SGS Leadership

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Amanda James

SGS Executive Director

Ms. James has been the Executive Director for the Georgia Gerontology Society (GGS) since 2016. She holds a Masters Degree is in Public Administration with a Non-Profit emphasis, which she attained from Georgia Southern University. Prior to her position as GGS, Amanda worked as a Forensic Special Initiatives Unit Program Coordinator with the Georgia Department of Human Services. Ms. James lives in Stone Mountain, Georgia. We are so delighted to welcome Amanda to our team and are absolutely certain that SGS will be in exceptionally good hands and we transition to her leadership.

Amanda is here to be of assistance to you. Should you need help with any facet or function of SGS, she may be reached at:

admin@southerngerontologicalsociety.org
(866) 920-4660
PO Box 80786, Conyers, GA 30013

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Dr. Ethlyn Gibson, DNP, MSN, RN-BC

SGS President

Dr. Ethlyn McQueen-Gibson hails from Yorktown, Virginia. Gerontology is a field of study and service that is important to Dr. McQueen-Gibson for many reasons. The importance of bridging research and practice is the key to addressing health disparities for older adults as we approach the next century. She currently serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor in the Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, VA focusing on Alzheimer’s research and holds appointments as adjunct professor at Old Dominion University School of Nursing in Norfolk, VA, and Norfolk State University School of Nursing.

From August 2019 until January 2023, she served as an associate professor at Hampton University’s School of Nursing and Inaugural Director for the Center for Gerontology Excellence and Minority Aging. She holds a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree from Ursuline College Breen School of Nursing in Cleveland, OH, a Master of Science degree in Nursing from the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, GA, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Nursing from Ursuline College Breen School of Nursing. She is a Victor W. Marshall Fellow in Applied Gerontology conferred by the Southern Gerontological Society. She has practiced nursing for over 40 years to include clinical and administrative positions and am a proud veteran having served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Army Nurse Corps on active and reserve duty; retiring at the rank of lieutenant colonel.

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Dr. Abby J. Schwartz, MGS, MSW

SGS President-Elect

Dr. Abby Schwartz is an Associate Professor and the Carolyn Freeze Baynes Distinguished Scholar in the School of Social Work at East Carolina University. She also serves as the Director of the Office of Healthy Aging and Coordinator of the Gerontology Program. Dr. Schwartz received her Ph.D. in Social Work and MSW degrees from Boston College and her MGS degree from Miami University. She also completed the postdoctoral research training program at the Duke Aging Center. Dr. Schwartz’s research agenda focuses on addressing health disparities and increasing access to healthcare for vulnerable residents and communities in rural Eastern North Carolina to improve health and human service outcomes. She implements a community-engaged approach and develops robust academic-community partnerships that incorporate community leaders and citizens to achieve impactful change in their communities.

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Sandi Lane, Ph.D.

SGS Secretary

Dr. Lane is an Associate Professor, MHA Program Director, an ACHE Fellow, and a licensed nursing home administrator. Her operational experience includes acute care, long-term care, and ancillary services. She is an active member of the Southern Gerontological Society and reviewer for the National Association of Long-Term Care Administrator Boards. Dr. Lane has published in Health Care Management and Review, the Gerontologist, Natural Hazards, International Journal of Disaster and Risk Reduction, Journal of Applied Gerontology, and Science of the Total Environment. Her interests' center around the impact of policy, health system structure, management processes, and financing on quality of care for older adults.

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Lee Ann Ferguson, Ph.D.

SGS Treasurer

Lee Ann Steffen Ferguson, Ph.D. is the Director of Graduate Programs and a Clinical Assistant Professor. She holds a Ph.D. in leadership and gerontology from Concordia University, Chicago. Her dissertation—Examining the Socio-Environmental Influences on Aging Among Bonacca Cay’s Island Community of Guanaja, Honduras: A Focused Ethnography—illustrates Dr. Ferguson’s lens as an Environmental and Geographical Gerontologist and her special interest in conducting research and helping to shape aging policy within Central American and the Caribbean. Dr. Ferguson also holds an M.A. degree in Gerontology, a graduate certificate from UNC Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health, and a B.A. in Psychology from the University of South Florida. She is the former executive director of the Southern Gerontological Society whose membership and programming spans the Southern region of the U.S. Throughout her tenure, Dr. Ferguson also maintained adjunct and visiting professor appointments at Lenoir Rhyne University, Caldwell Community College, and Appalachian State University. Dr. Ferguson actively volunteers in her community in Taylorsville, NC as a program manager and trainer of the Alexander County Community Emergency Response Team.

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SGS Treasurer-Elect

Open Position

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Leland "Bert" Waters, Ph.D.

