JoAnn Damron Rodriguez, PhD, LCSW
Associate Professor of Social Welfare Faculty-in-Residence, UCLA School of Public Policy and Social Welfare
Dr. Damron-Rodriguez is Director of the Center for the Advancement of Aging Programs and Practice (CAAPP) of Partners in Care Foundation, developed to shape geriatric programming and practice by helping to define practice and professional standards at local, state and national levels. As Co-Principle Investigator on the Hartford/Archstone Geriatric Social Work Education Consortium (GSWEC), she has helped to create a new field training model that aims to advance preparation of geriatric social workers. Dr. Damron-Rodriguez has also spearheaded the creation of a GE Cluster class entitled "Frontiers in Human Aging: Biomedical, Social, and Policy Perspectives" to explore the reciprocity of biological, psychological, and social dimensions of human aging.
Dr. Damron-Rodriguez is Past President and on the Board of the California Council on Gerontology and Geriatrics (CCGG). She has been instrumental in the organization of four State legislative hearings in partnership with the Senate Subcommittee on Aging and Long-Term Care and the Senate Committee on Education. Dr. Damron-Rodriguez has testified about policy issues, workforce competency standards and demographic needs related to California's projected aging population during these public forums. Additionally, she has been appointed by Governor Gray Davis to serve on a Blue Ribbon panel to investigate the state nursing homes. She is currently an advisor to the World Health Organization, Kobe Center for Health Development regarding community-based care in developed and developing countries.
For 10 years Dr. Damron-Rodriguez was the Associate Director of the VA Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center and Co-Principle Investigator of a Health Services Research Development project to examine access issues for minority veterans. Additionally, Dr. Damron-Rodriguez has twenty years of experience working in social service specialties including health, mental health, and hospice.
Dr. Damron-Rodriguez has published extensively on geriatric education, ethnic diversity, and community based elder care.
Selected Publications:
Damron-Rodriguez, J.A. (2000). Family and Community-Based Care: The supports for care plan implementation. In D. Osterweil, K. Brummel-Smith, & J. Beck (Eds.) Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment. New York: McGraw Hill, 639-667.
Scharlach, A., Damron-Rodriguez, J.A., Robinson, B., & Feldman, R. (2000). Educating social workers for an aging society: A vision for the twenty-first century. Journal of Social Work Education, 36 (3), 521-538.
Damron-Rodriguez, J.A. (1998). Respecting ethnic elders: A perspective for care providers. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 29 (2/3), 53-72.
