OAMHAD Resource Center

Amanda Krisher, MSW, LCSW, brings over 15 years of direct practice and program management experience to the National Council on Aging where she serves as the Associate Director for Behavioral Health in the Center for Healthy Aging. A seasoned professional in the older adult care industry, she previously was the Senior Director for a live virtual training program for older adult care professionals and a clinical social worker for a community health program and hospice organization. She received her Master of Social Work degree from the University of Maryland School of Social Work in Baltimore and is a Licensed Certified Clinical Social Worker in Maryland and Virginia. As a leader in older adult care, she has presented at national conferences and statewide meetings. Amanda served as the planning committee chair and member for a local trauma conference for 7 years. She is excited to bring her expertise and passion for supporting healthy aging to the Older Adults Mental Health Awareness Day Symposium Planning Committee.

Keri Lipperini joined the Administration on Aging (AOA) as the Director of the Office of Nutrition and Health Promotion Programs, January 8, 2017.
Keri has over 20 years of experience developing programs in the Government and Non-Profit sector. Prior to joining AoA, Keri worked for a County Government in Maryland, where she served as the Program Manager. While there, she oversaw the Health Promotion and Nutrition programs. Additionally, she was instrumental in bringing evidence- based programming to the County.
Anyone who talks to Keri for more than 5 minutes, will know that she is a proud Navy Veteran. She was trained as a Hospital Corpsman taking the oath to care for sick sailors and marines. This is something she is extremely passionate about and still holds to after all these years. She has a bachelor’s degree in Health Care Management and a master’s degree in Public Administration with a Health care focus. In her spare time, she enjoys volunteering in her community, advocating for her fellow veterans, and baking for her family and friends.  

Caryn Blanton, MSW, LCSW CYT is the Program Manager for the E4 Center. She is an experienced Program Manager and brings many years of clinical experience practicing clinical social work in various healthcare settings with adults and older adults. She is also a certified yoga teacher, has additional training in yoga-informed psychotherapy.

Nicole Cadovius, MBA, MSM, CAPS and FAAIDD is the Director, Strategic Initiatives MHFA, for the National Council for Behavioral Health. She leads strategic initiatives for Mental Health First Aid USA expanding engagement opportunities and increasing awareness and implementation of the MFHA programs. She has led the mental health and substance use related projects as director and subject matter expert, including tasks elated to executing fiscal reports, training and technical assistance, grant and contract proposals, and supervision of staff. She also oversaw government, pharmacological, and State level grants, contracts, and subcontracts to ensure compliance, high quality relationship with funders, strategic oversight, and timely submission of deliverables.

Throughout Nicole’s career, her passion has been to create quality community-based programs and develop strong teams supporting older adults, individuals with substance use and mental health support needs throughout the life span and individuals with developmental disabilities. She is a national speaker on topics such as healthy aging and aging in place. Nicole serves as a member of several national boards, Steering Committee member, National Task Group on Intellectual Disabilities and Dementia Practices, President of the Gerontology Division and Vice President of Region X, for the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities.

Before joining the National Council, Ms. Cadovius, served as a Director of Programs & Services for community non-profit supporting individuals with developmental disabilities, Director of Communications and Strategy for a state agency, and a Regional Director and Executive Director of Skilled Nursing Facilities. Nicole began her career as a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist.

She holds a Master of Business Administration and Master of Business Management both from Albertus Magnus College and a Bachelor of Science in Education from the University of Connecticut.

