opportunities to collaborate with other early-career scholars and build skills in interdisciplinary communication and engagement. Moreover, GSA has helped me feel connected to a community of scholars who are working on similar questions around aging and health disparities, which is especially important to me as someone whose research sits at the intersection of social work and gerontology.
Q: How did you get interested in the field of aging?
A: My interest in aging was really shaped during my MSW training, when I worked closely with older adults in community and clinical settings. I had the opportunity to support low-income older immigrants and work with Holocaust survivors, which was a very impactful experience for me. Listening to their life stories, I was struck by how people who went through similar adversities could have very different experiences in later life, some continued to struggle, while others showed remarkable resilience. These experiences made me start thinking about how life experiences shape health and well-being across the life course, and it ultimately led me to focus my research on resilience and health disparities among older adults.
Q: What do you love most about your line of work?
A: I really value working with longitudinal data because it allows me to think about aging as a process rather than a single point in time. More broadly, I find it meaningful that this work can inform interventions, like strengthening neighborhood cohesion or resilience, to support healthy aging.
Q: What projects are you working on in your current position?
A: I’m currently working on a project examining how neighborhood environments shape cognitive aging among older adults. I’m especially interested in whether psychological resilience helps explain how these neighborhood factors influence cognitive trajectories over time.
Q: What was the best piece of advice you got early on in your career you’d like to pass on to emerging gerontologists?
A: One piece of advice that really stayed with me is to actively seek out conversations with people in the field. Talking with researchers from different disciplines and backgrounds has helped me see my work from new angles and think more critically about my questions. I encourage emerging gerontologists to reach out, ask questions, and learn from those conversations.