Brain Deterioration with Aging

Dr. Tracey Gendron
Gerontology Department Chair & Executive Director of the Virginia Center on Aging at Virginia Commonwealth University

Dr. Gendron is the author of Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It and serves as Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology, and as Director for the Virginia Center on Aging. She is an internationally recognized gerontologist with almost 30 years of experience as a grant-funded researcher and speaks to audiences globally about the real-world impact of age bias. Tracey has a master’s degree in Gerontology, a master’s degree in psychology, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology.

Joseph L. Lugo
Director of the Beard Center of Aging, University of Lynchburg

Mr. Lugo serves as the Director of the Beard Center on Aging at the University of Lynchburg. He brings 25+ years of experience in the aging field at the federal, state, and local level. Prior to the Beard Center, Joseph was Director within the Center for Innovation & Partnership at the U.S. Administration for Community Living in Washington, D.C. During his tenure, Joseph led multiple national and state initiatives including Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRC), No Wrong Door System, Person-Centered Counseling Training Program, Veteran Directed Care Program, and Illinois’ Family Caregiver Support statewide rollout.  He received a master’s degree in Gerontology and a Graduate Certificate in Public Management Practices from the University of Illinois at Springfield. In conjunction with the Wharton School of Business, he participated in the Global Leadership and Organizational Behavior Effectiveness Research Program (GLOBE) and Dwight D. Eisenhower Leadership Program. In addition, Joseph was selected as James H. Dunn

Fellow and Learning to Lead Fellow. Joseph and his wife Michelle reside in Forest, Virginia.

Judy Clark, Washington County APS, Chair of Washington/Bristol City MDT

Ms. Clark is a Family Services Specialist in Adult Protective Services with the Washington County Department of Social Services. She has a BA in Criminal Justice from Bluefield University. Judy is a certified Sexual Assault Advocate and a Nationally Accredited Victim’s Advocate.

She was a community-based advocate for over a decade providing direct services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault through crisis intervention and personal advocacy in civil and criminal court proceedings. In her current role, Judy investigates allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable and elderly people. She also provides services to improve the lives of these individuals while ensuring their safety and dignity.

Judy is the Co-Chair of the Washington County and City of Bristol, VA Domestic Violence Coordinated Community Response Team (CCRT), Coordinator for the region’s Vulnerable Adult Multi-disciplinary Team (VAM), and a member of the Southwest Virginia Elder Justice Task Force. She is part of the Region 4 Department of Criminal Justice Crisis Response Team (CRT) and the NOVA National Crisis Response Team to provide crisis intervention, education and emotional first aid in the aftermath of a critical incident, either small-scale or mass-casualty.

For eight years, Judy was part of a team of professionals trained by the National Clearinghouse on Abuse in Later Life to provide education to law enforcement officers geared specifically toward victims of violence over the age of 50 across the state.

In 2018, Judy received the Outstanding Community Service Award from Emory & Henry College for her participation and collaboration on the Office on Violence Against Women’s Campus Initiative.  She was honored to be one of the recipients of the 2023 Virginia Attorney General Office’s Unsung Hero Award recognizing Virginians who provide exemplary service and support to victims of crime in Virginia.

April Richards
DNP, CNM, BSN, FNE, SANE A/P, Carilion Giles & Tazewell Community Hospital Forensic Nurse

Ms. Richards is a Forensic Nurse Examiner (FNE) for Carilion Giles and Carilion Tazewell Community Hospitals.  She helped initiate the startup of these programs in April 2023.  The FNE programs with Carilion Clinic also include Rockbridge, Franklin, Roanoke, and the New River Valley.   She began her forensic nursing career in 2012 at the Carilion New River Valley Medical Center (CNRVMC) emergency department.  While working as an FNE at CNRVMC, she continued her education to become a Certified Nurse Midwife, an advanced nurse practitioner (APRN), and, in 2017, finished her Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) degree.  She comes with 18 years of nursing experience, with a focus on women’s health and forensic nursing as well as medical surgical and surgical stepdown experience.   She is trained in both adults and pediatrics as a forensic nurse, which includes post-pubescent sexual assault, intimate partner violence, strangulation, elder abuse, child sexual abuse, child physical abuse and neglect.  She presented at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) conference in December of 2017 on the Implementation of Patient-Centered, Trauma-Informed Care in a Rural Hospital Emergency Department.  Her hobbies include rock climbing, hiking, and traveling.  She enjoys life with her husband, 3 chickens, and a dog. 

Debra K. Sifford
Assistant Commonwealth Attorney for Grayson County, VA

Ms. Sifford began her legal career as a staff attorney at the Legal Aid Society of the New River Valley in August of 1987, became Executive Director in 1988, and served in that role for 11 years.  During her time at Legal Aid, she was awarded VSTOP grants, established one of the earliest public guardianship programs in Southwest Virginia, and worked to get children signed up for health insurance. After a merger of legal aid programs, she continued to work as an attorney with Southwest Virginia Legal Aid for 5 years. After leaving Legal Aid in 2007, she ran her own practice for 5 years and then joined the Giles County Commonwealth Attorneys’ office as a prosecutor.  As a prosecutor, she worked on elder abuse cases and notes that her office received attention for prosecuting the largest number of cases in the state for elder abuse crimes (based on circuit court records). In 2020, Debra became a prosecutor in Grayson County, and continued to work with child abuse, sexual assault, domestic violence, and elder abuse cases. In Grayson County she had a new team of APS workers, noting that it is those people who make the prosecution of elder abuse cases successful. They make prosecutors look good, keep victims safe, build trust in the system, and maintain contact so that victims remain engaged in the process. Debra sees success being helping victims, one at a time, to get out of an abusive situation and/or get stolen money and property returned; making at least one thing in a victim’s life better.