Lunch and Learn Media Room

Joy is the Director and Managing Attorney of The Weinberg Center. Joy co-founded The Weinberg Center in 2004. She was previously Director of Elder Abuse Services at the Pace Women’s Justice Center and an Assistant District Attorney in Manhattan, where she served for eight years. Joy is a frequent speaker and writer on the issue of elder abuse and elder justice, including to the United States Senate, Special Commission on Aging. Screening for elder abuse detection in health care and legal systems has been a priority for Joy. In addition to developing evidence-based screening protocols in long-term care, Weinberg Center Risk and Abuse Prevention Screen (WC-RAPS), Joy recently co-authored and published two research papers relating to evidence-based screening for elder abuse. Joy’s work in long-term care also includes an active role in the creation of sexual expression policies for residents, a resilience/well-being program for caregivers, and a fresh look at death and dying in long-term care. Joy also developed a unique domestic violence prevention and intervention program for all employees of the Hebrew Home at Riverdale. Like the Weinberg Center itself and many of its innovative projects, this program is easily replicable. Joy was a founder of the Elder Abuse Committee on the Elder Law Section of the New York State Bar Association. In 2017, Joy was awarded the National Crime Victims Service Award by the United States Department of Justice. In 2016, Joy was recognized with an award of Distinction in Public Service by the New York Law Journal, and in 2010 she received The New York State Bar Association award for Excellence in Public Service. Joy is also a certified ISHTA yoga instructor and teacher of breathing and meditation.

Newly retired Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood was a lawyer in England for 13 years. After relocating to San Diego in 1991 he passed the California Bar and joined the DA’s office in 1993. For twenty two years Paul headed up the Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit at the San Diego DA’s Office. In 1999 California Lawyer magazine named Paul as one of their top 20 lawyers of the year in recognition of his pioneering efforts to pursue justice on behalf of senior citizens.

He has prosecuted over 750 felony cases of both physical, sexual, emotional and financial elder abuse. He has also prosecuted ten murder cases, including one death penalty case.

In March 2018 Paul retired from the San Diego DA’s office to concentrate on sharing lessons learned from his elder abuse prosecutions with a wider audience. In October 2018 he was given a lifetime achievement award by his former office.

Paul now spends much of his post retirement time consulting on elder abuse cases and providing trainings to law enforcement and Adult Protective Services agencies across the country and internationally. He is also involved as the criminal justice board member of National Adult Protective Services Association.

Since retiring, elder abuse expert Shirley Krohn has advocated for seniors for decades. As a long-time member of the California Senior Legislature, Shirley researches and writes legislative proposals impacting the aging population and has successfully had five proposals signed into law by the Governor. In her position, Krohn also mentors MSW grad students from several California universities. Together they research aging issues, and under Shirley’s supervision, students also work to help craft legislation. In addition, Shirley is a renowned speaker and all-around rabble-rouser for elder rights and elder abuse prevention. Adding to her impressive resume, Shirley is also a former President of the Contra Costa County Advisory Council on Aging.

Laura Mosqueda, MD, FAAFP, AGSF, is a professor (with tenure) of Family Medicine and Geriatrics at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. She is a widely respected authority on elder abuse and care of the elderly and underserved. She is also an expert on medical education curriculum design, development, and implementation. Since joining the Keck School of Medicine of USC, her roles have included: Chair of the Department of Family Medicine, Associate Dean of Primary Care, and Dean. In addition, she is the principal investigator of an NIA-funded R01 study to understand the causes of the abuse of people with dementia and is the Director of the National Center on Elder Abuse. This federally-funded initiative serves as the nation’s coordinating body and clearinghouse for information on research, training, best practices, news, and resources. Dr. Mosqueda is also a fellow in the Health and Aging Policy Fellowship Program. As a clinician, researcher, educator, and academic administrator, she has a unique perspective that is informed by her extensive experiences in the community, including her role as a volunteer long-term care ombudsman.

