A Look Back on the 28th Annual Conference

A presentation on "Walking Through the Door of Self: Creating an Anti-Ageist World Starting with Ourselves' by Jenny 

Inker from Virginia Commonwealth University.

Morgan Whitaker from the Department of Veteran's Affairs, Hunter Holmes McGuire Medical Center presented "Person Centered Care - The Importance of Advance Planning".

"APS and Long-Term Care Ombudsmen Working Together" was presented by Carol Driskill, disAbility Law Center of Virginia; Linda J. Hamrick, Department for the Aging and Rehabilitative Services; Laurie Hunter, Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and Cindy Smith, Wise County Department of Social Services.

Stephanie Edwards from Peninsula Elder Abuse Forensic Center and Alison Martin from Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney's Office presented "Elder Abuse MDT's: Teamwork Makes the Dream Work".

AARP presented "Your Identity-Stay Connected" teaching attendees about common scams.

"Crossroads: At the Intersection of Domestic Violence and Financial Abuse A Tale of Two Fraudsters" was presented by Alison Martin from Henrico County Commonwealth Attorney's Office along with team members from victim services and law enforcement.

Emmanuelle Bunn, Cathy Dickey, and Sarah Delgado from Norfolk Department of Human Services presented "Hoarding, a Quiet Epidemic".

Sydney Palinkas from RAFT presented "Caregiving for Someone Living with Dementia: Challenges, Solutions, and Opportunities".

 "Implicit Bias and Older Adults" was presented by Chante Brooks from Adult Protective Services Training Consultants.

The conference closed out with an inspiring keynote address on caregiving by Dr. Aaron Blight. He also honored long-time Adult Protective Services worker Cassandra Jackson with the Hand and Heart Award. Ms. Jackson's dedication to her work and clients is truly remarkable. To see the full agenda of sessions and to see training materials, visit www.vcpea.org.

A big thank you to all of our conference sponsors! You help make this event possible!

Molina Healthcare

Family & Children’s Trust (FACT) Fund of Virginia

Dominion Energy: Energy Share

Langley for Families

Virginia Sheriff’s Institute

PeerPlace Networks

Virginia Credit Union

AARP

The Chamberlin & Harmony on the Peninsula

Anthem HealthKeepers Plus

Lifeline Home Care, Inc.

Peninsula Agency on Aging:

SCC Division of Securities and Retail Franchising

Virginia Assisted Living Association

Virginia Dept. for the Aging & Rehabilitative Services, Adult Protective Services Division

Martha W. Goodson Center

SCC Bureau of Insurance

VCPEA Purple Table

Finally, thank you to the VCPEA board for all of your hard work planning this event!

For the past two years, Courtney O'Hara, MS, has served as the President of the VCPEA Board of Directors. With ten years of experience on the Board, Courtney expertly led the Board through a period of major transition after several long-time members retired. Courtney's dedication to the VCPEA mission and her passion for this work is clear in everything she does. While Courtney will be stepping down as President, she will continue as a member of the Board. Courtney also serves as the Assistant Director for the Abuse in Later Life Project at VCU's Virginia Center on Aging.

Sydney Palinkas, LMSW, will serve as the new VCPEA Board President. Sydney has been on the Board since 2021 and has served as Secretary since 2022. Sydney works as the Dementia Education and Outreach Coordinator for the RAFT program in Northern Virginia. She is excited to begin her new leadership role with VCPEA.

Marjorie Marker, MA, will continue in her long-time role as Vice President. Marjorie works as an APS Regional Program Consultant for Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services, Adult Protective Services Division.

Paula Kupstas, PhD, will continue in her role as Treasurer. Paula is retired from the VCU College of Health Professions, Dean’s Office and Virginia Center on Aging.

VCPEA welcomes Stephanie Edwards, BSW, MSG as the new Board Secretary.

Stephanie is employed as a Family Services Supervisor for APS at York-Poquoson Social Services and serves as the Coordinator of the Peninsula Elder Abuse Forensic Center MDT. Stephanie has over 25 years of experience in the elder abuse field with 22 years in APS at various local departments of social services. Stephanie was employed as an elder abuse investigator for 3 years at the Virginia Office of the Attorney General, Medicaid Fraud Control Unit.

Virginia Coalition for the 

Prevention of Elder Abuse

PO Box 70054

Henrico, VA 23255