Executive Committee

Susan Wehry MD is a geriatric psychiatrist with almost 40 years of experience. During her multifaceted career, she has inspired professionals, older adults and family caregivers throughout the United States. The former Chief of Geriatrics at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine (UNE COM), she now directs AgingME, a geriatrics workforce enhancement project (GWEP) that she hopes will help create a more age-friendly health system.

Sharon is a longtime supporter of issues impacting older adults and their families in the health care and social service sectors. Many of her professional initiatives have involved replicating evidence-based models of care that improve care of older adult populations.  When first moving to Maine, Sharon initiated an in-home mental health assessment program for the state of Maine mid-coast region.  She has since served in administrative roles at SeniorsPlus, Martin’s Point, and MaineHealth.  She holds a BA in psychology from the College of the Holy Cross and an MSW in clinical social work from the Boston University School of Social Work.

Julia Morin is the Project Assistant for the GWEP. She graduated from the University of New England in May of 2023 with a Bachelor in Medical Biology with the intention of taking a gap year and attending Medical School. Julia joined the GWEP team in October of 2024 and the work ignited a deep passion, changing the trajectory of her career. A lifelong Mainer, Julia has seen first-hand the unique needs of Maine’s older adults, particularly in rural communities. Julia is currently enrolled in the Masters of Public Health program at the University of New England, and she hopes to use this degree to continue working with older Mainers in rural and underserved communities.

Dr. Lenard W. Kaye is Professor of Social Work and Past Director of the Center on Aging, A prolific writer in the fields of health and human services and aging, he has published approximately 200 journal articles and book chapters and 17 books on specialized topics in aging including a specialized focus on older adult part-time work and the federal SCSEP initiative, social isolation and loneliness, home health care, productive aging, aging in rural America, family caregiving, controversial issues in aging, support groups for older women, and congregate housing. His pioneering research and writing on older men’s caregiving experiences and help-seeking behaviors, is widely recognized and frequently cited. His recent books include Social Isolation of Older Adults: Strategies to Bolster Health and Well-Being, Springer Publishing Company (2019) and  the Handbook of Rural Aging, Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group (2021). He is currently the Lead Evaluator of AgingME, Maine’s Geriatrics Workforce Development Project. His research and training projects have been funded through the National Institutes of Health/National Institute on Aging (NIH/NIA), Administration for Community Living/Administration on Aging (ACL/AoA), U.S.DHHS, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and multiple national and regional foundations. He is a Past President of both the Maine and New York State Gerontological Societies, sits on the editorial boards of the Journal of Gerontological Social Work and Journal of Aging Life Care, and is a Fellow of the Gerontological Society of America.

David Wihry, MPA, is Assistant Director for Research & Evaluation with the UMaine Center on Aging. David is a Maine native and has been involved in diverse research and evaluation projects over the years on topics that include dementia caregiver support, falls prevention, nutrition, telehealth, kinship caregiving, and systems change interventions to support aging in place. David served as the evaluation coordinator for the original AgingME five year grant and continues in this role for AgingME2.

As Assistant Director for Community Innovation & Research at the Center on Aging, Patricia Oh, Ph.D., MSW, coordinates its Lifelong Maine initiative, which includes providing technical support and programming for the AARP Network of Age-Friendly States and Communities (NAFSC) in Maine, advising AARP Livable about its rural outreach efforts, and supporting the AARP NAFSC nationally. In her role as Co-Director of the Consortium on Aging Policy, Research and Analysis, Dr. Oh studies the impact of policy on the lives of older Mainers. She is a frequent speaker at community events and has been invited to present age-friendly community development and healthy aging at state, regional, national, and international venues.

Dr. Oh obtained a Ph.D. in Gerontology from the University of Massachusetts, Boston and MSW from the University of Southern Maine. As a practitioner and researcher, her expertise is in translational research, program development, evaluation, research, and professional and community education. Since 2012, she has focused on age-friendly community development at the national and state levels, with a particular interest in rural communities. Currently, her research focuses on climate and aging, municipal motivation to join the AARP NAFSC, the impact of joining on the social and service environments, and multi-sector collaborations to advance age-friendly community development, and specifically, higher education’s role.

Based on her research with communities, Dr. Oh has authored more than a dozen book chapters and articles about aging in community and is lead author to the award-winning AARP Roadmap to Livability Series and Rural Livability Report.