ANDREA DUBROW has been a field consultant and lecturer at the School of Social Welfare in the Strengthening Organizations and Communities concentration since 2010. She also advises and teaches students in the dual or concurrent degree programs with social welfare and public health.

Prior to joining the faculty, DuBrow worked for the Contra Costa County Health Services Department for more than a decade, coordinating various public health programs including youth organizing, tobacco prevention, women’s health and homeless services. She successfully raised millions of dollars from federal grants and private foundations and has expertise in grant writing, program planning and coordination of projects, advocacy, and multi-disciplinary teams. She also served as a board member for the National Women’s Health Network in Washington, DC, for eight years as well as on a local public charter school board and was previously a health educator for Planned Parenthood: Shasta-Diablo. She was honored in 2018 to receive the UC Berkeley Extension Honored Instructor Award.

In conjunction with UC Extension and the Bay Area Social Services Consortium (BASSC), DuBrow coordinates the Executive Development Program for the Human Services, which brings together managers from throughout the Bay Area county human service programs for a nine-month professional development program.

In 2015, she was nominated by her students and received the UC Berkeley Faculty Mentoring Award, sponsored by the Graduate Division. DuBrow is the first individual in social welfare to receive the prestigious honor.

DuBrow is also a consultant on grant writing, planning and facilitation, and she was a member of the Alameda County Public Health Commission.

Mark A. Redmond, Esq. received a bachelor’s degree from Pepperdine University in 1989 and a law degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in 1992. He immediately began conducting jury trials in the District Attorney’s Office in Placer County. He gained further experience defending insurance companies before starting his own practice representing injured and defrauded consumers. Mark is trained and has volunteered as a long-term care ombudsman, defending the rights of seniors in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and board and care homes throughout California. He is the radio host of Senior Issues and the Law on KFBK 1530. Mark is admitted to both the California and Washington Bar.

James Treggiari is the Executive Director at Legal Assistance for Seniors (LAS). He has spent his career focused on assisting clients from disenfranchised communities, including seniors, homeless individuals and families, transgender youth in Los Angeles, and dually diagnosed adults in New Hampshire. James received his J.D. in 2008, a Master of Social Work degree in 2005, and a BA in Psychology in 2003.

For the past ten years at LAS, James has been both a staff attorney assisting clients in elder abuse and conservatorship cases, and since 2015, the Executive Director of the agency. He has co-authored an article on elder abuse restraining order practice in California and presented at a national conference on civil rights regarding the challenges facing older adults.

Leza Coleman, Executive Director of the California Long-Term Care Ombudsman Association “CLTCOA,” was introduced into the world of senior advocacy as a field Ombudsman in 2006. As her passion and knowledge grew, she took on the task as Volunteer Coordinator for Ombudsman Services of Northern California. In this role, she was responsible for the recruiting, training and supporting for the field Ombudsmen for 13 northern California counties.

In 2009, despite a struggling economy, she was part of the management team which successfully opened and filled a 95 bed Residential Care Facility for the Elderly, in Elk Grove California. In 2012 Leza returned to her Ombudsman roots by becoming the Executive Director for CLTCOA, a membership association made up of the local Long-Term Care Ombudsman Programs. Utilizing the power of systemic advocacy and the state legislative process, she secured an additional $8.9 million in ongoing state funding for the local programs.

Leza is excited to be afforded the opportunity to work on statewide systemic advocacy focused on changing the way we view “aging” in California.

Sil is the Founder and Principal of The Vossler Law Firm in Oakland, CA. Sil represents plaintiffs in cases at the intersection of financial abuse, predatory lending, and wrongful foreclosure.

Prior to starting The Vossler Law Firm, Sil was a Senior Staff Attorney at Open Door Legal, a San Francisco-based legal aid nonprofit. There, he created and led the firm’s Elder Law team, focusing on issues of elder abuse, estate planning, and probate litigation.Sil serves as a member of the Steering Committee for the California Elder Justice Coalition and is a member of the Advisory Committee for California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform. He was nominated for the California Young Lawyers’ Association’s 2020 Jack Berman Award of Achievement for work as lead counsel for a financial abuse case on behalf of a low-income immigrant elder, resulting in the rescission of an unlawful foreclosure. Sil was invited to advise the California State Assembly’s Banking and Finance Committee on foreclosure-related legislation, particularly as it intersects with financial abuse and is currently working on foreclosure-related policy.

