About Us
We are an intergenerational, ecclectic group, organized to bring a wide range of information to ImagineAge. Find out more about our bloggers by reading their bios below.
The Founder
On a mission to change the face of aging from scary, boring, and a place no one wants to go willingly, Dr. Heiser teamed up with an amazing group of colleagues in the field, to make aging something to be proud of (or at least not ashamed of 
)! Deborah Heiser has a PhD in Applied Developmental Psychology. She has conducted empirical research, published scholarly articles and book chapters, and has co-edited a book entitled Spiritual Assessment and Intervention with Older Adults: Current Directions and Applications. Her publications, grant awards and presentations focus on geriatric topics and include depression, palliative care, elder abuse, and spirituality. Dr. Heiser has also practiced clinically, focusing on group support and bereavement. She has worked with children, adolescents, adults, and older adults. She is active in the field of aging, serving as President of the State Society on Aging of New York in 2008. She has served on its board for the last 7 years. Dr. Heiser brings her knowledge of the lifespan and passion for life to ImagineAge. When she isn’t working, she’s chasing around her two young boys or lounging on the couch with her husband eating unhealthy snacks (but sincere thoughts of exercising real soon).
Click the link to view the blog submitted by Dr. Heiser
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The Professor
Robert F. Bornstein, PhD is Professor of Psychology at Adelphi University. Dr. Bornstein has published numerous articles and book chapters on mental health, assessment, and treatment. He wrote The Dependent Personality, The Dependent Patient: A Practitioner’s Guide, and co-authored the award-winning When Someone You Love Needs Nursing Home Care. Dr. Bornstein is a Fellow of the American Psychological Association, Association for Psychological Science, and Society for Personality Assessment; his research has been funded by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Science Foundation. He received the Society for Personality Assessment’s 1995, 1999, 2002, and 2008 awards for Distinguished Contributions to the Personality Assessment Literature, and the American Psychological Foundation 2005 Theodore Millon Award for Excellence in Personality Research.
Click the links below to view the blogs submitted by Dr. Bornstein:
Stress and the Family Post 9/11
Tips for Caregivers: Knowing When Your Loved One Needs Extra Help and Care
Coping with Stress in Troubling Times
The Future of Advertising and Marketing Research
Finding Home Care for Ill or Aging Parents
Stretching to Cover: The Caregiver’s Guide to Managing Multiple Roles
Coping with Dementia: A Caregiver’s Guide
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The Big Boomer
Larry Heiser is the head-boomer of ImagineAge. No need to tell his age, but let’s just say he knows a lot about being a boomer. Larry is creative consultant of Hei-res, Inc. specializing in new and emerging web-based technologies. He brings nearly 40 years of experience in advertising, graphic design, and web development. Larry has received numerous awards for advertising and sales promotion. He was formerly Art Director for Better Homes and Gardens Magazine Advertising & Sales Promotion, and President of Owl Graphics, Inc. When he is not designing web sites, Larry spends most of his time in the basement eating low sodium/less transfat junk food and “skyping” with his grandchildren. The Big Boomer brings his passion for creativity as well as his generativity to ImagineAge.
Click the links below to view the blogs submitted by Larry:
Computer Basics: Cables and Wires
Computer Basics: Backing Up Your Computer Files
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The Successful Ager
Born in 1943, Michael Friedman came of age in the 1950s and 60s when America was undergoing a cultural revolution. He studied and taught philosophy for several years, but was quickly drawn to the challenges of mental illness. He worked as a mental health practitioner, administrator, and advocate for over 40 years before retiring in July of 2010. At that time he was Director of The Center for Policy and Advocacy of the Mental Health Association of NYC, a center that he founded in 2003. In that role he also founded the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York and, most recently, the Veterans’ Mental Health Coalition of NYC. Over the years he has served on numerous planning and advocacy groups at the federal, state, and local level. Currently, he teaches health and mental health policy at Columbia University and writes frequently about policy and about aging. His writings are available at www.michaelbfriedman.com.
Michael is also a photographer whose work has been shown at various venues in the NYC area. http://photography.michaelbfriedman.com. He is also a jazz pianist who appears from time-to-time Westchester County.
Click the link below to view the blog by Michael Friedman:
Meeting the Mental Health Challenges of the Elder Boom
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The Analyst
Lawrence Josephs, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology at the Derner Institute of Advanced Psychological Studies of Adelphi University. He maintains a private practice in Manhattan where he provides individual psychotherapy and marriage counseling for grouchy guys and the women who love them.
