Citations for recipients of this Committee on Aging (CONA)Award follow.
2025 Recipient: Michele J. Karel, PhD, ABPP
Michele J. Karel, PhD, ABPP, was selected to receive the Committee on Aging (CONA) Award for the Advancement of Psychology and Aging in recognition of her close to 30 years with the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and sustained and impactful contributions in the development of policy, clinical, educational, and administrative resources to support geriatric mental health services. Karel began her career within the VA Boston Healthcare System where she provided clinical care, coordinated geropsychology training, and engaged in collaborative research. She transitioned to VA Central Office in 2011 and served since 2018 as the national mental health director, geriatric mental health, in the office of mental health. In this role, Karel advanced integrated mental health services for veterans receiving care in interdisciplinary geriatrics and extended care programs such as Home-Based Primary Care, Community Living Centers, and Palliative and Hospice Care programs. Karel oversaw the implementation and evaluation of the star-VA program to support CLC teams in understanding and managing dementia-related behavioral concerns. An outstanding and highly valued mentor to scores of VA staff and trainees, Karel supported multiple national VA communities of practice via listservs, community meetings, and peer mentorship programs. Likewise, for eight years, she facilitated a weekly clinical consultation group for VA psychologists who needed hours to apply for Board Certification in Geropsychology (ABGERO). More broadly, Karel cochaired the Pikes Peak Conference and partnered in developing and disseminating the Pikes Peak Geropsychology Knowledge and Skill Assessment Tool. She has generously served as chair of the Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs, held multiple service roles in the Society of Clinical Geropsychology including membership chair, representative to Division 12, and serving on the Science and Practice Committee. Karel is a prolific author with approximately 90 publications on topics including values elicitation for advance care planning, decision making capacity evaluation, ethics in geriatric mental health practice, and geropsychology training. Karel is retiring from the VA and leaves behind a legacy that has profoundly shaped geriatric mental health care. Karel has been a dedicated mentor, a passionate advocate, and an unwavering champion for geriatric mental health nationally. Through tireless and persistent advocacy, she helped build a new infrastructure that expanded access to mental health care for older veterans and strengthened geriatric mental health education across the VHA system. Colleagues expressed their deep appreciation for her career: “Dr. Karel is the consummate professional, known for her high standards, integrity, and ethical leadership. At the same time, her warmth, authenticity, and compassion have left a lasting impression on everyone fortunate enough to work with her…through both her expertise and genuine care for others.” Karel’s impact is enduring, and we are honored to carry her vision forward.
2024 Recipient: Karlene Ball, PhD
Karlene K. Ball, PhD, was awarded the CONA Award in recognition of her multiple, sustained, and impactful contributions to psychology and aging across the areas of education, science, practice, and policy. An endowed chair of developmental psychology, Ball spent much of her career at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB), founding and directing the UAB Roybal Center for Translational Research on Aging and Mobility. Demonstrating her passion for mentorship, she has served as director of the Research and Education Core of the Deep South Resource Center for Minority Aging Research since its initial funding. In terms of her substantial contribution to science, Ball’s research has determined how to measure (and improve) the speed at which older adults process information, which is central to determining (and ameliorating) crash risk, fall risk, and risk of loss of functional independence and provided a quick assessment that serves as a good general index of the status of organic brain health. This applied research focus has had direct practice implications as she and her team have developed interventions to 1) prevent declines in speed of processing and mobility and thereby decrease risk for development of dementia, and 2) improve the ability of older adults to live more independently in the community, rather than within long-term care settings. Ball’s contributions to policy and the public interest are also reflected in her service as the past chair of the Committee on Safe Mobility of Older Persons for the Transportation Research Board. Her cognitive training intervention has repeatedly been shown to be effective in improving cognitive speed and accuracy — resulting in lower fall risk and incidence, better gait, fewer car crashes and dangerous driving maneuvers, less driving cessation, better performance at everyday tasks more years of independent living, less onset and deepening of depressive symptoms, greater feeling of confidence and control and more happy days. Moreover, her cognitive training intervention has become widely available (in 14 languages across the globe) through BrainHQ, a neuroplasticity-based, computer exercise app, that is backed by hundreds of published studies and has been used by millions of people, including through the Department of Defense, the Veterans Administration, The American Automobile Foundation for Traffic Safety, national and five-star Medicare Advantage plans, leading medical centers, hospitals, clinics, libraries, retirement communities, and community-based organizations. Given this body of work in psychology and aging across the areas of education, science, practice, and the public interest, CONA is proud to honor Ball for her contributions to enhance the practice of psychology and aging and improve the lives of countless older adults.
