Nina M. Silverstein, PhD
Undergraduate Gerontology Program Director
nina.silverstein@umb.edu
(617) 287-7317
Office: Third floor, Wheatley, Room 102
Curriculum Vitae

For more information on undergraduate gerontology programs, contact: mary.stjean@umb.edu

Professor Nina Silverstein received her PhD in Social Welfare in 1980 from the Heller School, Brandeis University. Dr. Silverstein currently serves as Director of the undergraduate programs in Gerontology in the College of Public and Community Service at the University of Massachusetts Boston. She is also a Senior Fellow in the UMass Boston Gerontology Institute, a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America (Social Research Planning and Practice Section), and a member of Sigma Phi Omega (the national Gerontological honor society). She is an active member of the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE), most recently as a member of the Executive Committee and Program Chair for the 2006 Annual Meeting; and serves on the Program Committee as the co-chair of the Transportation Track for the American Society on Aging (ASA). In addition, she is a member of the Statewide Advisory Council of the Alzheimer's Association, Massachusetts Chapter and a board member of the Needham Council on Aging. She teaches the following courses: Applied Research in Aging, Social and Demographic Implications of Aging, and Gerontological Social Policy.

Since 1984, Dr. Silverstein has worked closely with the Alzheimer's Association on projects relating to the Association's Helpline, its Safe Return Program, respite care, support groups for family caregivers, home safety adaptations, and environmental and behavioral issues in special care units for people with dementia. She has co-authored Dementia and Wandering Behavior: Concern for the Lost Elder and has co-edited Improving Hospital Care for Persons with Dementia (Springer Publishing: NY). Recent publications have appeared in The Gerontologist, Gerontology and Geriatrics Education, Annals of Emergency Medicine, The Transportation Research Record, Geriatrics and Aging and the Journal of Women and Aging. Technical research reports available through the Gerontology Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston include: Aging in Place at Harbor Point: Outreach Follow-up of Older Adults Living in Independent Mixed-Income Apartments; The Manning Gerontology Certificate Alumni: 21 Years of Advocacy, Volunteering, Employment, and Caregiving; Driving in Massachusetts: When to Stop and Who Should Decide; Boston Seniors Count: A Follow-Up Study of the City's Door-to-Door Outreach to Elders; Growing Pains and Challenges: GrandFamilies House Fourth Year Follow-Up Evaluation and Promoting Safe Mobility among Elders by Increasing Awareness of Vehicle Modifications. A DVD titled, Keep Moving Longer: Features for Safe Driving, is also available through the Institute. She recently spent a sabbatical in Washington, DC for the '04-05 academic year where she divided her time between the Department of Transportation and the Alzheimer's Association Public Policy Division.

Her current research interest is in the area of transportation and aging with a specific focus on dementia, driving, and community mobility.