The Multiverse of Aging Populations

Keynote April 30, 2025

The State of Affairs and Silent Health-Related Cost of Caregiving of Wounded, Ill, and Injured Veterans

Roxana E Delgado, PhD, MS, Professor, UT Health San Antonio School of Nursing, Director of Caring for the Caregiver
I am a health scientist and epidemiologist focusing on military and veteran research, especially family caregivers of wounded, ill, and injured Veterans. For the past fifteen years, my work explored the psychosocial determinants of health and health outcomes in Veterans with complex comorbidity. In recent years I developed the “Military and Veteran Caregiver Research Portfolio” studying the health and well-being of military families and caregivers of wounded, ill, and injured military personnel and Veterans, with an emphasis on the trajectory of health, the delivery of care in complex and large healthcare systems. As a health scientist and epidemiologist, I have worked with healthcare systems, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders to conduct studies that may impact the military and the nation’s healthcare and social policies. My experience as the wife of a combat wounded Veteran has informed my work and allowed me to be an insider in the community I work with.

Keynote May 1, 2025

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Stacy Barnes, Ph.D. Associate Professor of Practice and Director, Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center, Marquette University College of Nursing is a PhD-prepared Social Gerontologist with 37 years of interprofessional work aimed at improving quality of life for older adults. She is an Associate Professor of Practice at Marquette University’s College of Nursing, Director of the Wisconsin Geriatric Education Center, and Interim Director of the Institute for Palliative and End-of-Life Care. During her tenure at Marquette, Dr. Barnes has been awarded 28 grants totaling more than $19 Million dollars. Dr. Barnes holds a master’s degree in Gerontological Studies from the Scripps Gerontology Center at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio and an interdisciplinary PhD in Social Gerontology from Marquette University. She also completed a 1-year fellowship with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as part of its Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship program. Dr. Barnes has served in several national leadership roles including Past President of the National Association of Geriatric Education Centers, Past President of the National Association for Geriatric Education, and as a national delegate to the White House Conference on Aging. Dr. Barnes frequently serves as a consultant to federal agencies, foundations, and non-profit organizations to assist them in reviewing grants and evaluating programs. In addition to her professional work, she is an active volunteer in the Milwaukee community, currently serving on the Board of Directors and as Chair of the Ethics Committee for St. Camillus Life Plan Community, the largest retirement community in Wisconsin.