Sil has a B.A. from the University of Rochester, and a J.D. from the George Washington University Law School.

Newly retired Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood was a lawyer in England for 13 years. After relocating to San Diego in 1991 he passed the California Bar and joined the DA’s office in 1993. For twenty two years Paul headed up the Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit at the San Diego DA’s Office. In 1999 California Lawyer magazine named Paul as one of their top 20 lawyers of the year in recognition of his pioneering efforts to pursue justice on behalf of senior citizens.

He has prosecuted over 750 felony cases of both physical, sexual, emotional and financial elder abuse. He has also prosecuted ten murder cases, including one death penalty case.

In March 2018 Paul retired from the San Diego DA’s office to concentrate on sharing lessons learned from his elder abuse prosecutions with a wider audience. In October 2018 he was given a lifetime achievement award by his former office.

Paul now spends much of his post retirement time consulting on elder abuse cases and providing trainings to law enforcement and Adult Protective Services agencies across the country and internationally. He is also involved as the criminal justice board member of National Adult Protective Services Association.

Denny Chan:
Denny serves as Justice in Aging’s inaugural Directing Attorney for Equity Advocacy. In this role, he is responsible for developing and leading Justice in Aging’s Strategic Initiative on Advancing Equity, with a primary focus on race equity for older adults of color, and he also coordinates the organization’s equity team. He joined Justice in Aging as an attorney on the health team in 2014 and is based in Los Angeles, CA. The son of working-class Chinese immigrant parents, Denny has worked significantly on non-discrimination, language access, and healthcare delivery reform issues for low-income older adults and brings all of these experiences to his advocacy. He previously served as a rotating law clerk for the US District Court in Los Angeles and participated in the Fulbright English Teaching Program as a fellow in Macau, China. Denny is a member of the California bar and is a graduate of the University of California, Irvine School of Law. He received his BA from the University of Michigan.

Edie Yau

Edie Yau is the Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for the Alzheimer’s Association, Northern California and Northern Nevada Chapter. She provides leadership and strategic direction in equity and inclusion in the pursuit of a world without Alzheimer’s and all other dementia. She is responsible for developing culturally relevant programs to effectively reach underserved communities. She serves on the Executive Council for AARP California and is a member of the Master Plan for Aging Equity Advisory Committee. Ms. Yau has been in the field of aging for over 20 years and has an MA in Gerontology.

Micki Nozaki is the Director of the California Health Advocates Health Care Fraud Prevention and Education Program known as the Senior Medicare Patrol. The Senior Medicare Patrol is a national, federally-funded program that provides Medicare fraud prevention education and outreach throughout the state to older adults, their families, and caregivers as well as persons with disabilities. Prior to assuming her current role, Micki spent several years in the private sector developing and implementing information protection and privacy programs. Health care fraud is elder abuse and Micki is deeply passionate about protecting older adults and persons with disabilities from being victimized by criminal fraudsters and scammers. She asks that we all do our part to protect those most vulnerable among us.

Rigo Saborio has over 25 years of experience in the field of aging with an emphasis on public advocacy, diversity outreach, administration, and direct service. He has served on numerous state and local boards, committees and taskforces focusing on advocacy, diversity, and service issues related to aging. Currently, Rigo is the President & CEO of St. Barnabas Senior Services. As such, he is responsible for the organization’s achievement of its mission and financial objectives. Rigo’s other experience includes: Director of Diversity Outreach and Alliance for AARP National Office in Washington DC; State Deputy Director for AARP-California; Director of the University of Southern California’s Los Angeles Caregiver Resource Center; Research Assistant for the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Aging; and Case manager for Alta Med Health Services Corporation, MSSP & SSI programs in Los Angeles. He has a B.S. from California State University, Los Angeles and an MS in Gerontology from the University of Southern California.

