Committees

Leadership Council

The AWARD Network Leadership Council comprises three members who work with the Leadership Team to guide Network activities.  Each member is appointed for a one-year renewable term. If you’d be interested in serving, please email Joanne Spetz.

Members:

Emily Franzosa, Icahn School of Medicine

 Jin Junexternal site (opens in a new window), The Ohio State University

Katherine Kennedy, Providence VA Medical Center

Maria Val Roche-Dean, Grand Valley State

Roy Thompson, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing

Jarmin Yeh, UC San Francisco

2026 Pilot Grant Selection Committee

The AWARD Network will seek applications for pilot grants for early-stage research on the direct care workforce for people living with dementia in fall 2026.

Members:

                Reed Bratches, University of Alabama at Birmingham

                Megan Gately, Boston University & New England Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center

                Katherine Kennedy, Providence VA Medical Center

                Elena Portacolone, UC San Francisco

                Yiqing Qian, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

               Jennifer Reckrey, NYU Langone

Webinar Committee

We host monthly webinars featuring research, education, and networking presentations. Committee members are appointed for one-year renewable terms. If you’d like to serve on this committee, please contact Laura Wagner.

Members:

                  Jin Jun, The Ohio State University (Co-Chair)

                 Megan Gately, Boston University  (Co-Chair)

                 Cait Brown, University of Washington

                 Sung Park, University of Massachusetts, Boston

                 Kira Ryskina, UPenn School of Medicine

                 Roy Thompson, Hunter-Bellevue School of Nursing

                 Sherif A. Olanrewaju, Penn State University

                 Laura Wagner, UC San Francisco

Planning Committee for 2026 Annual Conference

We held our first AWARD Network conference in conjunction with the 2023 American Geriatrics Society conference in Long Beach. If you would like to serve on the planning committee, please contact Laura Wagner.

Members:

            Laura Wagner, UC San Francisco (Chair)

            Alfred Boakye, University of Maryland, Baltimore

            Mallory Johnson, UC Davis

            Zahra Rahemi, Clemson University

            Huiwen Xu, Emory University School of Nursing

            Jarmin Yeh, UC San Francisco

2026 Summer Training Institute Planning Committee

The AWARD Network will hold a Summer Training Institute in San Francisco in the summer of 2026.

Members:

                 Susan Chapmanexternal site (opens in a new window), UC San Francisco (Chair)

                 Lei Chenexternal site (opens in a new window), UC San Francisco

                Jexternal site (opens in a new window)ennifer Craft Morganexternal site (opens in a new window), Georgia State University

                Moroni Fernandez Cajavilcaexternal site (opens in a new window), New York University JJ Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY

                Emily Franzosa, JJ Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, NY external site (opens in a new window)

               Jenny Kwonexternal site (opens in a new window), UC San Francisco

               Yeonjung Jane Leeexternal site (opens in a new window), University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa

               Maria Val Roche-Deanexternal site (opens in a new window), Grand Valley State

               Kezia Scalesexternal site (opens in a new window), PHI