2023 Recipient: Benjamin Mast, PhD, ABPP
Benjamin T. Mast, PhD, ABPP, has received the 2023 Award for the Advancement of Psychology and Aging in recognition of his outstanding leadership and contributions to research, education, and professional service in geropsychology. Mast earned his doctoral degree from Wayne State University with a focus on clinical geropsychology and neuropsychology. He has spent his career at the University of Louisville, where he directs a research program on cognitive aging, dementia, person-centered assessment, and family caregiving. Along with his numerous contributions to the science and practice of assessment with older adults, Mast’s seminal book, Whole Person Dementia, has helped our field understand how person-centered principles can be applied to objective, standardized assessment approaches, and how these can change the assessment experience into one that enables the older person to perform at their highest level. His devotion to clinical supervision and professional mentorship has guided our next generation of clinical geropsychologists and was formally recognized in 2019 with the Outstanding Mentor Award from the Society of Clinical Geropsychology within APA. Mast has provided valued leadership as the 2017 President of the Society of Clinical Geropsychology, and he currently serves as editor of the journal Aging and Mental Health. The APA Committee on Aging would like to especially recognize his recent leadership as chair of the task force for revising the APA Guidelines for the Evaluation of Dementia and Age-Related Cognitive Change. Mast expertly led this process, and in 2021, APA ratified and published these revised guidelines. Through his generous sharing of expertise, Mast has built a lasting legacy in our field, making him a truly deserving recipient of this honor. Recognizing this comprehensive body of work across education, science, practice, and the public interest, CONA is proud to honor Mast for his distinguished contributions.
2022 Recipient: William E. Haley, PhD
William E. Haley, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his multiple, sustained, and impactful contributions to the field of psychology of aging across multiple areas, including science, practice, policy, education, public interest and affairs, and to APA. Haley’s research program has explored in-depth such aging topics as caregiving, ethnicity, and end-of-life care. He has made seminal contributions to addressing the unique issues of minority caregivers, and on stress and rewards of caregiving for family members with dementia. Haley is world renowned for transforming our understanding of the implications of caregiving via research demonstrating the benefits of caregiving for health and well-being. He has a strong commitment to education and has received numerous teaching awards as well as mentorship awards from APA Division 20 and the Gerontological Society of America Minority Mentorship Award. Haley's policy and public interest credentials are equally impressive having served on the boards of numerous agencies and initiatives at the local, state, and federal level. Within APA, Haley has served as chair of APA Division 12-II, APA Division 20, and the Committee on Aging (CONA) where he was responsible for numerous initiatives in the public interest including the APA Resolution on Ageism and career roadmaps in the psychology of aging. CONA is pleased to honor Haley for his groundbreaking research on family caregiving and his accomplishments in science, practice, and policy related to aging.
2021 Recipient: Douglas C. Kimmel, PhD
Douglas C. Kimmel, PhD was awarded in recognition of his outstanding leadership and contributions to research, education, service and advocacy in psychology and aging. Kimmel received his doctoral degree from the University of Chicago and spent much of his career as a faculty member at City College of the City University of New York. He dedicated his career to addressing the needs of LGBT older adults through research, education, and social service. Perhaps most notably, Kimmel was a co-founder of SAGE – Advocacy and Services for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Elders. SAGE started as a direct service organization in NYC and has grown into the nation’s largest advocacy and service organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBT older adults. He co-founded SAGE-Maine with a focus on addressing the needs of older LGBT individuals living in rural Maine. One of Kimmel’s letter writers highlighted this passage from his 1974 book, Adulthood and Aging: An Interdisciplinary View: “As we look toward the future and imagine what kind of lives we want to have for ourselves in a diversified society that is faced with serious social problems and a fast pace of technological change, the opportunities and challenges are truly astounding! As years are added to life, will life be added to our years? How quickly will the inequities faced by the aged and all of the other minority groups be adjusted? What will we do with these opportunities and challenges? Perhaps the place to begin is with that lonely person who reminds us what might happen if nothing changes but ourselves as we grow old.” It is humbling to reflect on this passage and recognize how relevant it remains. However, Kimmel clearly dedicated his work to reaching that “lonely person” and advanced the field and reach of the psychology of aging and is a well-deserving recipient of this award.