Sharon Nevins is the Director of the San Bernardino County Department of Aging and Adult Services.

Nevins began her career with San Bernardino County in 2012 as a deputy director for the Department of Behavioral Health following a 22-year career with the California Department of Mental Health. While with County Behavioral Health, she authored, implemented, and managed more than $30-million in grant-funded programs with various agencies and stakeholders. Additionally, she led the design, development, and implementation of several innovative National Association of Counties award-winning programs.

Nevins is a licensed clinical social worker and holds dual master’s degrees in social work and public administration from Ohio State University. During her tenure at the state, Nevins was promoted from social worker to clinical administrator for Patton State Hospital and, more recently, served as the executive director of Metropolitan State Hospital.

Kim Rutledge was appointed Program Liaison for Adult Protective Services (APS) at the California Department of Social Services by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2019. Kim’s duties include enhancing statewide policies and procedures to promote consistent statewide APS practices and strengthening and expanding services to meet the needs of vulnerable older and dependent adults, including protecting their well-being during emergency situations. She is the CDSS ex officio representative to the State Independent the department on the CalSWEC Advisory Silence = Violence Network, a stakeholder workgroup created to bring advocates together to increase public awareness around elder and dependent adult abuse. Before coming to APS, Kim served as the Chief of the Policy and Quality Assurance Branch within the CDSS Adult Programs Division for three and a half years, overseeing policies impacting the In-Home Supportive Services program Deaf Access Program. Prior to 2016, she spent four years as the assistant legislative director of UDW/AFSCME Local 3930, a labor union that represents In-Home Supportive Services providers in numerous counties. Prior to her career in social services, Kim spent 12 years working as a professional journalist, including four years as a copy editor at the Sacramento Bee. Kim possesses a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia and a master’s degree in social welfare from UCLA.

Christina Mills has served as the Executive Director of the California Foundation for Independent Living Centers (CFILC) since 2017, and she has over 20 years of disability rights and independent living center services experience.

As Executive Director of CFILC, Christina is responsible for seamlessly implementing six statewide programs while also building the capacity of her Independent Living Center members. Earlier this year, Christina launched California’s first cross-disability not-for-profit Disability Disaster Access & Resources (DDAR) program. The DDAR pilot program is a partnership between CFILC and Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) that provides people with disabilities services and resources before, during, and after a Public Safety Power Shutoff (PSPS).

Christina recently served as an appointee of the California Master Plan for Aging (MPA), Stakeholder Advisory Committee that was charged with developing a ten-year plan focused on creating a California for All. Christina is a current council member of the California Utility Access & Functional Needs Advisory Committee, is a Commissioner of the Advisory Commission on Special Education appointed by the Board of Education, a Board Member of Disability Rights Education Defense Fund (DREDF), and co-chair of the National Council on Independent Living (NCIL), International Committee.

In 2019, Christina was honored by the California Association of Area Agencies on Aging (C4A) for her commitment to bridging the gap between the disability and older adult communities.

Chris Dubble, MSW, is a trainer and social worker. He is currently the Assistant Director for Training at Temple University Harrisburg. He oversees the campus’ professional development training offered through Pennsylvania and the United States in this role. Chris is a frequent workshop and keynote speaker on a wide variety of topics. He is also the Director of the Institute on Protective Services and has worked in training and consultation for adult and older adult protective services for 18 years. During his over 25-year career in social work, Chris has been both in direct practice and management at the Penn State University Hershey Medical Center. As the Director of Social Work at Hershey Medical Center, he served on the hospital’s ethics committee. Chris has also been a full-time and adjunct faculty member at Temple University Harrisburg’s Master of Social Work program.

