Howe Takes Office as the Gerontological Society of America’s President
Judith L. Howe, PhD, MPA, FGSA, FAGHE, of the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and the Bronx VA Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center has been installed as the new president of the Gerontological Society of America (GSA), the nation’s largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to the field of aging. She was elected by GSA’s membership, which consists of 5,500 researchers, educators, practitioners, and other professionals.
Howe is the 80th 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 2024 Annual Scientific Meeting. She has chosen “The Fortitude Factor” as the theme for this conference, which will take place in Seattle, Washington, from November 13 to 16.
“I am pleased to lead the Gerontological Society of America as it enters its 79th year, on the brink of its ninth decade. Our interdisciplinary community can be proud of our fortitude in highlighting what aging, and being old, means through our research, education, policy making, and advocacy endeavors,” Howe said. “GSA is a nimble and innovative Society that addresses societal and demographic changes with its strong portfolio of programs, outreach, and advocacy.”
.
Howe holds a PhD in social welfare and is professor in the Departments of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine and Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. She is also associate director/education and evaluation at the Bronx VA Geriatrics Research, Education and Clinical Center.
Her background in public administration, social welfare, and gerontology brings an interdisciplinary perspective to her education, research, mentoring, and program development work. She has received substantial funding from Department of Health and Human Service/Health Resources and Service Administration and the Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Rural Health to develop, disseminate and evaluate programs to expand the geriatrics workforce, including a large national interdisciplinary program for rural VA healthcare staff.
Her scholarship has produced peer-reviewed papers, chapters and edited books on gerontological social work, interprofessional teamwork, and education and evaluation. Howe’s elected positions include president of the National Association for Geriatric Education Centers/National Association for Geriatric Education and president of the State Society on Aging of New York. She has served in multiple roles in GSA, including the Executive and Program Committees. As president and then chair of the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), she navigated AGHE’s integration with GSA. While editor-in-chief of Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, she led the growth of the journal, resulting in significant international and evidence-based contributions to the field.
“Dr. Howe is well-respected throughout our field for her many accomplishments, and we are proud to welcome her into this new leadership role,” said GSA CEO James Appleby, BSPharm, MPH. “She has served as a champion of ensuring the health care field is trained to serve older individuals. Her deep experience with the VA, the largest integrated health care system in the U.S., is especially relevant given the VA’s recent engagement with the Age-Friendly Health Systems movement.”
###
The Gerontological Society of America (GSA) is the nation's oldest and largest interdisciplinary organization devoted to research, education, and practice in the field of aging. The principal mission of the Society — and its 5,500+ members — is to advance the study of aging and disseminate information among scientists, decision makers, and the general public. GSA’s structure includes a nonpartisan public policy institute, the National Academy on an Aging Society, and GSA is also home to the National Center to Reframe Aging and the National Coordinating Center for the Resource Centers for Minority Aging Research.