2020 Recipient: Patricia A. Areán, PhD
Patricia A. Areán, PhD was awarded recognition of her impressive and sustained contributions to research, clinical practice, training, service, and advocacy in psychology and aging. Areán conducted seminal research on the development, evaluation, and transfer to medical settings of psychological interventions for depression, anxiety, and other psychological disorders with special attention to culturally diverse and low-income older adults. Her collaboration on projects focused on developing and evaluating collaborative care models of mental health practice, moving psychological intervention into primary care settings in ways that can be widely implemented in healthcare systems, has had an incredible positive impact enabling greater access by older adults to evidence-based psychological services, and demonstrating that psychotherapy is both readily embraced by and highly effective in older adults. Areán has also trained and mentored numerous psychologists and other researchers who have gone on to successful careers in clinical services research. Her service on the NIMH Advisory Mental Health Council, Institute of Medicine panel on evidence-based standards for mental disorders, DSM-V Workgroup on Mental Health and Aging, and on APA’s Advisory Steering Committee for the Development of Clinical Practice Guidelines, and Committee on Aging (CONA) have had tremendous impact. CONA is proud to honor Areán for her work that has enhanced the science and practice of psychology and has improved the well-being of countless older adults.
2019 Recipient: Steven H. Zarit, PhD
Steven H. Zarit, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his multiple, sustained and impactful contributions to the field of psychology of aging across multiple areas, including science, practice, policy, education, public interest and affairs, and to APA. Zarit’s seminal paper on caregiver burden launched the field of family caregiving research. His subsequent research used innovative research designs to demonstrate the value of respite and other supports for caregivers. Zarit’s applied research has had tremendous impact not only on other researchers, but also on clinical practice and policy, including front-line practitioners. Zarit has mentored many early career psychologists who have themselves gone on to become independent investigators and major figures in the field of psychology of aging. Within APA, Zarit served as president of APA’s Division 20 (Adult Development and Aging) and the Society of Clinical Geropsychology. As a member of the 1996-1997 APA Ad Hoc Committee on Issues of the Older Adult, Zarit helped establish the APA Committee on Aging (CONA) and was its founding Chair. CONA is pleased to honor Zarit for efforts that have made family caregiving a central focus of geropsychology and geriatrics and elevated caregiving to prominence in science, practice and policy related to aging.
2018 Recipient: Neil Charness, PhD
Neil Charness, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his extensive and distinguished commitment to research, training, service, and advocacy in psychology and aging. Charness has worked tirelessly and selflessly for four decades to help establish and advance the scientific study of the psychology of aging, translate that knowledge into practical results, and educate other psychologists and the public on aging issues. He has made fundamental research contributions at the intersection of aging and cognition, expertise, human-computer interaction, technology design, training and transportation safety. Major contributions also include founding the Institute for Successful Longevity, an interdisciplinary institute devoted to research on healthy aging, and co-founding the Center for Research and Education on Aging and Technology Enhancement, a long-standing center dedicated to ensuring that the benefits of technology can be realized by older adults. These contributions have advanced theory and practice, and have also contributed in meaningful ways to older adults’ safety, well-being and quality of life. In addition to these many accomplishments, he has provided training and inspiration to countless undergraduate students, graduate students and junior investigators. His contributions exemplify each aspect of the Committee on Aging’s mission to advance science, practice, policy, education, public interest and public affairs.
2017 Recipient: Barry A. Edelstein, PhD
Barry Edelstein, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his extraordinary contributions to education, practice, scholarship, public interest and public policy in geropsychology. Edelstein’s extensive work in late life anxiety, decision making capacity and the development of assessment instruments has contributed not only to a large body of research, but through strong advocacy, has also been applied across practice and policy arenas. His deep commitment to education of doctoral students over four decades with his unique humility and humor has produced many fine psychologists who are proud to call him their mentor. Edelstein was a co-founder of The Society of Clinical Geropsychology and the first geropsychologist to serve as a member and chair of the ASPPB Examination Committee. He has been a pioneer in raising awareness and knowledge of geropsychology among all licensed psychologists. Edelstein has shaped policy on mental health in aging via numerous local, state, and national boards, task forces and committees, including APA’s Committee on Aging, the 2003 and 2013 task forces that developed and then revised the Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults and the 1992 APA/National Institutes of Mental Health National Conference on Clinical Training in Psychology: Improving Services for Older Adults. The Committee on Aging is grateful to Edelstein and delighted to honor him for his foundational contributions to psychology and aging.