Chris Alire has been with the County of San Diego HHSA Adult Protective Services for 21. The last 9 years as Program Manager. She has a Bachelors’ Degree in Social Science and a Master’s in Marriage, Family, and Child Therapy. Prior to APS work, she has worked in the field of domestic violence with the military, with the Long-Term Care Ombudsman, and Aging and Independence Services Call Center. Ms. Alire is the current chair of the CWDA’s Protective Services Operation Committee. In 2015, the San Diego County APS program won the CSAC top Innovationthe NACo Achievement Award for their work on the APS Acutely Vulnerable Adult Protocol that sought to enhance safety for vulnerable adults who are not able to communicate and are cared for by someone who has risk factors for perpetrating abuse.

Newly retired Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood was a lawyer in England for 13 years. After relocating to San Diego in 1991 he passed the California Bar and joined the DA’s office in 1993. For twenty two years Paul headed up the Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit at the San Diego DA’s Office. In 1999 California Lawyer magazine named Paul as one of their top 20 lawyers of the year in recognition of his pioneering efforts to pursue justice on behalf of senior citizens.

He has prosecuted over 750 felony cases of both physical, sexual, emotional and financial elder abuse. He has also prosecuted ten murder cases, including one death penalty case.

In March 2018 Paul retired from the San Diego DA’s office to concentrate on sharing lessons learned from his elder abuse prosecutions with a wider audience. In October 2018 he was given a lifetime achievement award by his former office.

Paul now spends much of his post retirement time consulting on elder abuse cases and providing trainings to law enforcement and Adult Protective Services agencies across the country and internationally. He is also involved as the criminal justice board member of National Adult Protective Services Association.

Mariam El-menshawi is the Director of McGeorge School of Law, Victims of Crime Resource Center. She is also the Managing Attorney at the VCRC- Legal Center, which provides holistic legal services to victims of crime. Mariam received her joint JD – MBA degree from the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law. She was drawn to victims’ rights as a law student, where she worked directly with victims and conducted research on victims’ rights. Mariam has dedicated her career to helping victims of crime understand their rights and assisting them in navigating and enforcing their rights in the criminal justice system. She serves on the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) VOCA Steering Committee, CalOES VAWA Steering Committee, U.S. Attorney’s Hate Crime Task Force, Financial Abuse Specialist Team, Older Adults Coalition Multidisciplinary Team, and is the Co-Chair of the Victims of Crime Legal Forum.

Mariam was honored with the “2016 Legal Advocacy Award” by the National Crime Victim Law Institute and the 2019 “Local Hero Award” by SafeQuest Solano.

Dr. Keebler is a specialist in Geriatric Medicine and Palliative Medicine.  She completed her medical education in 2012 at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine in La Jolla, CA.  She completed Internal Medicine residency in 2015 at University of California, Los Angeles in Westwood, CA and stayed at UCLA to complete separate fellowships in Geriatric Medicine and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  She is board certified in Internal Medicine, Geriatric Medicine, and Hospice and Palliative Medicine.  Dr. Keebler joined Kaiser Permanente in 2017 and cares for patients in the Memory Clinic, the My Care My Home program, and skilled nursing facilities.

Lori Smetanka is the Executive Director of the National Consumer Voice for Quality Long-Term Care, the leading national nonprofit advocacy organization representing consumers receiving long-term care and services in nursing homes, assisted living facilities, and home and community based settings.  As Executive Director, Lori oversees and contributes to the organization’s policy, advocacy, and program activities; leads the organization’s fundraising efforts; establishes strategic partnerships with organizations and federal agencies working on issues related to the provision of long-term services and supports; and establishes the strategic direction of the organization.

From 2004 – 2016 she served as the Director of the National Long-Term Care Ombudsman Resource Center, providing technical assistance, training, and support to the 53 State and more than 570 local long-term care ombudsman programs across the country.  Prior to that role, Lori served as Law and Policy Specialist at the Consumer Voice, where she provided policy analysis, consultation, education, technical assistance, and training on long-term care issues.   She received a B.A. from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a J.D. from the University of Dayton School of Law.

