OGEC Staff

Mail Code SN-6S
3455 SW US Veterans Hospital Rd
Portland, OR 97239-2941
Phone: 503 494-3886
Fax: 503 494-4721
OGEC@ohsu.edu

Elizabeth Eckstrom, MD, MPH, Program Director/Principal Investigator, Oregon Health & Science University

Elizabeth Eckstrom, MD, MPH, is a geriatrician who specializes in promoting an active lifestyle in older adults and issues relevant to healthy aging in women. She is Director of Geriatrics at Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon, Section Chief of the Division of General Internal Medicine & Geriatrics, and Associate Professor of Medicine. Her research has focused on teaching residents how to counsel elderly patients in physical activity, doctor-patient communication, and tai chi for falls prevention in older people. She also studies the effectiveness of training primary care faculty in geriatrics, and speaks regionally and nationally on strategies to optimally care for older patients in primary care practice. Personal interests include travel, windsurfing, telemark skiing, gardening, and reading.

Margaret B. Neal, Ph.D., Co-Director, Portland State University

Dr. Neal is Director of the Institute on Aging and Professor of Community Health at Portland State University. She teaches graduate courses in research methods and gerontology and leads a service-learning program to Nicaragua. Her research has focused on the challenges and opportunities of managing both paid employment and informal care to elders and how the public and private sectors can facilitate work-family integration. She recently completed a book with colleague Dr. Leslie Hammer (Working Couples Caring for Children and Aging Parents, Lawrence Erlbaum, 2007), and she has written several other articles, book chapters, and books (e.g., Balancing Work and Caregiving for Children, Adults, and Elders, Sage, 1993; Work and Caring for the Elderly: International Perspectives, edited with Viola Lechner, Taylor & Francis, 1999) on this and related topics. Her other research and teaching interests include issues surrounding age-friendly cities, Hispanic elders, global aging, transportation options for older adults, older workers and retirement, and health promotion strategies.

Sally Bowman, Ph.D., Senior Associate Director, Oregon State University

Dr. Bowman is a family development specialist for the Oregon State University (OSU) Extension Service. She supervises the on going project activities at OSU, and is involved in curriculum development and workshop delivery. Dr Bowman also continues to pursue the development of new partnerships for the design and delivery of geriatric education.

Melissa Bosworth, Program Manager, Oregon Health & Science University

Melissa holds a Master’s of Public Administration: Health Administration degree and Graduate Certificate in Gerontology from Portland State University.

Melissa has nearly two decades of experience in the design, funding, and management of programs benefitting medically underserved populations.

Melissa is responsible for the coordination of grant activities related to the OGEC, including the organization and implementation of the annual Summer Institute, community coordination and marketing of the Center’s continuing education workshops and training events across the state of Oregon.

Jost Lottes, PhD, Evaluation Specialist, Portland State University

Dr. Lottes is the Evaluation Specialist for the OGEC Consortium. He also directs the Senior Adult Learning Center, Portland State University's lifelong learning program, which is administered by the Institute on Aging. He holds a Ph.D. in Gerontology from PSU's School of Urban Studies and Planning, as well as an M.B.A from PSU's School of Business Administration. His research interests include employment of older adults, informal caregiving (with an emphasis on balancing caregiving and work), econometrics, and work and family. His dissertation focused on valuation methods for informal elder care, and the positive aspects of caregiving. Dr. Lottes teaches classes in social gerontology, economics of aging, and organizational theory.

Gretchen Luhr is the Information Specialist for the Resource Center of Oregon Geriatric Education Center.  She is happy to work with you in finding materials to meet your educational and training needs.  Gretchen is a doctoral student in Urban Studies at Portland State University, and her specializations include gerontology and research methods.  She is particularly interested in social networks ranging from family to neighborhoods, and the effects that these networks have on adult and community health.  In her spare time she enjoys relaxing at home with her significant other and cat, cooking, traveling, and catching up on sleep.  Any questions about the Resource Center can be directed to Gretchen by phone at 503 725-5149 or by email at gluhr@pdx.edu.

Allison Lindauer, MSN, FNP, Oregon Health & Science University

Allison Lindauer enjoys working with patients as they grow older.  She especially enjoys working with families as they meet the challenges of aging coupled with current societal demands.  Allison is a graduate of the University of California, San Francisco and completed her postgraduate work at the University of California San Diego in 1996. She is board certified in Gerontology and Family Practice by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). Allison has been a member of the Sigma Theta Tau International Nursing Honor Society since 1988. She currently teaches in the OHSU Family Nurse Practitioner program. Her personal interests include spending time with her family, reading, dancing, and walking her dog, an Australian Shepherd.

Theresa Harvath, PhD, RN, CNS

Dr. Harvath is an Associate Professor at Oregon Health & Science University’s School of Nursing, Director of the Hartford Center of Geriatric Nursing Excellence, and Director of the Advanced Practice Gerontological Nursing School of Nursing.

Dr. Harvath is interested in improving the health and health care of older adults and their family caregivers through research, education and clinical practice. She is particularly interested in how caregivers’ interpretations of dementia-related behavioral symptoms influence their stress and ability to effectively manage the symptoms.

Dr. Harvath teaches courses in chronic illness, mental health & aging, ethics, and advanced practice gerontology.  She is widely recognized as an innovative and intellectually gifted geriatric nurse scholar, clinical specialist and educator. 

Sumathi Devarajan, M.D., Family Medicine Education Coordinator, Oregon Health & Science University

Dr. Devarajan develops and oversees the implementation of the Family Medicine Residency geriatric curriculum enhancements and lead the evaluations of these endeavors.

Bob Johnson, DMD, Dental Education Coordinator, Oregon Health & Science University

Robert Johnson, DMD, graduated from the OHSU School of Dentistry in 1977. Initially, he engaged in the private practice of dentistry. In 1991 he began the transition to community health dentistry, becoming a clinician at OHSU's Russell Street Dental Clinic. His work expanded to include administrative and educational duties, and he became the head of the behavioral science coursework at the School of Dentistry. In 2006 he assumed the responsibiliies of the Chair of the Department of Community Dentistry. He is a member of the Oregon Health Advisory Board and Vice-Chair of the Oregon Oral Health Coalition. He is an active member of multiple professional organizations, as well as being involved with community social service organizations. He is now 'semi-retired', which means he leaves work a bit early once in a while.