2016 Recipient: Forrest Scogin, PhD
Forrest Scogin, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his multiple outstanding contributions to the science and practice of clinical geropsychology. Scogin has brought to the field a unique commitment to evidence-based practice that encompasses science, practice, policy and education. His extensive research on outcomes of psychotherapy has yielded innovative approaches to treatment of late-life depression; reaching beyond that, he has worked to find ways to make such treatment accessible and truly feasible. His contributions to development of clinical practice guidelines have given voice to the needs of older adults, and reached beyond geropsychology to shape psychotherapy across the adult life span. Scogin’s strong advocacy for interdisciplinary collaboration has helped define psychology’s role in the interprofessional treatment model. And his deep commitment to education and mentoring has ensured the continuation of the science and the profession of gerontology. In short, Scogin is the embodiment of the scientist-practitioner psychologist. His rigor, his passion, and his dedication have truly helped make clinical geropsychology what it is today.
2015 Recipient: Victor Molinari, PhD, ABPP
Victor Molinari, PhD, ABPP, was awarded in recognition of his extraordinary leadership across the domains of education, practice, organizational development and research in geropsychology. Molinari has served as a role model for best practice approaches to the care of the older adults. His research on serious mental illness and on medication use and over-use in nursing facilities is an example of his outstanding advocacy research. His sustained commitment and leadership in establishing board certification in geropsychology conveys his exceptional dedication to high standards in the profession and protecting the public interest. Molinari has given his time freely to the profession and to many aspiring geropsychologists at every level. We are pleased to honor Molinari for efforts that have and will forever foster improved understanding of, and service to, older adults.
2014 Recipient: Sara Honn Qualls, PhD
Sara Honn Qualls, PhD, was awarded in recognition of her contributions to education, practice, scholarship, public interest and public policy in geropsychology. Qualls is a major leader in the development of geropsychology education, hosting the influential Pikes Peak conference, developing the first PhD program in the U.S. with a curricular emphasis on clinical geropsychology, and serving as a founding officer for the Council of Professional Geropsychology Training Programs. A prolific author and editor, her books on family therapy, aging and mental health, and clinical geropsychology set a standard for their academic caliber and clinical salience. With her tireless energy, she has developed innovative programs that translate science to practice in aging services in Colorado Springs and beyond. She is an inspiring and enthusiastic mentor, and an outstanding role model. Students and colleagues, and the field of geropsychology are indebted to Qualls for her nurturing, incisive and wise leadership and mentorship. We are very pleased to honor Qualls for her influential and formative contributions to psychology and aging.
2013 Recipient: Michael Smyer, PhD
Michael Smyer, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his significant contributions to research, education, practice, public interest and public affairs in psychology, and aging throughout his career. Smyer has played a key role in establishing the field of geropsychology and has shown extraordinary skill in noticing emerging trends and neglected themes in psychology and aging. He has been a longstanding and consistent advocate for addressing the mental health needs of older adults through community-based care. In the area of long-term care, he developed interventions that address the needs of the older adult, the needs of the caregiving staff, and the contextual forces of the institutional settings. Smyer has also advocated for a more objective and fair assessment of older adults’ decision-making capacity. In his most recent work, he has directed his attention to the societal implications of the aging work force and to ethical issues related to aging. Last but not least, Smyer has actively promoted graduate training in adult development and aging and has contributed to the education of multiple generations of psychologists who have become leaders in the field in their own rights. We are pleased to honor Smyer’s tireless efforts on behalf of psychology and aging.
