As a Prevention Educator, Mike covers topics ranging from personal safety with elementary students to college forums on dispelling the myths and victim blaming attitudes surrounding domestic violence and sexual assault. He has conducted Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP-Bystander programs) training with numerous local colleges, local college sports teams, senior centers, correctional facilities, and high schools. He has also provided MVP training for various levels of Major League Baseball to include the Pittsburg Pirates, Atlantes Braves, Philadelphia Phillies and other teams.  He has also worked with personnel of the United States Army and United States Coast Guard.

He also worked on “Game Change”, a collaborative effort between the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office and the New England Patriots to train both teachers and students in Massachusetts high schools on the MVP program in an effort to prevent domestic violence.

He is a retired Detective Sergeant from the City of Cohoes Police Department. Mike was a Senior Investigator for the NYS Division of Criminal Justice’s Board of Examiners for Sex Offenders where he developed background information on sex offenders as part of the risk level assessment process for the NYS Sex Offender Registry.

He is a graduate of The Sage Colleges and has a master’s degree in Community Psychology program with a Certificate in Forensic Psychology.

Brett is the senior therapist and owner of Capital Region Physical Therapy, PLLC. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Physiology from West Virginia University. Brett also has a Master’s Degree in Physical Therapy from New York Medical College and a post-graduate certification in the McKenzie Method of Mechanical Diagnosis and Therapy (MDT).

Brett has over 19 years experience in orthopedic and hospital-based physical therapy. He has extensive experience in outpatient orthopedic therapy and has also worked in hospital-based acute care and rehabilitation settings. Brett served as the physical therapy supervisor in a large suburban hospital organization before opening his own physical therapy clinic. He currently specializes in outpatient orthopedics with a focus on low back and neck pain rehabilitation and sports injury management.

Rick earned his master’s degree in social work from the University at Albany School of Social Welfare in May of 2013. While at the University of Albany he participated in the Internship in Aging Project that focused on working with older adults. Rick began working for Equinox as the Elder Abuse Case Manager in the fall of 2014. While in this position he worked closely with elder clients who have been victims of abuse by providing safety planning, support, counseling, advocacy, and service coordination. In September of 2018, Rick transitioned to a clinical counseling position with Equinox.  In this new position he provides one on one individual counseling and facilitates support group for victims and survivors of domestic violence. In March or 2022 he received his clinical social work license from NYS.

Scott Stoner and Denise Hackert-Stoner of Naturelogues has been widely exhibited in galleries and juried shows across the Capital Region. Their work has appeared in numerous publications, including National Wildlife, Birder’s World, the New York State Conservationist, and the international Wild Sojourns Magazine. Denise and Scott are long-time birders and naturalists. They give presentations about multiple natural history topics to birding, nature, senior, and other groups across New York State, and teach bird and nature photography workshops in the adult education programs of four Capital Region school districts and SUNY Schenectady County Community College. They have donated their photography to local organizations and the new visitor center at DEC’s Five Rivers, and served as the judges for the annual Pine Bush Perspectives photo contest for its first 10 years. 

Marykate is a social worker at the Veterans Health Administration with over 10 years of experience in geriatrics. Throughout her career, she has worked across various settings, primarily within the contract nursing homes, home-based primary care, and currently serves as the Medical Foster Home Program Coordinator in Albany, NY. Marykate is an active member of the National Social Work Elder Justice Implementation Team and holds certification as a Health Care Ethics Consultant. She has developed a passion for aging in place for veterans, ensuring they maintain independence and quality of life as they age.

John is experienced in computer and mobile device training, having worked in technology training for over 20 years. He has worked with NYS agencies, local and national corporations, and does private training with individuals. Since 2014, he has been associated with Albany Guardian Society, where he trains seniors on various technology subjects, most notably mobile devices and tablets. As a volunteer, he also conducts technology classes for the Ulster County Office for the Aging.

Emilie is a Public Health Educator at the Upstate New York Poison Center. She earned her Master of Public Health (MPH) degree at Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, NY. Emilie is skilled at educating diverse audiences of all ages, community outreach, and building partnerships with key stakeholders in public health.

Rebecca is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine, Internal Medicine and Neurology, and a fellowship-trained geriatrician with a special interest in cognitive impairment. She earned her medical degree from Emory University, completed residency at the Atlanta Medical Center Family Medicine Residency Program, and geriatric fellowship at Tufts/Baystate Medical Center. Clinically she works at the Center of Excellence for Alzheimer’s Disease (CEAD) at Albany Medical Center. There she provides care to older adults with cognitive impairment together with an inter- and mutli-disciplinary team while hosting a variety of learners including medical students, residents and fellows.

Shelleisha is the Program Director of Chronic Disease Prevention and Management at the Albany County Department of Health. In her current role, Shelleisha oversees programs and initiatives that address chronic health conditions such as prediabetes, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, leads the Albany County Strategic Alliance for Health stakeholder coalition, and manages the Community Health Worker Program.

Maria is a certified QI Gong Instructor and Integrative Nutrition Health Coach with a deep passion for empowering people to use movement and food as medicine.  Her holistic approach also extends to helping individuals overcome many issues and challenges of aging.