Nirmala Dhar is a licensed clinical social worker with a master’s degree in social work from the Brown School of Social Work, Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri and Bombay University, India. She is mission driven and has a passion to work with the most vulnerable clients, often with cross-section complex care needs. Nirmala has worked for 40 years in all aspects and programs of behavioral health in the public sector in Missouri, New Jersey, and Oregon. She is a senior policy analyst and the Older Adult Behavioral Health Lead Strategist for Oregon Health Authority ‘s Division of Behavioral Health. In this position she is the Older Adult Behavioral Health Initiative Project Director, the PASRR Level II Coordinator and subject matter expert for her division. She is the Project ECHO Geriatric Behavioral Health Champion at OHA. Nirmala recently helped conceptualize, fund and establish the Center for Excellence for Behavioral Health and Aging at Portland State University – OHSU and is an active thought partner. Prior to working for OHA, she worked for Clackamas County Behavioral Health for 18 years. This included 10 years as the geriatric mental health specialist. She brings her strong social work and faith values to her work which is animated by anti-oppressive practice and feminist theory. Her career has been focused on the values of social justice and equity with a passionate focus on disability justice for individuals with serious mental illness. She has provided training on a variety of topics over the past twenty years locally and nationally and enjoys coaching and mentoring new clinicians. Her areas of professional interest include healthy aging, social justice, workforce development, quality improvement, health metrics, bioethics, intersection of law and mental health and service delivery innovations.

Melissa Donegan is the Director of the Healthy Living Center of Excellence (HLCE) at AgeSpan. Melissa assists in the overall management and dissemination of healthy living evidence-based programs in clinical and community settings across the state of Massachusetts. Melissa is the National Director of the Healthy IDEAS Program, an Evidence-based Program that works 1:1 with older adults to identify and reduce the symptoms of depression. Melissa is a National ReFraming Aging Facilitator and a subject matter expert on ageism. Melissa leads initiatives to promote overall wellness in aging which include health equity, social isolation and loneliness, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, and anti-ageism efforts. Melissa began her career at AgeSpan in 2004, healthy living is a passion for Melissa both personally and professionally.

Erin Emery-Tiburcio, PhD, ABPP is a Professor of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences, and Geriatric Medicine; Director of Geropsychology; and Co-Director of the RUSH Center for Excellence in Aging.

Bio coming soon...

Bio coming soon...

Kera Magarill holds degrees in human service, non-profit management and has received specialized training in music therapy and dementia care. After completing a program in gerontology with Metropolitan State University in Denver, she began serving on faculty as an instructor in Aging Leadership and Health Professions. Kera has worked across the long term care continuum in adult day, in-home care, memory care, and nursing home care. She started volunteering with the Alzheimer’s Association of Colorado and eventually served on staff as an Early Stage Program Coordinator during which time she launched a statewide creative engagement program with museums, arts, and other cultural partners. She has also contributed as a writer to Activity Connection’s dementia programming publication for activity and programming professionals. She is honored to be serving her community in her current role as an Older Adult Behavioral Health Specialist with Washington County Disability, Aging and Veteran Services.

Emma Nye is a Social Science Analyst in the Office of Behavioral Health, Disability, and Aging Policy, which is part of the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Ms. Nye is the lead for behavioral health and aging, including older adult suicide prevention, substance use, and mental health. She leads research on the service use of, cost of, and unmet need for behavioral health care among older adults. Ms. Nye also provides expertise on homelessness, elder abuse and neglect, and caregiving. She holds a Master of Public Affairs from the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, Austin.  

Jennifer Solomon, M.A. serves as a Public Health Analyst for the Health Resources Services Administration/ Bureau of Health Workforce in the Division of Medicine and Dentistry. Ms. Solomon oversees the Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP). She has a grant portfolio comprised of several GWEP programs from across the country. Ms. Solomon is a Contract Officer Representative (COR) III overseeing contracts. Ms. Solomon completed the Bureau of Health Workforce’s Aspiring Leaders Program.
Ms. Solomon spent 28 years working for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA)/ Center for Substance Abuse Prevention. As the program lead for developing substance prevention programs for older adults, Ms. Solomon oversaw the development of the Get Connected Toolkit and was the Federal Champion for SAMHSA’s Treatment Improvement Protocol #26 Treating Addiction in Older Adults. Jennifer also served as the COR III on the State Technical Contact, the Prevention Fellows Contract, and the State Liaison Contract. Jennifer was the Participation Protection Officer. She has been a Project Officer for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program and the Drug-Free Communities Program. Ms. Solomon completed the Partnership for Public Service Fellowship Program.