Dr. Josephs is on the North American Board of the International Journal of Psychoanalysis and is working on a book called “Taming the Savage Beast: How to Manage Your Grouchy Guy”. His blogs are excerpts from the book.
You may contact Dr. Josephs by using his faculty profile.
http://www.adelphi.edu/faculty/profiles/profile.php?PID=0049
To view Dr. Josephs’ blogs, click the links below:
How to Manage Your Grouchy Guy
Grouchy Guy: Teasing and Anger Management
Grouchy Guy: Why Grouchy Guys Dread Marriage
Grouchy Guy: How Arguments About Stupid Little Things Turn into Major Blow-Ups
Grouchy Gals: Women’s Ambivalence About Monogamy
Grouchy Gals: The Problem of Unwanted Sex
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The Wizard
Jacob ”The Wizard”, the youngest member of our team, is a gifted middle school student with years of technological experience. He understands and works with computers (PC/MAC), hand-held devices, video production, internet browsing platforms, gaming systems, etc. He is an enthusiastic and invaluable resource for those of us brought up in the days of the IBM Selectric typewriter. Jacob comes to us with the ability to teach us the technology teenagers don’t want our generation to know about – or have been bugging us to learn!
To view The Wizard’s blogs, click below:
iPod Touch Microphone and Speaker
IPod Touch Skype Calls on Youtube
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The Disseminator
Laura Traynor brings more than 20 years of experience in health care marketing communications and aging advocacy to the AgeForce group. Currently, she is the project manager for The Transition Network’s Caring Collaborative, a groundbreaking demonstration project that extends caregiving to the broader community by facilitating the exchange of information and services among members of informal communities.
Prior to joining the Transition Network, Laura served as the Associate Executive Director of the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging and Longevity in NYC where she spearheaded community partnerships and programs to address the need for accessible and quality health services for older people. She has also worked on staff and as a consultant to companies on communications, marketing and education programs for health care professionals and consumers.
Laura has a M.A. in Social Policy and Aging (2006) from the State University of New York writing her thesis on “Advancing the Status of Women in Society: The Role of Baby Boomer Women.” She has a B.A. in Journalism. She is delighted to be working on three issues about which she is passionate, women, aging and health.
Click to read Laura’s blogs:
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The Geriatrician is in the House!
Thomas Caprio, MD is an assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Geriatrics & Aging at the University of Rochester and director of the geriatric medicine fellowship program. He serves as the associate medical director for the Visiting Nurse Service Hospice of Rochester. Dr. Caprio is a recipient of a Geriatric Academic Career Award (GACA) from the HRSA Bureau of Health Professions in which he focuses on establishing interdisciplinary end-of-life care training programs.
Dr. Caprio is President of the State Society on Aging of New York. The State Society on Aging is a multidisciplinary organization dedicated to the promotion of knowledge about aging and the enhancement of the quality of life for older adults throughout New York State. Membership includes professionals and senior citizens representing a broad spectrum in the field of aging including university faculty, students, health and human service agencies, community-based organizations, elder law specialists, and policy makers.
Dr. Caprio graduated from the SUNY at Buffalo School of Medicine, and then completed his residency training in internal medicine, fellowship training in geriatric medicine, and postdoctoral research training in geriatrics and gerontology at the University of Rochester. He is also currently finishing a Master’s in Public Health at the University of Rochester. Dr. Caprio is active in teaching geriatrics and end-of-life care at the University of Rochester and serves as the faculty advisor to the medical student Aging Interest Group. In 2008, he was named a Lawrence A. Kohn Senior Teaching Fellow in the Department of Medicine at the University of Rochester. His professional interests are in palliative care education, comprehensive geriatric assessment, and medical practice in nursing homes. Dr. Caprio is board certified in internal medicine, geriatric medicine, hospice and palliative medicine.
To view Tom’s blogs, click below:
State Society on Aging of New York
To view Tom’s blogs on Youtube, click below:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTdD8nd-Xmk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCd8wtqv7lk
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The Positive Psychologist
Paul Griffin is currently an assistant professor in the psychology department in Pace University. Besides a general interest in issues related to development and counseling, some of his research has included the following: predictors of subjective well-being; aging and emotional development; efficacy of end of life care services; and predictors of bereavement outcomes. You may reach him at pgriffin@pace.edu.
To read Paul’s blog, click the link below:
When I am 64 Will I Be Happy? II
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