Ira Yenko, PsyD (Chair) is the current Clinical Geropsychology Postdoctoral Fellow at VA Palo Alto. His research and clinical interests include healthy aging and physical activity, therapy at end of life, suicide and suicidal behavior in older adults, and the influence of culture and acculturation in therapy. Ira enjoys working with his hands (e.g. wood working, shoe restoration), listening to jazz and punk rock, cooking, and trail running.
Stephanie Liu, MPH is a second-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at the Rosemead School of Psychology at Biola University. Her research interests include attitudes towards dementia and resilience in older adults. She aspires to practice as a clinical geropsychologist. She lived in Mexico for one year while conducting public health research and hopes to do psychological and public health research in the future. In her spare time, Stephanie enjoys improving her Spanish, gardening, going on long walks, and all things Jane Austen.
Angel (Wing Jin) Mak, PsyD is the current geropsychology post-doctoral fellow at the Manhattan Veteran Affairs (VA) Medical Center. Angel’s clinical interest include suicide in later life, addressing disparities in mental health service use among racial and ethnic minority groups, and using biopsychosocial models of treatment for older adult patients with complex medical and psychological illnesses. In her spare time, Angel likes to discover new snacks, play with her three cats, spend time with her niece and nephews, and go on hikes.
Cecilia Poon, PhD, ABPP is a staff psychologist at Nebraska Medicine and the University of Nebraska Medical Center. She is interested in various aspects of geropsychology, including theory, practice, training, and advocacy. In her spare time, Cecilia likes to bring people of all ages, abilities, and cultrues together through different forms of creative arts, especially food and theatre.
Heather Smith, PhD, ABPP is the Lead Psychologist at the Milwaukee VA Medical Center and Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin. Her interests include psychology training and supervision, neurocognitive disorders, decision-making capacity assessments, organizational development, and palliative care. In her spare time, Heather enjoys watching her 4 children’s sporting events, running, practicing yoga, and traveling.
Rachael Spalding, BA is a second-year graduate student in the clinical psychology doctoral program at West Virginia University. Her research interests include end-of-life decision-making, consent capacity issues, and late-life sexuality. She aspires to practice as a clinical geropsychologist in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys long-distance running, reading fiction and true-crime novels, and cooking.
Stacy Yun, MA is a fourth-year graduate student in the clinical psychology (geropsychology track) doctoral program at University of Colorado Colorado Springs. Her research interests include dementia-related anxiety, caregiving, and aging and mental health disparities. She aspires to become an academic in the future. In her spare time, she enjoys cooking, watching movies and documentaries, and pilates.