Members
Nancy Pachana (Chair) is a Professor of Clinical Geropsychology in the School of Psychology at the University of Queensland, in Australia (and not very far from the Great Barrier Reef!). She is originally from Newark, NJ, and got her PhD at Case Western Reserve University, then did her internship at the Sepulveda VA and 2 post-docs, one at the Palo Alto VA and one at the UCLA Neuropsychiatric Institute. She moved to New Zealand in 1997 and to Australia in 2000, where she has been at UQ ever since. Her research interests include late-life anxiety, driving in dementia, and animal assisted therapy. Nancy enjoys travel, birdwatching, and her 5 fluffy kitties.
Flora Ma is a fourth-year doctoral student at Palo Alto University. She is currently studying clinical psychology with a special interest in geropsychology. Flora is in the process of completing her clinical training at Palo Alto VA Geropsychiatry Community Living Center utilizing assistive technology. Her clinical experiences include conducting trilingual psychotherapy and psychological assessments at the Asian Americans for Community Involvement, administering assessments at the Palo Alto Geriatric Research Education and Clinical Center (GRECC), conducting individual, couples, and group psychotherapy in telemental health formats and at the Gronowski Center. Flora’s research interest lies in the intersections of culture and technology within the geriatric population. She is also involved in developing dissemination materials and programs focused on technological applications in psychological interventions among the geriatric population at the Palo Alto VA. Flora’s long-term aspiration is to promote interdisciplinary care models to change the paradigm of psychological care accessibility at an international level. More specifically, she hopes to bring the best psychological practices from the United States along with technological innovation to underserved populations and in countries with less developed psychology programs during her career. Flora enjoys traveling and eating desserts.
Daniel Parker is a clinical psychologist at the Desert AIDS Project in Palm Springs, and for over 25 years has provided mental health services to the LGBT community, to persons with HIV/AIDS, and to older adults, in both the U.S. and Australia. In Australia from 2005-2014, Dan was a clinical psychologist with the Western Australian Older Adult Mental Health Service and HIV services. He served on the Board of GRAI (GLBTI Rights in Ageing Inc.), on the National LGBTI Health Alliance’s Aging and Aged Care Working Group; and in 2012, was a member of the Australian Commonwealth Department of Health and Ageing Working Group to develop a National LGBTI Ageing and Aged Care Strategy. Dan is a current member of the American Society on Aging’s ’s LGBT Aging Issues Network Council, and a Board Member of the HIV and Aging Research Project—Palm Springs; and regularly provides training and seminars regarding LGBT/HIV aging issues.
Charissa Hosseini is a fifth-year doctoral student at Palo Alto University. She is in the process of completing her Pre-doctoral training at the Jerry L. Pettis Memorial VA Medical Center also known as the Loma Linda VA. Charissa’s clinical experiences include administering assessment batteries at Stanford University in Dr. Amit Etkin’s Lab and conducting individual at the Gronowski Center, Institute on Aging, and Palo Alto VA Geropsychiatry Community Living Center. Charissa’s research interest are regarding aging and trauma, she has published book chapters, a journal article, and has presented several poster presentations at national conferences. Her long-term career goals are to work in the field of geropsychology. Charissa enjoys traveling, spending time with her family, as well growing her succulent garden.
Laura Raicu is a second-year doctoral student at the Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology. She currently provides therapy and assessment services on the inpatient geropsychology unit at the Milwaukee VA, at an outpatient community mental health clinic, and at a residential group home for women with substance use disorders. Her clinical and research interests include grief and bereavement, religion and spirituality, conservation psychology, and social identity intersectionality (e.g., age and country of origin). She is currently conducting research for her dissertation on the psychological impacts of climate change. After graduation, she hopes to gain employment in the field of gerontology. Outside of her professional pursuits, Laura enjoys baking vegan desserts, writing fiction, and listening to true-crime podcasts.N
For further information regarding the Diversity Committee, please contact Nancy Pachana, Committee Chair: n.pachana@psy.uq.edu.au
