Expertise 

• Recognizing, Understanding and Disrupting Ageism
• Aging into Elderhood
• Intersection of Ageism and Ableism
• Professional Identity and Community Engagement

Education

• PhD in 2013, from Virginia Commonwealth University
• MS in 1995 and 2012, from Virginia Commonwealth University
• BA in 1992, from University of Central Florida

Research Interests 

To understand, raise awareness and disrupt the deeply embedded, normalized and invisible ageism that is within us all. Disrupting ageism in research involves examining inequity and discrimination and their impact on behaviors, thoughts and actions. Other research areas are elderhood, trauma-informed care approaches, workforce development, training and professional identity and community engaged research. 

Bio

Dr. Tracey Gendron serves as Chair for the Virginia Commonwealth University Department of Gerontology, as Director for the Virginia Center on Aging and is the author of the book Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It. With over 25 years of experience as a grant-funded researcher and nationally recognized speaker, Tracey is dedicated to raising awareness and ending ageism through education. Tracey has a Master’s degree in Gerontology, a Master’s degree in Psychology, and a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology.

Gendron has dedicated her career to changing the landscape develop an age-inclusive climate that facilitates growth and engagement in elderhood. Her personal and professional goal is to raise awareness of Elderhood as the solution to the deeply embedded ageism pervasive within all cultures, settings, and individuals.

Highlights

• Author, Ageism Unmasked: Exploring Age Bias and How to End It, 2022
• Founder of Aging into Elderhood (agingintoelderhood.com)
• Provost Faculty Fellow for Division of Community Engagement, 2016-2018
• Named Community-Engaged Scholar, Division of Community Engagement, 2016-2017

Publications/Projects

• Development of an Age and Ability Inclusive Toolkit, 2020-2022, Funded by the Retirement Research Foundation
• Development of a Trauma-Informed Toolkit, 2021-2024, Funded by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services
• Testing a Proposed Evidence Base Video Intervention on Ageism. 2019. Funded by the Retirement Research Foundation: PI.
• Trauma-Informed Training. 2019. Funded by the Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services. PI.
• Amateau, G., Gendron, T., & Rhodes, A (in press). Stress, Strength, and Respect: Direct Care Workforce Experiences and Implications for Training. Gerontology and Geriatrics Education.
• Winshop, J.,  Gendron, T,  Waters, L, Chung, J., Battle,K., Cisewski, M,  Gregory, M, Sargent, L.,  Zanjani, F., Slattum, P., Mackiewicz, M., Diallo, A., Ford, G., Falls, K., Price, E., &  Parsons, P (in press). COVID In Context: The Lived Experience of Richmond’s Low-Income Older Adults. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine.
• Sargent, L., Zanjani, F., Winshop, J., Gendron, T., Mackiewicz, M., Diallo, A., Waters, L, Battle, K., Ford, G., Falls, K, Chung, J., Price, E., Cisewski, M., and Parsons, P (in press). African American Older Adults During the COVID-19 Pandemic.  Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine.
• Paliwal, Y., Jones, R. M., Moczygemba, L. R., Gendron, T. L., Nadpara, P. A., Parab, P., & Slattum, P. W. (2021). Over-the-counter medication use in residents of senior-living communities: A survey study. Journal of the American Pharmacists Association.
• Zanjani, F., & Gendron, T. (2021). Introduction to the JPIC issue, Aging in older adulthood: Community-level intervention programming and partnerships providing older adults with community health promotion opportunities. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 1-5.
• Gendron, T., Cimarolli, V., Inker, J., Rhodes, A., Hennessa, A., & Stone, R (2021). The Efficacy of a Video-Based Intervention to Reduce Ageism. Journal of Gerontology and Geriatrics Education
• Zanjani, F., & Gendron, T. (2021). Introduction to the JPIC issue, Aging in older adulthood: Community-level intervention programming and partnerships providing older adults with community health promotion opportunities. Journal of Prevention & Intervention in the Community, 1-5.
• Rahim, S., Gendron, T., Slattum, P & Donohoe, K. (2021). Do Alumni Survey of a Combined Degree Pharmacy and Gerontology Program. Currents in Pharmacy Teaching and Learning, 13(8).
• Sargent, L., Slattum, P., Brooks, M., Gendron, T., Mackiewicz, M., Diallo, A., Waters, L., Winship, J., Battle, K., Ford, G., Falls, K., Chung, J., Zanjani, F., Pretzer-Aboff, I., Price, E. T., Prom-Worley, E., Parsons, P., & iCubed Health and Wellness in Aging Transdisciplinary Core (2020). Bringing Transdisciplinary Aging Research from Theory to Practice. The Gerontologist, gnaa214. Advance online publication. https://doi-org.proxy.library.vcu.edu/10.1093/geront/gnaa214
• Chung, J., Sargent, L., Gendron, T., & Wheeler, D. (2021). GPS Tracking Technologies to Measure Mobility-Related Behaviors in Older Adults: A Systematic Review. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 40 (5), 547-557
• Gendron, T., & Van Aatrjik, L. (2020). Cross-Sector Benefits of Education in Gerontology. CSA Journal.
• Pailiwal, Y, Jones, R, Nadpara, P, Moczygemba, L, Gendron, T, Slattum, P. (2019). Prevalence and Multi-level Predictors of Over-The-Counter Medication Use among Community-Dwelling US Older Adults. Drugs - Real World Outcomes.
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., Andricosky, R., & Zanjani, F. (2019). Development of the Relational Ageism Scale: Confirmatory Test on Survey Data. International Journal of Aging and Human Development
• I-Shian, S., Gendron, T., & Gough, M (2018). Social Isolation and the Built Environment: A Call for Research and Advocacy. Public Policy and Aging Report
• Gendron, T., Rubin, S., & Peron, E. (2018). Making the Case for Transgenerational Learning. The Journal of Intergenerational Relationships
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., & Welleford, E.A. (2018). “How Old Do You Feel?” The Difficulties and Ethics of Operationalizing Subjective Age. The Gerontologist.
• Gendron, T., Inker, J., & Welleford, E.A. (2017). A Theory of Relational Ageism: A Discourse Analysis of the 2015 White House Conference on Aging. The Gerontologist.
• Rubin, S., Gendron, T., Peron, E. (2016). Reciprocity and Shared Experiences through Transgenerational Creative Arts, Public Policy & Aging Report, prw010