2012 Recipient: Peter Lichtenberg, PhD, ABPP
Peter Lichtenberg, PhD, ABPP, was awarded in recognition of his outstanding contributions to clinical geropsychology that integrate science, practice, education, public interest and public policy. As director, he has guided the development of the Institute of Gerontology at Wayne State University into a world-class institution that is renowned for its role in science, education and civic engagement, particularly with the African-American community. His books and articles on assessment in clinical gerontology extensively advanced clinical practice. Lichtenberg has also assumed critical leadership roles in APA, as president of Div. 20 (Adult Development and Aging) and chair of CONA, as well as serving as chair of the Behavioral and Social Sciences Section of the Gerontological Society of America, often contributing to seminal reports and guidelines, all the while maintaining an active clinical practice. Lichtenberg has worked tirelessly to advance the field of geropsychology. He has been remarkably generous in offering his time and expertise to support his colleagues, mentor his students and promote the welfare of his community.
2011 Recipient: Anderson Dodd Smith, PhD
Anderson Dodd Smith, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his extraordinary leadership across the domains of research, education and institutional development in the psychology of aging. The award text notes that Smith’s research on memory and aging established foundational structures in that field that stimulated a great deal of subsequent research and benefit for scientists to date. As a founder of a long-term training program in cognitive aging at the Georgia Institute of Technology, he has fostered the careers of students, post-doctoral fellows, junior colleagues and senior scientists. His 1986 creation of, and ongoing sponsorship for, the biennial Cognitive Aging Conference has nourished scientific advancements by providing a superb venue for promoting scientific discovery and collaborative investigation. His long-standing scientific leadership at the National Institutes of Health has influenced programs on translational research and has led to the support of many meritorious aging researchers and Smith’s leadership has also benefitted many professional organizations, including the APA and national training conferences. He has built bridges between science and practice communities, including service on the inaugural APA Committee on Aging. Smith is a master scientist with remarkable gifts for disseminating science to the public, which has rendered him exceptionally effective in public policy venues.
2010 Recipient: Jennifer Moye, PhD
Jennifer Moye, PhD, received this award in recognition of her outstanding contributions to geropsychology aimed at improving the quality of life of older adults. Moye has provided leadership in training of clinical geropsychologists and advocacy for expanded mental health care for veterans. Her greatest impact may be in her role in translating research to the advancement of science, practice and public policy, particularly regarding assessment of competency and diminished capacity. This work has facilitated the protection of older adults who need decision-making assistance while at the same time, it has increased effective inter-professional communication among psychologists and attorneys, judges and policy makers engaged in legal and ethical issues affecting the lives of older adults and their family members. Moye has been a superb advocate for sound assessment in three ways: original research, cross disciplinary analysis and leadership of collaborations that generated publications providing state-of-the-art guidance for assessment of decision-making capacity. Her efforts have led to more effective application of psychological research and clinical services in legal processes affecting older adults. Moye's work has directly benefited older adults at risk for loss of basic legal rights.
2009 Recipient: Bob Knight, PhD
Bob Knight, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his extraordinary leadership across the domains of education, practice, organizational development and research in clinical geropsychology. His early career in public mental health grounds his contributions as a scientist and trainer, and is evident in his encouragement of the emerging field to address needs of diverse populations who are served by community practitioners. His leadership has benefitted many professional organizations, including the APA and two national training conferences. The Pikes Peak Model of Professional Geropsychology emerged under his leadership as a competency based model that can guide professional development at all levels from predoctoral to post-licensure. His insightful scholarship has better defined the field of psychotherapy outcomes and process with older adults and has articulated carefully empirically-based tenets of these therapies. Importantly, he has questioned the cultural limitations of established paradigms in caregiver research and reframed practice outcomes in public mental health settings as these apply to older adults. Knight's career as a scientist-practitioner has shaped the emerging field of geropsychology and the organizations that support it.
2008 Recipient: Gregory Hinrichsen, PhD
Gregory Hinrichsen, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his strong, consistent leadership in the field of professional geropsychology. As mentor, educator, researcher, clinician and advocate, Hinrichsen's manner is characterized by a remarkably kind, caring wisdom. He brings a sophisticated intellectual and scientific framework to his work, making substantive contributions in areas including the social context of late life depression, interpersonal psychotherapy for late life depression, family caregiving and multicultural gerontology. He has made significant contributions to professional organizations, including serving as chair of CONA, president of the Society of Clinical Geropsychology, a member of two APA Presidential Task Forces, an APA/American Association for the Advancement of Science and technology fellow and is current chair-elect of the Council of Geropsychology Training Programs. Hinrichsen, a geropsychologist with deep respect for older adults, has engendered love for this work in countless others. His many substantive contributions to psychological theory, knowledge, and practice with older adults have shaped and strengthened the field of professional geropsychology.