Bio coming soon...

Eric Weakly is the Chief of the State and Consumer Protection Grants Branch in the Division of State and Community Systems Development, Center for Mental Health Services at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The Division manages the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant (MHBG), which provides funds and technical assistance to all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and 6 Pacific Jurisdictions. Grantees use the funds to provide comprehensive, community-based mental health services to adults with serious mental illnesses and to children with serious emotional disturbances and to monitor progress in implementing a comprehensive, community-based mental health system. The Division also administers the Projects for Assistance in Transitions from Homelessness (PATH), the Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI) programs, the Community Mental Health Centers Grant (CMHC), the Minority Fellowship Program (MFP), the Historically Black Colleges and Universities Center for Excellence (HBCU-CFE), and the Center of Excellence for Behavioral Health Disparities in Older Adults (COE-BH-OA). Prior to working at SAMHSA, Eric was a project officer at the Administration for Community Living and the Administration on Aging working with the No Wrong Door/Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Inclusive Transportation, and Supported Decision-Making projects. Eric also led programs at the local level in Illinois on mental health, long-term services and support, and protective services. Prior to work in administration, Eric worked as a social worker with older adults and their families and in-patient behavioral health. Eric holds a Master’s Degree in Social Work from the University of Illinois – Chicago, and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Colorado State University. 

Joan Weiss, PhD, RN, CRNP, FAAN is an adult and gerontological nurse practitioner who serves as the Deputy Director in the Division of Medicine and Dentistry (DMD) at the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA). She oversees workforce development programs in geriatrics, primary care, graduate medical education, mental and behavioral health, health, preventive medicine/public health, and oral health. She is the subject matter expert for the Federal Advisory Committee on Interdisciplinary Community-Based Linkages. She is the HRSA representative on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Advisory Council on Alzheimer’s Disease Research, Care, and Services; the Family Caregiving Advisory Council; and the Supporting Grandparents Raising Grandchildren Advisory Council. She also serves on HHS interagency workgroups on palliative care, elder justice, and caregiving. She has held many leadership positions at HRSA including Director of the Division of Public Health and Interdisciplinary Education and Acting Director of the Division of Nursing. She is a recipient of the 2015 Secretary’s Meritorious Group Award for taking important steps to find a cure and improve care for people with dementia. She is the recipient of the 2022 HRSA Lifetime Achievement Award.  

Cristina Estrella, CHES is a Program Specialist for the Center for Healthy Aging at the National Council on Aging. In this role, Cristina provides technical assistance to U.S. Administration for Community Living grantees implementing evidence-based falls prevention and chronic disease self-management education programs. Additionally, she assists in developing resources for professionals and older adults and coordination of the annual Older Adult Mental Health Awareness Day Symposium. 

 Cristina began her career on the COVID-19 Containment and Mitigation team at the Alexandria Health Department where she conducted contact tracing, case investigation, outbreak reporting, and community outreach, and assisted in vaccine uptake initiatives. She holds a B.S. in Health Sciences and an M.S. in Public Health Education and Promotion from Marymount University. 

Binod Suwal is a Senior Manager at the Center for Healthy Aging, National Council on Aging (NCOA). He manages the general office administration of the Center. He works closely with the Center Staff, Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging (ACL/AoA), and Partners on CDSME and Falls Prevention grant-related matters. He also manages consulting contracts and budget of the Center and provides administrative support to the Center staff, as needed. He has been with the NCOA since 2001.

Kathleen Zuke was privileged to grow up with eight loving grandparents and developed a passion for supportive services for older adults as a caregiver for her grandfather. She has been a Senior Program Manager with the Center for Healthy Aging since 2015. In this role, she works collaboratively with community-based partners across the country to identify, implement, and sustain evidence-based programs that support older adults in staying well and aging in the community, including chronic disease self-management education, falls prevention, and behavioral health. She has a Master’s degree in Public Health from Hunter College and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology from St. Mary’s College of Maryland.