Here’s a List of Your Questions Lori and Joe Answer: 

1. Does California long-term care ombudsman have jurisdiction in Los Angeles County, public hospital facilities, or other county-based public facilities?
2. What are appropriate interventions for when a resident’s judgment may be considered impaired, and how can ombudsman assist in those situations?
3. As long-term care ombudsman, how can we encourage facilities to trust us and our motives for the residents and the facilities so they can report issues to us?
4. What resources are available for a friend or relative of a resident if they are not legally responsible for the resident but would like to see or know what’s going on with them?
5. What can be done to ensure that ombudsman programs are aware of COVID positive facilities?
6. Can you recommend an interactive presentation on residents’ rights or another presentation that’s available in the Consumer Voice library that we can look to that talks about current pandemic issues?
   1. Access the Consumer Voice Library
   2. Listen in to the Consumer Voice Podcast
   3. Check out the latest Consumer Voice Webinars
   4. See more resources for advocates here
7. Are there opportunities to train facility staff and help with their stress levels to promote positive treatments of residents?

James Treggiari is the Executive Director at Legal Assistance for Seniors (LAS). He has spent his career focused on assisting clients from disenfranchised communities, including seniors, homeless individuals and families, transgender youth in Los Angeles, and dually diagnosed adults in New Hampshire. James received his J.D. in 2008, a Master of Social Work degree in 2005, and a BA in Psychology in 2003.

For the past ten years at LAS, James has been both a staff attorney assisting clients in elder abuse and conservatorship cases, and since 2015, the Executive Director of the agency. He has co-authored an article on elder abuse restraining order practice in California and presented at a national conference on civil rights regarding the challenges facing older adults.

Jill Nielsen is the Deputy Director of Programs for the City and County of San Francisco’s Department of Disability and Aging Services (DAS), where she is responsible for overseeing multiple programs, including Adult Protective Services and In-Home Supportive Services. Additionally, Jill serves as San Francisco’s Public Guardian, Public Conservator, and Public Administrator. She has worked in the field of aging and disability services for almost 20 years, serving in multiple professional capacities focused on protecting the rights of vulnerable adults.

She is currently on the board for the California Elder Justice Coalition as well as the statewide association that represents Public Guardians, Public Conservators, and Public Administrators. Jill obtained her Master’s in Social Welfare from the University of California, Berkeley, and she is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker.

Krishna Abrams is serving her second term as Solano County’s  District Attorney.   First elected in 2014, Ms. Abrams became the first female District Attorney of Solano County.   DA Abrams has devoted her career to seeking justice for crime victims.  She has been a champion for victims of child abuse, domestic abuse, and elder abuse.  As a prosecutor and leader of her office, her priorities are:  (1) giving victims a voice, (2) holding offenders accountable, and (3) ensuring the fair administration of justice for all.

Throughout her 25- year career as a prosecutor, DA Abrams has worked tirelessly for crime victims, including helping those who have lost a loved one to violence.  She has extensive experience trying murder cases and that was reflected in 2013 when she was given the award for, “Outstanding Prosecutor of the Year,” by the California District Attorneys Association.   DA Abrams’ work  has also been recognized by the Solano County Sheriff’s Department, Iball Vallejo, Children’s Network, Heroes of Solano, and Soroptimist International of Central Solano County.

One of DA Abrams first priorities as the elected District Attorney was to make sure there were adequate resources in preventing, detecting and prosecuting elder abuse.  She has made fighting elder abuse a priority as she hired an investigator whose job is dedicated to helping those who may be a victim of elder abuse.  At the Solano Family Justice Center, her office has partnered with organizations that can also combat abuse.

DA Abrams’ door is always open.  Part of the mission at her office, “To Seek and Do Justice,” is to provide the most needed answers to those in need and provide whatever resources that are available. She strives to expand community involvement so that one day elder abuse can be eradicated from our county.

Ms. Delagrammatikas, MSW is the Executive Director of the National Adult Protective Services Association (NAPSA). Representing members from across the nations, Lori works to enhance APS practice nationally, and strengthen and expand services to older adults and adults with disabilities. She also provides technical assistance and education to Adult Protective Services workers and their stakeholders around the country. Ms. Delagrammatikas is the former governor appointed Adult Protective Services (APS) Liaison to the counties from the California Department of Social Services. In that position, she coordinated APS services for the entire state of California.

