SCOSA Leadership

David C. Burdick, Ph.D., FGSA, FAGHE

Christine Ferri, Ph.D.

Gina Maguire, MSW, LSW

Patricia W. Collins, MA/OM

Duo (Helen) Wei, Ph.D.

Karen Rose, Ph.D.

Pearl (Peppy) Margolis



SCOSA's Advisory Council, established in February 2023, replaced and expanded upon an earlier Community Advisory Board that served the center since its inception . The council includes key Stockton faculty, administrators, and staff, as well as community leaders, consumers, and stakeholders.
- Mary Blakeslee, PhD, Retired, Manahawkin, NJ
- David Burdick, PhD, SCOSA Director, Professor of Psychology, Stockton University
- Patricia Collins, MA/OM, SCOSA Community Engagement Liason, Stockton University
- Michele Collins-Davies, MA, Director, Manahawkin Campus, Stockton University
- Lisa Cox, PhD, Professor of Social Work, GERO faculty, Stockton University
- Rita Coyne, MA, Retired, Brigantine, NJ
- Nancy Davis, PhD, Board of Trustees, Professor Emerita of Pathology, Stockton University
- Rev. Dave Delaney, Pastor, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church (West Deptford, NJ), Smithville, NJ
- John Emge, Northeast Regional Engagement Manager, United Way International, Marlton, NJ
- Jovin Fernandez, MA, Director, Multicultural Center, Stockton University
- Christine Ferri, PhD, SCOSA Assistant Director, Associate Professor of Psychology, Stockton University
- Christine Gayda-Chelder, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychology, GERO Coordinator, Stockton University
- Valerie Hayes, Esq. Chief Officer for Diversity and Inclusion, Stockton University
- Lori Heberley, LPC, Ownor/Operator, South Jersey Geriatric Care
- Brian Jackson, MBA, Chief Operating Officer, Atlantic City Campus, Stockton University
- Joann Kinsey, MS, Family and Community Health Services Educator, Rutgers Extension, Atlantic and Ocean Counties, Rutgers University
- Patty Laychock, RRT, Owner & Director, Visiting Angels, Egg Harbor Township, NJ
- Marissa Levy, PhD, Interim Provost, Dean, School of Social & Behavioral Sciences, Professor of Criminal Justice, Stockton University
- Gina Maguire, MSW/LSW, SCOSA Assistant Director, GERO Adjunct Faculty, Stockton University
- Fred Meineke, CSW, Director of Outreach, Caring, Inc., Pleasantville, NJ
- Patricia Melcer, MSN, Retired, Smithville, NJ
- Jessica O'Shaughnessy, PhD, Associate Provost
Associate Vice President, Stockton University - Elyse Perweiller, RN, MPP, Co-Director, New Jersey Institute on Successful Aging
Rowan Virtua School of Osteopathic Medicine, Rowan University - Sreelekha Prakash, MD, MPH, SCOSA NJGWEP Coordinator, Assistant Professor of Health Science, Stockton University
- Janet Reilly, Retired, Smithville, NJ
- Ashlee Roberts, PhD, Executive Director, Student Affairs, Stockton University
- Karen Rose, PhD, Emerita Professor, Widener University, SCOSA Age Friendly University Specialist, Psychology & Health Sciences Adjunct Faculty, Stockton University
- Robert Szapor, MBA, Assistant Vice President, Behavioral Health and Neuroscience
AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center - Mary Ann Trail PhD, Profesor Emerita, President, SURA (Stockton University Retiree Assn.), Stockton University
- Duo (Helen) Wei, PhD, SCOSA Faculty Fellow, Associate Professor of Computer Science,
Stockton University
SCOSA joins Stockton’s Gerontology Program in thanking faculty colleagues who have retired or passed on who have supported gerontological education, Stockton’s gerontology program and the establishment of SCOSA. Linda Aaronson (Professor Emerita of Nursing) and Nancy Davis (Professor Emerita of Pathology, former Dean of Professional Studies, now member of the Stockton Board of Trustees) both began teaching Introduction to Gerontology and Aging and Health in the mid-1980s and continued for nearly 20 years until teaching and administrative needs in Nursing forced them to curtail their GERO teaching. Elizabeth Elmore who taught at Stockton for 50 years, and passed away in December 2022, helped to establish and sustain both our Gerontology Program and the Stockton Center on Successful Aging. She taught Economics for All Ages for many years. She and her husband Richard established the Frances Leonilda Acerra Christopher Memorial Fund in honor of her mother to support both Gerontology and SCOSA. William Jaynes (Professor Emeritus of Social Work and African American Studies and former Acting Dean of Social and Behavioral Sciences) taught Aging and the Family for over 20 years, and the late Ralph Werner (Associate Professor of Biology) who taught Biology of Aging for nearly a decade.
Linda Aaronson
Nancy Davis
Will Jaynes
Ralph Werner