Welcome to the
12th Annual Senior Symposium
We hope you find this year’s virtual program full of helpful and informative topics. We are pleased to have Mayor Susan Candell as one of our speakers as well as several other experts in their field who will address important topics that are of interest to seniors and their caregivers. Register now to secure your virtual seat at the table with our Expert panelists.
< Click to download our Symposium Agenda
John Swartzberg, M.D., Clinical Professor Emeritus, UC Berkeley School of Public Health
Dr. Swartzberg is a clinical professor emeritus at UC Berkeley’s School of Public Health, chairs the editorial board of the School of Public Health’s Health & Wellness Publications. He is a past director of the UC Berkeley–UCSF Joint Medical Program. He is past-President of UC Berkeley’s Emeriti Association.
Dr. Swartzberg is board certified in internal medicine and infectious diseases, and spent 30 years in clinical practice.
Alan Brast, PhD, Clinical Director, Comprehensive Wellness
Dr. Alan Brast has been a healthcare professional for over four decades. His primary areas of expertise include suicidology, medical hypnotherapy/analysis, grief and emotional trauma counseling for suicidal ideation, rape, emotional and physical abuse, dread disease anxiety, phobia disorders and other areas of medical/psychological trauma. He has expertise in crisis management and facilitates hospital support groups for cancer patients.
Dr. Brast lectures locally and worldwide.
Honorable Susan Candell, Mayor of Lafayette
Susan was elected to Lafayette City Council in 2018 and is now Mayor of the City of Lafayette for one year starting in January 2021. Mayor Candell is currently the Chair of the Equity and Inclusion Task Force, Lafayette’s representative to ABAG/MTC (our Regional Council of Government), and regularly attends the Contra Costa County’s Mayors Conference. She organized a Lamorinda COVID-19 Testing program in late Spring 2020 for all Lamorinda residents and staff in all 8 Senior Care Facilities before testing was available for these sites through the county.
Taylor King, Fire Inspector, Contra Costa County Fire Protection district
Taylor will discuss important fire safety information and explain how Lamorinda residents have the opportunity to make a significant improvement in Lamorinda fire safety through the NFPA Firewise USA® Program. Mr. King’s discussion will focus on how the eldery can protect their homes from wildfires using vegetation management, defensible space, home hardening, and steps outlined in the NFPA Firewise USA® public education program
Firewise USA® is a nationwide standard approach to reducing and managing wildfire risk.
LeAnn Blankenship, Medical Oncology and Hematology, Epic Care
Dr. Blankenship is a Medical Oncologist and Hematologist with research experience in breast cancer and gastrointestinal malignancies. Dr. Blankenship is an advocate of private practice and community-based oncology and hematology.
It directly aligns with her philosophy to combine the best that modern medical, chemotherapy, and immunotherapy have to offer while supporting the needs and priorities of her patients and their families.
Karen Hinojosa, Contra Costa County Legal Services
Karen is a Provisionally Licensed Lawyer awaiting results of the bar exam. Karen brings significant experience advising older adults from her time working at the Medical Legal Partnership for Seniors clinic at UC Hastings Law School. She is also bi-lingual in English and Spanish. When she is not working at CCSLS, Karen enjoys exploring the city of Concord and walking her dog, Charlie. Karen teaches seniors to recognize scams, fraud, identity theft, and signs of elder abuse.
Jim Scala–Master of Ceremonies
Jim Received his PhD from Cornell and a Doctorate of Humane Letters from Hofstra in recognition of his book for people with Crohn’s Disease. He authored books, research papers and articles on various aspects of diet, exercise on health. He served as Nutritionist on the US Olympic Ski Team, The Voyager Flight, Walt Disney’s EPCOT center and a small part in NASA’s Apollo Program. His video, The Nature of Nutrition, is in the Olympic Training Center and schools.
Sereta Churchill–Board of Directors, Lafayette Community Foundation
Sereta is a long-time member of the Board of Directors of the Lafayette Community Foundation where she served as president from 2014 to 2016. She has been very involved serving on commissions for Lafayette, been president of the Lafayette Chamber of Commerce as well as Lafayette’s Business Person of the Year. Sereta is a realtor who raised her family in Lafayette. She has been president of the local association of realtors and Realtor of the Year. In 2016, Sereta was awarded the California Distinguished Realtor of the Year.