Alumni Update: Where are they now?
Name: Laura Giles
Degree(s) Received: BSG, MSG
Year of Graduation: 2000, 2002
Job title: Program Officer
Company: Archstone Foundation
Location (city and state): Long Beach , CA
Please briefly describe your position and your company:
The Archstone Foundation is a private grantmaking foundation that supports programs to help society prepare to meet the needs of an aging population. As a Program Officer for the Elder Abuse and Neglect Initiative, I focus on the foundation’s grantmaking processes in the area of elder abuse prevention and work with the staff in identifying and developing new funding opportunities that are consistent with the Foundation’s priority funding areas, which also includes end-of-life issues, fall prevention, and responding to emerging needs through responsive grantmaking. Program Officers are responsible for reviewing and evaluating submitted funding proposals, conducting site visits, monitoring progress of grant funded programs, and representing the Foundation on committees and at local and national meetings.
I truly enjoy the opportunity to be involved in all aspects of the grant review process – from the development of initial program ideas to the cross-discipline evaluation of a group of projects. The most exciting element of working at this kind of foundation is the opportunity to shape the programs that will make a difference in the lives of seniors now and in the future both locally and across the state.
Why did you choose to study gerontology at the USC Davis School?
When I enrolled at USC, it was my intention to study a subject that I would find intellectually stimulating and that would allow me to contribute something of value to the world in which I live. I found both of those elements in the study of aging. Additionally, I found that the faculty and my fellow students share my interest in making a difference and that, for me, was of inestimable value to my sense that I had made the right choice by making the study of aging the focus of my educational program.
Further, my experience as a graduate student at USC's Andrus School of Gerontology gave me a wide ranging understanding of many issues related to the quality of life of our aging population. That broad based understanding has been a key to my success in the field of gerontology over the past four years.
How did you learn about your current position? Was it through an internship, a previous job, or a connection through USC?
Before coming to the Archstone Foundation, I was the Coordinator for the Elder Abuse Forensic Center and the Vulnerable Adult Specialist Team (VAST), a medical response team focused on the prevention of elder abuse at the University of California, Irvine, Program in Geriatrics. Prior to being hired by UCI, I had met several of the UCI Program in Geriatrics staff while a student in the Leonard Davis MSG program.
Once I joined UCI, I learned that their elder abuse and VAST programs received substantial support from the Archstone Foundation, and it was through that connection that I first met the Archstone Foundation’s management and staff. My connections from the Davis School to Archstone has been typical of my professional life as every position I have held since graduation has been less than two degrees of separation from a contact I made while attending USC’s Leonard Davis School.
Please briefly describe how the USC Davis School’s curriculum helped prepare you for your current position.
Studying at the USC Davis School allowed me to study with the foremost experts in the field of gerontology and network with national and international leaders in the field of the study of aging.
What advice would you offer to a prospective student interested in studying gerontology at USC?
Take advantage of all the varied and easily accessible networking opportunities that come your way while you are completing your degree. The internships I participated in throughout Los Angeles, the conferences I attended, my work as a Research Assistant with Dr. Zelinski, and my daily interactions with all the cutting edge researchers was just as important to my education and professional development as my classes.
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