SGS Immediate Past President

Dr. Waters is the Associate Director of the Virginia Center on Aging and is Director of the Virginia Geriatric Education Center, a consortium of five Virginia universities. He is the Principal Investigator for Virginia’s Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program (GWEP). He serves as Administrator for the statewide Geriatric Training and Education initiative at the Virginia Center on Aging. He is also the Co-Principal Investigator for the Virginia Long-Term Care Facility Network, a project funded by the Virginia Department of Health to establish a peer clinician network and associated website of free information which will establish a monthly forum through which clinical issues in long-term care medicine can be discussed among peers.

Dr. Waters' recent research interests include geriatric workforce development, social determinants of health, and long-term care. Dr. Waters has served on numerous Boards and Executive Committees over the years in the public and nonprofit sectors. He has contributed in a leadership role for several regional and statewide aging advocacy coalitions. He currently serves as President of the Southern Gerontological Society, and Treasurer and Executive Committee Member for the National Association for Geriatric Education. Dr. Waters received a Ph.D. in Health Related Sciences at VCU's College of Health Professions with an emphasis in Gerontology. He has an Affiliate Appointment in the Department of Gerontology and has a BS in Economics and an MS in Gerontology with a concentration in Public Administration.

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Graham Rowles & Jodi Teitelman

SGS Co-Encore Representatives to the Board

Dr. Graham D. Rowles is Professor Emeritus at the University of Kentucky. He received his Ph.D. in Geography from Clark University in 1976 and has held faculty appointments at West Virginia University and the University of Kentucky where he was founding director of the Graduate Center for Gerontology. His research focuses on the lived experience of aging and the meaning of place in different contexts. He has conducted in-depth ethnographic research with elderly populations in urban (inner city), rural (Appalachian), and nursing facility environments. His applied research has included leadership of the Kentucky Elder Readiness Initiative (KERI), a statewide project to explore the implications for communities of the aging of the Baby Boom cohort. His publications include Prisoners of Space? Exploring the Environmental Experience of Older Adults, seven co-edited volumes, and more than 100 book chapters and articles. A past President of the Southern Gerontological Society and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education, he is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America and the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education. He serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Applied Gerontology and the Journal of Aging and Environment.

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Jodi Teitelman is currently a retired Professor Emerita of the Departments of Occupational Therapy and Gerontology at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU), Richmond, VA. Since 2020, she has served as a Plenary Member of the Geriatric Workforce Education and Preparation project at VCU’s Virginia Center on Aging/Geriatric Education Center. Prior to these positions, she worked on a contract basis with the (then-named) Virginia Department for the Aging and Virginia Department of Human Services. Jodi earned her doctorate in psychology and a post-baccalaureate Certificate from Aging studies at VCU in 1985. Since that time, her research and service interests have been focused on family caregivers of persons with dementia, including 10 years as an Alzheimer’s Association Board Member and support group co-facilitator. She has been an active and engaged member of SGS since the early 1980’s, presenting regularly at the annual conference and receiving a Gerontologists Rooted in the South (GRITS) award in 2020.

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Glynis Boyd Hughes

SGS Student Representative

Glynis brings her deep commitment and passion for the well-being of seniors to her current role as Director of Public Policy and Compliance for Virginia Assisted Living Association (VALA), the latest chapter in a career grounded in serving the public. Her past career experiences include serving as Public Guardianship Program Manager at The Span Center (formerly Senior Connections) and as a Social Worker with Richmond Department of Social Services (RDSS). Glynis holds a M.Ed in Leadership, Policy, and Organizational Management from Merrimack College, North Andover, Massachusetts and a Post-Baccalaureate Certificate in Disability Leadership from Virginia Commonwealth University’s (VCU) VA-LEND program. She is currently set to graduate in 2025 with a M.S. in Gerontology from VCU, focusing on intersectional gerontology, as she continues pursuing credentials to become an assisted living facility administrator (ALFA).

Along with her commitment to seniors and persons with disabilities, Glynis has conducted research in higher education related areas, such as examining the impact of student affairs planning on the success of adult learners. After returning to VCU at age 49 to resume completion of academic students she paused over 20 years earlier, she founded Retro Rams, an undergraduate student organization for adult learners and post-traditional student.

An active member of her community, Glynis serves as co-chair on the Aging and Disability Advisory Board (ADAB) for the City of Richmond as well as a member of the Richmond Health Equity Fund Community Advisory Committee, Richmond and Henrico Public Foundation.

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SGS Student Representative-Elect

Open Position

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Debra Dobbs, Ph.D.

Journal of Applied Gerontology Editor-in-Chief

University of South Florida

Dr. Dobbs is an Associate Professor in the School of Aging Studies and the Academic Director of the Center for Hospice, Palliative Care and End-of-Life Studies at the University of South Florida. She previously served as the Associate Editor of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine (GGM). She serves as Vice Chair of Gerontological Society of America, Social Research, Policy and Practice Section. Dr. Dobbs has research interests in palliative, hospice and end-of-life care, and palliative care education in assisted living with a specific focus on providers of persons living with dementia. Dr. Dobbs is also involved in disaster preparedness research and music and mindfulness studies in assisted living and other community-based settings for persons living with dementia and their caregivers.

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