2007 Recipient: Martha Storandt, PhD
Martha Storandt, PhD, was awarded in recognition of her significant contributions to the psychology of aging throughout her career. Storandt has worked tirelessly and selflessly for more than four decades to help establish and advance the scientific study of the psychology of aging, translate that knowledge into practical results, and educate other psychologists and the public on aging issues. Her significant research accomplishments include early demonstration that dementia is a disease condition outside of normal aging as well as her ongoing efforts to differentiate across types of dementia. She has translated her research results to professional practice by developing neuropsychological assessments that are both easily administered and accurate. Storandt has contributed to gerontology education and the training of clinical geropsychologists, particularly through her service on the steering committee for the 1981 Conference on Training Psychologists for Work with the Aged and by her dedicated and caring mentoring. She helped establish the APA journal, Psychology and Aging and published "Neuropsychological assessment of dementia and depression in older adults: A clinician's guide in support of continuing education in aging for practicing psychologists." Taken together, Storandt's scholarly contributions exemplify each aspect of CONA's mission to advance science, practice, policy, education, public interest and public affairs.
2006 Recipient: Antonette Zeiss, PhD
Antonette Zeiss, PhD, was awarded in recognition of her significant contributions to geropsychology throughout her career and for furthering the multiple missions of CONA. Zeiss has contributed substantially to theory and research within the field of geropsychology, most notably in the areas of older adult depression and sexuality. She has also been a leading proponent of an interdisciplinary perspective in healthcare for older adults. She has used her leadership roles in multiple professional organizations and within the Veterans Affairs system to further the care and well-being of older adults. In her role as educator, she has contributed to the personal and professional development of hundreds of trainees over her distinguished career. As director of psychology training, she has been an extraordinary mentor whose students have been profoundly affected by her remarkable strength of character, personal values, superb clinical skills, exceptional intellect and personal warmth. Whether as a mentor, manager, advocate, leader, researcher or clinician, Zeiss displays a remarkably kind, caring wisdom that we have all come to rely upon over the years.
2005 Recipient: Margaret Gatz, PhD
Margaret Gatz, PhD, was awarded in recognition of her longstanding dedication to research, training, professional service and advocacy in geropsychology. Gatz has been a powerful force in the field of aging. She has made seminal empirical contributions that span behavioral genetics, emotion, perceived control, mental health and dementia. She is a superb methodologist with expertise in longitudinal data, population-based studies and qualitative data sets. She easily integrates knowledge of normal and disease-related aging as well as developmental and clinical geropsychology. She has been a major leader as editor of journals and books, consultant to domestic and international government agencies and aging-related organizations, officer of professional societies and developer of clinical training models. She is known as a caring mentor who has selflessly and generously guided students through their studies and into their careers. We are pleased to honor Gatz's tireless diligence on behalf of psychology and aging.
2004 Recipient: George Neiderehe, PhD
George Neiderehe, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his pivotal role in the development of the field of geropsychology. Niederehe is to be commended for his creative leadership at the National Institute of Mental Health and his mentorship of students, fellows and junior colleagues. This award also applauds his leadership in promoting the recognition of clinical geropsychology within APA including the establishment of APA Division 12, Section 2 and his tenacious advocacy in the development of the "Guidelines for Psychological Practice with Older Adults." Niederehe is a model psychologist whose professional work has been grounded in theory and research. His broad perspective on scientific, clinical and educational issues has enriched geropsychology.
2003 Recipient: Norman Abeles, PhD
Norman Abeles, PhD, was awarded in recognition of his extensive history of professional leadership and distinguished achievements in research, practice and education in the field of geropsychology. As president of the American Psychological Association, Abeles heightened the awareness of lifespan and aging issues within APA. Most importantly, during his tenure he institutionalized a presence and voice for geropsychology by championing the establishment of a continuing APA Committee on Aging and the APA Office on Aging. Abeles' career is an inspiration to all of those who continue to work toward the advancement of Psychology and Aging.