About Me
After nearly 20 years at the Penn Memory Center (PMC), which is a unit of the Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania, I left to start this practice.
As Executive Director of the PMC, I led an interdisciplinary team of social workers and clinical support staff. Upon graduating from Penn’s School of Social Policy and Practice, I became the first social work clinician at the PMC.
In 2008, I developed a comprehensive care program for the center. Until that time, families who came for a diagnosis left with a prescription but without guidance about what to do next. I began offering post-diagnostic meetings to give families brief counseling and guidance on navigating the complex journey ahead.
Over the next decade, I practiced psychotherapy at the PMC and created a suite of programs including a caregiver class, support groups, respite and caregiver mentorship programs, memory cafés, and more. As demand for our programs and services multiplied, I assembled a team of clinicians and secured millions of dollars in funding to support it.
I have mentored and supervised countless Master of Social Work interns, training them to become the next generation of dementia care clinicians. I continue to educate students as a professor in Penn’s Master of Social Work Program, where I teach Advanced Clinical Practice.
I remain committed to public outreach. I serve on the advisory board of the podcast Bob's Last Marathon, where I have shared stories from my clinical practice, including the most streamed episode, The Final Loss.
I have built a reputation in the community as an expert in loss, aging, dementia care, and caregiving, but most importantly, as a warm, compassionate, collaborative therapist and coach.
All of this is to say, I understand the complexities and difficulties of coping with age-related changes, transitions, dementia, the caregiving experience, and grief and loss. I feel honored to share my knowledge and skill set to support you on your journey, wherever you are right now.