Lori has extensive experience providing training to APS, having worked for 8 years as the program manager of the M.A.S.T.E.R. program at the Academy for Professional Excellence, San Diego State University where she spearheaded the development of the NAPSA’s 23 core competency training modules APS that are currently being used, in whole or in part, by APS programs throughout the nation.

Lisa Nerenberg, MSW MPH has been a leader in the field of elder abuse prevention for over 35 years. She is Executive Director of the California Elder Justice Coalition, which was formed in 2012 to provide a voice from the field to state policy makers, and an instructor at City College of San Francisco, where she teaches classes in gerontology, elder abuse, and ageism. She was the founding director of the San Francisco Consortium for Elder Abuse Prevention, which piloted the nation’s first elder abuse multidisciplinary team and other widely-replicated services. She has presented at hundreds of professional forums, testified before Congressional committees, served on governmental advisory boards, and written extensively about elder abuse, undue influence, elder justice, public health approaches to combating elder abuse and health disparities, and related topics. Her newly released Elder Justice, Ageism and Elder Abuse (Springer, 2019) offers a framework for promoting individual rights and social justice in aging policy and programs. Her earlier Elder Abuse Prevention: Emerging Trends and Promising Strategies (Springer, 2008) describes what the public, government, agencies, and advocates can do to prevent abuse, treat its effects, and ensure justice.

Oliver Ehlinger is the Managing Attorney of the Solano County office of Legal Services of Northern California (LSNC).  LSNC provides free civil legal advice and representation for low-income, disabled, and senior residents of Northern California.  Oliver has served over 3000 individuals in his legal services career and has represented clients in state, federal, and administrative courts.  He is a graduate of UC Davis School of Law and a North Carolina native.

Here’s a List of Your Questions Ollie Answers: 

1. If you allow a friend or a relative to live in a house you own, but they do not pay rent are they still considered a renter?
2. To be a renter, does there need to be a signed lease or rental agreement, either month to month or longer, or does a verbal agreement still require the same eviction process?
3. What are the legal rights of a family who hired a caregiver for their father, and in lieu of money, they included room and board, however, when the father passes, and the family wants the caretaker to leave, the caretaker refuses?
4. If someone stays in an Airbnb and won’t leave, how does the landlord get them out?
5. What if the tenant or owner does not have mental capacity?
6. What if an owner is terminating the tenancy because they are selling?
7. Could there be an elder abuse allegation or undue influence angle in cases where the senior has been convinced to transfer title? 
8. Has there been an increase in incidents of domestic violence during COVID-19? Has your office used VAWA to stop evictions successfully? 
9. If a tenant is current on rent and has lived in the property for 11 years, the landlord passed away, and daughter’s of the landlord has given the tenant a 45-day notice to vacate the premises, is this considered a legal notice? 

Newly retired Deputy District Attorney Paul Greenwood was a lawyer in England for 13 years. After relocating to San Diego in 1991 he passed the California Bar and joined the DA’s office in 1993. For twenty two years Paul headed up the Elder Abuse Prosecution Unit at the San Diego DA’s Office. In 1999 California Lawyer magazine named Paul as one of their top 20 lawyers of the year in recognition of his pioneering efforts to pursue justice on behalf of senior citizens.

He has prosecuted over 750 felony cases of both physical, sexual, emotional and financial elder abuse. He has also prosecuted ten murder cases, including one death penalty case.

In March 2018 Paul retired from the San Diego DA’s office to concentrate on sharing lessons learned from his elder abuse prosecutions with a wider audience. In October 2018 he was given a lifetime achievement award by his former office.

Paul now spends much of his post retirement time consulting on elder abuse cases and providing trainings to law enforcement and Adult Protective Services agencies across the country and internationally. He is also involved as the criminal justice board member of National Adult Protective Services Association.